Game Start

A coin toss determines the team which will kickoff first. The kicking team will send their forwards to one side of the pitch at the 50 metre line. The opposing forwards will move in front of their opposites, but spread out behind the 10 metre line in preparation to receive the kick.

The kicker, who can be any member of the team, will set the ball on the ground and start the match on the referee's whistle most often kicking the ball high and short to the opposing forwards (he can also kick it long and deep or away from the forwards if desired). The kick must travel forwards at least 10 metres and land in bounds. The kicker's forwards will charge down the pitch attempting to catch the ball themselves. If a receiving team's forward successfully catches the ball, he will attempt to advance the ball normally running into a large amount of opposition. His supporting forwards will then often bind around him to prevent him being brought to the ground and losing possession of the ball.

The second half of a match is started in the same way except the teams have switched ends of the pitch and the team starting the match kicking now receives the ball.

Rucks & Mauls

If the ball is held up off the ground, once more than any two players have bound together a maul is formed. If the ball has gone to ground, then the group of bound players is called a ruck. The very important principle of rucks and mauls is that once they are set, two imaginary offsides lines become present at the back of each team's rucking/mauling players extending from touchline to touchline. Any player running into the zone who is not joining the ruck or maul, from behind this line, before the ball leaves is considered offside and a penalty can be awarded to the other team.

A simple representation of this concept is as follows:

Penalties

Offside is the most common penalty during a match. If a penalty is awarded within goal kicking distance of a team's kicker, the team captain may elect to have the kicker take an uncontested place kick at goal for three points from a spot determined by the referee called a mark. If the kick is successful, play is restarted at the 50 metre line with a drop kick back to the scoring team. After an unsuccessful penalty kick, play is usually restarted by a drop kick (a kick executed by allowing the ball to hit the ground before kicking it) to the kick attempting team from the 22 metre line. This restart is called a 22 metre dropout.

Other common penalties include violent play, barging, not releasing the ball, obstruction (blocking) and diving over a collapsed ruck. Other options available to a team awarded a penalty include restarting play by a tap kick through the mark with the opposing team ten meters away or an uncontested kick to touch which is awarded back to the team receiving the penalty award.

For minor infringements such as a foot up in the scrum, a free kick can be awarded. A free kick is just like a penalty kick except it cannot be taken directly at goal and if it goes to touch, the other team is awarded the ball for the lineout.

More on Running & Tries

If and when the ball is produced from a ruck or maul without penalty, usually by the scrumhalf, the ball will most often be passed to a forward charging back through the defence or to the flyhalf who has pre-determined a course of action.

The flyhalf is the person normally determining all moves which the backs will run. Once he has received the ball he will then start a run, make a pass, or kick the ball. All of this must be done very quickly as the opposing backs and forwards will be quickly rushing up to tackle whomever has the ball.

The moves the backs run will include a number of different manoeuvres and ploys to put the backs into open running space. Common running tactics include loops, switches, dummies, and miss passes. A loop is where a player will make a short pass to another and then run around to the other side of that player to receive a return pass. A switch is where two players will cross paths allowing the ball carrier to pass behind himself to a runner running on a different angle. A dummy is a faked pass to another runner freezing or decoying the defender. A dummy switch is a switch where the ball carrier does not pass the ball to the crossing runner. A miss pass is a pass which is thrown past the first immediately available supporting player to runners further past him.

When the ball is being run, a player tackled to the ground must immediately release the ball (the defender tackling the runner must release the runner after the tackle) making it available to both teams. Typically the tackled player will attempt to place the ball closest to his own supporting players. Those supporting players will make a decision to pickup the loose ball or drive over the ball and tackled player to bind together into a new ruck. The defending team will do the same thing in an attempt to push the attacking team backwards. If the ball is picked up and advanced again by either side, a maul can quickly ensue if the advance is checked by the defence and the ball does not go to the ground. Each time a successive ruck or maul is set, it is described as a phase of play.

Once a player makes a break over the tryline, he must touch the ball down to the ground to be awarded the 5 points for the try. If he loses the ball in the dead ball area, the ball will come out and play will be restarted with a 22 metre dropout. Often a player will cross the tryline close to one of the touchlines and will turn back towards the posts before touching down. This is done to provide a better angle for the person attempting the conversion kick. The kick for extra points must be taken from a mark perpendicular to the spot where the try was touched down. Thus the kicker's job is typically made much easier when the try is awarded centered between the posts.

The conversion kick is a place kick taken immediately after the try and worth 2 points. The defending team must retreat behind the tryline but can rush the kick once the kicker makes a move towards the ball to kick it through the uprights.

Tactical Kicking

Most tactical kicks by the flyhalf will be to advance the ball upfield and into touch. He will take this option most often to clear the ball during heavy pressure. He can also kick the ball forward expecting a fast charging back to recover the ball before the opposition. Any person chasing a kick must have started the chase from behind the kicker or have been previously overtaken by the kicker or someone who was behind the kicker. Thus anyone in front of a kick is offside until put onside by the kicker or someone who was behind the kicker.

Another important aspect of tactical kicking is that a kick to touch from behind the 22 metre line is marked at the point the ball left the pitch. A kick taken in front of the 22 metre line must land in field or a touch a player on the field before going into touch, otherwise the line-out is awarded at the location of the kick and not where it went out. A penalty kick in front of the 22 is allowed to be kicked directly to touch.

Other tactical kicks include a drop goal kick, an up-and-under, chip and grubber kicks. When a team is putting good pressure on the opposing side's tryline, a player can decide to attempt a drop kick at goal for three points. The ball must be dropped and touch the ground before being kicked through the goal posts to be awarded. An up-and-under is a kick placed very shallow and very high. The idea is to put the receiving opposition players under incredible pressure and give your own players the time to get underneath the descending ball. A chip kick is best utilized in an open field situation by a runner who is about to be stopped. As a player cannot be tackled without the ball in hand, a runner can kick the ball just over an onrushing defender allowing the runner, or supporting runner, to go past untouched hoping to recover the kick. A grubber kick is in principle much the same as a chip kick, but is kicked along the ground.

Rugby Positions