Touch rugby rules

Guidelines for Referees at Social Touch Rugby Tournaments

It is important that all refs are given a brief at the beginning of the tournament so that everyone knows what is expected of them.  This will reduce one of the greatest displeasures a touch player can have – inconsistent reffing.  In the opening round(s) the refs should be lenient, but not relaxed on the rules.  The players must be communicated with and told what to expect.  The stringency of reffing may increase through the tournament, but the players must be told of this.  It’s amazing how players learn from being penalised once or twice!

ROLLBALL

The rollball is a major area of concern – over the mark, not straight and just plain incorrect!  The correct way of performing a rollball should be explained during the opening round(s) without penalty, i.e. play should be stopped and the player asked to take the ball back and play it correctly.  So long as both teams know that they won’t be penalised during the first round(s) then most people should be happy.  Must ensure that you don’t ‘play on’ when infringements occur – no body will learn that way, but don’t be pedantic.

FORWARD PASS and TOUCH PASS

A player knows when they’ve thrown a forward pass or they were touched first, so no need to be lenient in this area.  Refs should call it how they see it and penalise accordingly.

OFFSIDE

This is usually the biggest weakness of social refs and is probably the most important aspect of the game.  Not keeping a strict 5m from the rollball results in player frustration and a disjointed game.  Refs should try to be standing on the 5m when the roll is being performed and ensuring that all players retire to this point.  The ‘play on’ rule should be used where possible but only when the player infringing has been warned e.g. ‘8 offside – PLAY ON!’.  The format for communication to the players should be like this: ‘that’s 3 (touches), here’s your 5 (metres), players 7 and 12 offside’.  If the player offside fails to retreat the 5m then ‘Play On’ should be called.  This is the toughest area for social refs but if this is controlled then the rest of the game is easy.

TAP or ROLLBALL

You will need to educate the refs on what is a tap (offending team retreats 10m) or a rollball (defensive team retreats 5m).  Correct tap procedure should be enforced but be lenient – teach the players – everyone will benefit then.

DISCIPLINE

If a player becomes upset on the field, the ref must remain professional and most of all keep their sense of humour.  Don’t make a big deal of these players, just have a quiet word in their ear and try and resolve the situation with a minimum of fuss.  Possibly the most drastic of measures would be to ask them discretely to sub off while they cool off.

As the tournament progresses you will have to brief the refs again, giving feedback on their overall performance.  Player feedback would be useful too.  At some point you may want to enforce the roll ball area more tightly and penalise where appropriate.  It all depends on the level of the teams.  If there are some good teams out there then you will have to enforce the rules a little more tightly, otherwise they will become frustrated.  At the same time, though, this will be an opportunity to lift the more social teams to a better level – all the time ensuring that you communicate what is expected to the teams.

With thanks to Marcus Girvan – ETA Referee

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