Laws of Tag Rugby

Basic Laws for Tag Rugby at Tag Republic

With the exemption of a small number of elite 8-a-side leagues, “Social Laws” will be played in Cork, Social laws are a local variation of the 2022/23 ITF Tag Laws (available here)

The fundamental objective of the game is to score more points than your opponent. Points are scored by players who carry the ball over the opposition try-line and place the ball on the ground. To progress the ball down the pitch, players may run or kick forward. Players cannot pass or drop the ball in the direction of the opposition try-line.

Players on Pitch:

• 7 players on the pitch
• Maximum 4 guys on the field of play – most teams play with 4 guys and 3 women
• To start a game, you must have at least 5 players on pitch, of which 1 must be female.
• You don’t need to have 3 females on the pitch at all times, but playing fewer than 3 women will limit you to fewer than 7 players

Squads:
• Up to 14 Players Allowed each night

Scoring:

• Try by a male player = 1pt
• Try by a female player = 3pts
• Bonus Box: There is a 5m wide, 3m deep “Bonus box”, typically drawn out with blue cones, on each try line.
• If a male player scores a try in Bonus Box, it is still only worth 1 point
• If a female player scores a try in the Bonus Box, it is worth 4 points (3+1)

Mercy Rule

• If a team goes 10 points or more in front, the Bonus Box becomes Null and Void to them while they remain 10 points or more in front.
• When 10 points + behind, the conceding team restarts play with a tap-kick from the half way line (ie keep possession). They do not have to kick the ball back to the opposition.

Tagging & The Roll Ball

• Defending players are permitted to tag attacking players on either side of the attacker’s body, provided the defender does not initiate contact or impede the progress of the attacking player in the process of making the tag.
• After being tagged, the player with the ball returns to the “mark” where they were tagged and places the ball on the ground in front of the defender who tagged them. They then gently roll the ball back towards their own team, using their foot (NB – not their hand!)

Diving:

Players are allowed to dive for tries only following the below circumstances:

• Ball must be placed on ground first before elbows or knees.
• No swallow dives.
• No deliberate contact.
• Referees will disallow diving if they feel it is dangerous
• A defending player cannot dive on the ball to secure possession

Kicking:

• You can fly-hack the ball at any stage of a match
• You do not need to be wearing any tags to kick the ball from the ground
• Female players only kick off at re-starts

“Accelerate-Her” law

• 4 girls on pitch = 4 points per Girl Try
• 5 girls on pitch = 5 point per Girl Try and so on…