Rugby at home
An oval ball, a yard or park and friends for touch and tag rugby; tackling, scrums and lineouts only at a club.
What should we practise today?
Tell us where you are and who is playing. You get one card and the reason.
New to rugby? The game in a minute
Read this once before the first card.- The sport in short
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Two teams try to carry the oval ball over the other team's try line and touch it down on the ground: that is a try, worth the most points. The ball may be carried or kicked forward, but it may only be passed backward or sideways, so the team moves up the field by running.
- The kinds of rugby
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In full rugby the defenders stop the carrier by tackling, and there are scrums and lineouts to restart play. In touch and tag rugby there is no tackling: a touch with the hands, or pulling a tag from the carrier's belt, stops the carrier, who must then pass. Children start with touch and tag.
- How a game is won
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The team with more points at the end wins. A try scores 5 points in rugby union, and a kick over the bar and between the posts after it adds 2.
- Rules children break first
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- No forward passes.
- In touch and tag, touch or pull a tag, never push or grab.
- A touched carrier stops and passes straight away.
- Mouthguard for any contact game; no tackling at home.
- At home and in the park you start with
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Carrying and passing backward, dodging taggers, touch rugby with support runners, passing to the free player, and kicking. Tackling and set pieces are learnt at a club.
Words you will hear (24, in plain language)
- Try
- Touching the ball down over the other team's line to score, and that line.
- Conversion
- A kick at the posts after a try for extra points.
- Forward pass
- A pass that goes toward the other team's try line; not allowed.
- Carrier
- The player holding the ball.
- Receiver
- The player the ball is passed to; a support player runs close by, ready to take a pass.
- Touch rugby
- Rugby with no tackling, stopped by a touch or by pulling a tag (a ribbon on a belt).
- Tagger
- The player trying to stop the carrier.
- Side-step
- A quick step to one side to get past a defender.
- Space
- An open part of the pitch with no defender.
- Overlap
- More attackers than defenders on one side, so one attacker is free.
- Dummy pass
- Pretending to pass to fool the defender.
- Onside
- Standing behind the line where play stopped, so you are allowed to play.
- Tackle triangle
- After a touch, two defenders stand either side of the toucher to form a triangle.
- Play-the-ball
- Restarting play after a touch or tackle, by rolling the ball back with the foot.
- Tackle
- Stopping the carrier by holding them and bringing them to the ground.
- Breakdown
- What happens after a tackle: in a ruck the ball is on the ground and players push over it; in a maul the carrier is held up on their feet.
- Scrum
- A restart where the forwards of each team bind together and push.
- Lineout
- A restart from the side of the pitch where the ball is thrown in between two lines of players.
- Set piece
- The scrum and the lineout.
- Grubber
- A kick that rolls along the ground; a long pass that spins in the air.
- Laces
- The top of the foot, where the ball is kicked.
- Offload
- A pass made while being tackled.
- Mouthguard
- A soft tooth guard worn for contact.
- Concussion
- A brain injury from a blow to the head; any sign means stopping and seeing a doctor.
Try it, nothing to buy
Mark the space once. Every card starts from it.The cards, level by level
Nobody is late. A beginner of any age starts at Basic.Ticks and stars are saved in this browser only. Clearing the browser's data, or another browser, starts from zero. Carry them into the app
Basic 3 cards · show· hide Carrying and passing an oval ball (passing backward only), running into space, evasion and tag or touch games; contact is not yet in play.
- b1✓ Ball handling and passing backward At home
- b2✓ Evasion and tag games Park or court
- b3✓ Touch rugby: pass and support Park or court
Move on when the child meets the self-checks on b1 to b3.
Intermediate 3 cards · show· hide Passing and decision making in small games (6 v 4), the play-the-ball restart, ruck touch (going to ground safely and protecting the ball) and, with a coach, the tackle. The tackle comes only after passing, evasion and support are secure, and only with a qualified coach.
- i1✓ Passing and decisions Park or court
- i2✓ Tackle, ruck and ground work, with a coach At a club
- i3✓ Kicking basics and the long pass Park or court
Move on when the coach confirms the group is ready for each contact step.
Advanced 2 cards · show· hide Ruck and maul decisions, scrums and lineouts, full games with tackling, goal-kicking, offloads and structures of play. Set piece comes in small steps, from uncontested scrums and lineouts upward.
Teaching this at home
More space and a second person. A grown-up can run every card.
You do not need to know the sport. Each card tells you where to stand, what to say and what to look at. Pick one thing to say in a session and say only that. The first week looks messy; that is normal. End every session on one that works.
Cards marked At a club are taught by a coach. They tell you what the coach teaches, what is safe at home, and what to ask the club before your child joins.
How to warm up before playing is at workonfitness.com. The rules of the game are at sportsmaze.com.