Variation to Touch Rugby Laws (7's touch)

Have you ever wondered why we play touch rugby the way we do? The rules bear no relationship to the game of Rugby Union, they are a simulation of the game of rugby league! How does this help us play 15-a-side better, and does it help at all to play the crazy game of 7-a-side?

For me, regular 6 touch (international rules) is totally uninspiring and boring (I started playing when try?s were 3 points!). New players are afraid of trying things, and when they get to play the real game there is so much they?ve never seen before.

For the last 5-7 years my club has played the game of touch rugby significantly differently during the summer. We call it summer touch, or 7?s touch. The major difference is what happens after a (two handed) touch of the ball carrier (the fundamental difference between Rugby League and Union). We want the ball carrier to be encouraged to avoid the touch and the support runners to do things (like a 7?s swivel) other than wait for the ball to be played between the legs (bum sniffing). We want the defense to have multiple defensive lines, and both offense and defense to handle ball on the ground and do other strange things that happen in a game of 7?s.

We have successfully played this game with as little as 5-a side to as many as 12-a-side (on an almost full sized field).

Here are the differences:

After a touch (defender yells touch) the ball carrier must immediately drop the ball (no playing through the legs). It doesn?t matter where the ball goes after the drop as long as there was no intent to drop the ball anywhere but beside, or immediately behind the ball carrier. No aiming the ball at your support, you ran into a tackle, accept the consequences!

The two players involved in the touch must not play the ball next, or interfere with other players attempting to retrieve the ball. It is a free ball for every on-side player except these two. The ball marks the offside line. You can?t play the ball or the ball carrier after a touch unless you have retreated behind the offside line.

An on-side player is anyone who has both feet on his own side of the ball when he plays it. If the ball rolls behind him while he is attempting to play it ? play on - as long as he clearly had both feet behind it after it hit the ground.

The offense must clear the ball from the ground; the defense just has to touch the ball on the ground with one hand to gain possession. If a player is touched after he picks it up, he can pass it immediately (or drop it), as long as he didn?t run with it.

Similarly if a knock on (or other infraction) occurs, and the defense can play the ball (and does) then advantage is over, otherwise touching the ball down means the defense wants to play the ball from a restart. The other team must retire 5 meters from the restart. Except at a restart there is no obligation to retire 5 meters, just to the offside line.

Ball on the ground (no touch called) is live ball. Dropped passes don?t matter (unless they are knocked on). Live ball has no offside or offense/defense restrictions (including both feet behind), just like any free ball in rugby, first to play it gets it.

The ball carrier cannot be touched and then pass the ball. If he was in the act of passing - play on. We use the time it takes to say ?touch pass? to determine if a violation occurred. If in doubt, play on.

No kicking of the ball on the ground, for safety reasons.

Kicking is allowed behind your own goal line (normal rugby offside laws apply).

Any violations of the rules (including the unwritten whining one) result in losing possession, or 10 meters if you?re on defense.

To encourage defensive and offensive support, we don?t allow anyone who has run more than 10 meters with the ball to score the try. You can run the whole length of the field, but you must pass to someone else to score.

The intent of these rules is to have the ball moving constantly. This game is not for whiners, cheaters, or lazy slugs! You don?t need a Referee if everyone has the right attitude. You might need one person on each side to make the calls to start with (or your team has some whiners!).

If it feels like sevens rugby then you?re playing it the right way. If you end up in arguments then you need to grow up and improve your basic skills. Try it a few times before you go back to the old and boring! We?ve found it is wide open and enjoyable, and it teaches the skills and vision necessary for both 7?s and 15?s. We feel this is the closest you?re going to get to the real game without the tackling.