USA

Play Rugby Feature

Flag rugby? Tag rugby? Touch rugby? Beach rugby? OzTag? Rookie rugby? Different names for the same sport? Or different sports entirely?

Are these games all non-contact or reduced contact? What is there purpose? A fun way to practice rugby skills and get “match” fitness? To give younger players a safe introduction to the sport and develop them into full contact players? Or give people of all ages a genuine alternative to the more popular contact game?

Working for an organization that coaches non contact co-ed flag rugby, to mainly elementary and middle school aged students, in the challenging environment of New York City’s urban and underserved areas we have adapted the rules of rugby to suit our needs. Like most non-contact rugby we use tags or flags, each player has 2 one of which must be removed from an attacker to represent a “tackle”. The attacker then has 3 seconds or 3 steps to pass the ball to a team mate – failure to do so will result in a turnover (this becomes 2 steps, 2 seconds for more advanced players).

For the most part all rugby rules apply.  However, there are no scrums or line-outs making it 98% non contact - I think there are always going to be some accidental unavoidable collisions in almost every sport. This is a necessity for us, as we play and coach the majority of our rugby either indoors in gyms, sometimes even in large lunch hall areas or outside on hard tops and basketball courts. If there is contact – the side that initiated it will be penalized

There is NO kicking in open play, again for the same reason as no scrums or line-outs, we feel this also puts a stronger emphasis on the fundamental rugby skills of passing, catching, running on to the ball, evading defenders and supporting the ball carrier.

Unlimited tags, encourage continuity meaning that if you keep the ball eventually you will score – this is to reflect the big brother version of rugby union. I know OzTag mirrors rugby league and only allows 6 tags to try and score before a turnover. 5 points for a try, as we have no posts we do allow a “target conversion” to be taken – a punt kick into a target area 10m away from where the try was made to get a 2 point conversion. This just allows us to introduce another skill and add a little fun bonus opportunity for the try scorer.
 
Do we change the rules when we have the luxury of coaching out on turf or grass fields? To be honest no we don’t. We have developed a very fast game that is easy to pick up and understand and can be played by everyone from 5 year olds to 105 yr olds (ok that may be an exaggeration). It’s basically the mini-tag version of the game with flags – perfect for PE classes and after school programs. Of course the most important thing is an emphasis is on fun and developing key rugby skills and concepts that are fundamental to all variations of rugby.

Some may say, is it even rugby without scrums and line-outs? – Just two of the things which make this great sport so unique, or is it just a backwards passing, tagging and evading invasion sport?

After 5 years of successfully running our program I can definitely say it IS rugby and the students we coach, the teachers who introduce it to their schools to the parents who hear about it from their child when the come home from school all LOVE it.

Is tag rugby a valid way to introduce the sport to students who may have never even heard of the game before, yet alone had the chance to play it? I would say so.

Does it teach life skills and positive character traits such as respect, team work, discipline, leadership, honesty and camaraderie. Most definitely.

Is it a pathway to identify great athletes and potential future rugby players and even internationals from schools and youth organizations that otherwise would never play the game? Absolutely, but I guess only time will tell as our students get older how many make this elite level of the game. Either way, the key is giving them a pathway to stay involved in the game at any level. Roberto a 13 year old from P.S. 276 in the Bronx say if he goes to High School “Rugby’s the sport he’s gonna pick” so we better make sure his High School has a team!

But, should there be a universal set of rules for ALL non-contact rugby? An overseeing governing body like the IRB to make decisions about how and where the game is played. The Federation of International Touch ran a successful world cup in 2007, so should we be following their rules?

We don’t think so, it doesn’t matter what version you play, so long as the kids enjoy it and it remains consistent with the values of the game. Ultimately if you get it right the kids will stay involved in the game and end up playing the same Rugby Union/league Laws anyway.

So, no matter which type of rugby we coach or play if we can be positive role models in players lives by showing and teaching the sort of behaviors to which abide by then we have fulfilled our roles. Rugby is so much bigger than anything that can be tied down by specific laws or rules, you can create life long friends and for a lot of people the team seems like a second “family”. Rugby is played in over 120 countries so you can travel the world playing the sport – a very rare thing indeed. The sport is truly unique and we should all be trying to promote the game, whatever version is suitable to the age and environment of the players. Wouldn’t it be great to see young children passing a rugby ball around rather than bouncing a basketball, kicking a soccer ball or throwing a football!

Interested in teaching touch rugby to players in your community?  Get the insights from experience and visit the World Rugby Shop to buy your copy of Give Rugby A Try Developing Youth Through Rugby DVD made by Play Rugby USA.  CLICK HERE to visit the World Rugby Shop.

To leave a comment about this article, discuss some of the issues raised or for more information on PlayRugbyUSA please CLICK HERE