Touch Rugby at Stanford

Introduction

Touch rugby is a highly enjoyable running game with the goal of scoring tries. It is a non-contact adaptation of rugby that can be played anywhere and by men and women of all ages and abilities, and it is a great way to raise your level of fitness and improve your ball-handling skills. It is a much more of a flowing, dynamic game than touch football.

Critical Information

We play social (non-competitive) games on Saturday afternoons after 3:30 pm and from spring to fall on Wednesday evenings after 6:00 pm. Our games are co-ed: girls and guys of all ages are welcome. If you haven't played before, don't be shy! We have a wide range of individual experience and we're always happy to have new players. We play for the pure fun of it, so you don't need to make any sort of commitment. And if you're wondering what to wear, just wear that in which you will be comfortable running around on a grass field.

We normally play on Roble Field on Santa Teresa Street (on campus in the south Bay Area). We sometimes arrive late, so if you don't see anyone, just hang around for a bit and look out for someone carrying a rugby ball.

Rules of the Game

The object of the game is to score more tries than your opponents do. A try is scored when a team member who is carrying the ball places the ball on the ground past the opposing team's try line.
Your team restarts with the ball if your team has won possession.
Your team wins possession if:
- the other team loses possession.
- a member of your team carrying the ball was touched by a member of the other team, and your team has not had possession the last 6 times a member of one team carrying the ball was touched by a member of the other team.
- a member of your team without the ball is obstructed.
- your team had possession and play stopped due to an incorrect call.
Your team loses possession if the member of your team carrying the ball:
- drops the ball to the ground.
- passes the ball forward.
- kicks the ball forward.
- goes into touch (runs onto or over the touch-lines down the sides of the field).
- is touched by a member of the other team after your team has had possession the last 6 times a member of one team carrying the ball was touched by a member of the other team.
When one team wins possession:
- play is restarted from the position where the possession was won.
- the member of the team who starts with the ball must tap the ball with his foot and pass it to another member of his team before moving from the restart position.
- the team may wait until every member of the other team is at least 5 m in front of the ball before commencing play.