Touch Rugby: Quick Tap Penalties

Teams learn which infringements give a penalty in touch rugby and how play restarts with a tap: touch the ball with the foot and go. They rehearse quick plays to catch out a defense that is still retreating ten meters.

How to play

1. Review infringements that give a penalty (offside, not retreating five meters, rough touch, illegal sub) and how to take a tap: ball on the ground, touch it with the foot and play; the defense must retreat ten meters (3 min).
2. In groups of five, each team designs and rehearses two tap plays: tap and an immediate pass to a teammate running onto it, and tap and run by the player who took it through the gap (6 min).
3. 5 vs. 5 games on two fields; the referee calls penalties with the official signal and counts the ten-meter retreat out loud (12 min).
4. The scorekeeper reports how many penalties there were, how many were taken quickly and how many ended in a try; teams draw a conclusion (4 min).

Rules

• The tap is taken with the ball still on the ground at the referee's mark.
• The defense cannot interfere until it has retreated ten meters.
• Touches are always light and open-handed; a rough touch is a penalty.
• Nobody dives to the ground or tries to rip the ball out of a player's hands.

Variations

Adaptations

• Limited mobility: takes the tap and makes the first pass, with no need to run.
• Hearing impairment: the referee pairs the whistle with an arm pointing toward the team taking the penalty.
• Autism: practices the two tap plays with the group in advance and has a fixed spot in them.

Learning goals

• Identify the infringements that give a penalty in touch rugby.
• Design and run quick plays after a penalty.
• Referee with clear signals and manage the defensive distance.

Equipment for a class of 25

• cones: 20
• pinnies: 20
• rugby balls: 4
• whistles: 2
• cards: 2
• pencils: 2

Teacher tip

Have the referee mark the penalty spot with a foot and say it out loud. Tap plays work better when the rest of the team sets up with depth before calling for the ball.

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