Playing faster rugby

• Narrow channels: Attack has three seconds to offload, or go to ground to pop up the ball
• Wide channel: Once touched, the ball carrier must go to ground and, from the ball presentation, the next pass must go with the flow

Basic game

Split pitch into three channels. If you have more than 10-a-side, use the full width, with 15m lines as the splits. This gives two narrower channels and a wide middle one.

Narrow channel rules

Play three-second offload – if a player is touched, they can either offload within three seconds or go to ground if they can’t offload immediately. 

No offload or go-to-ground within three seconds means a turnover. Modify the contact to suit your team.

Middle channel rules

Once the ball enters the middle channel, a touch-tackle means the ball carrier must go to ground and present the ball.

The next player can run or pass, but that first pass must ’go with the flow’. This means, if the ball came from the channel on the left, the ball moves from left to right. The next pass must be to the right, or it is a turnover.

The attacking team has two touch-tackles in the middle channel. A third touch-tackle means a turnover.

Other game rules

The team that scores restarts in the middle again. This puts pressure on the original defence to work harder next time and gives them time to think about improvements.

A dropped ball that the defence gathers means the counter-attack can make a pass left or right in the middle area after the first touch. They don’t have to worry about the direction once they regather the ball.

Optional rules

• With more than 10-a-side, kicking could be introduced
• Make the tackling more physical
• You can play full tackling but, in the middle area, only one ruck is allowed and there is competition for the ball

Possible outcomes

The better teams will work out what suits their strengths. Slower teams may find they can score through the edges; quicker teams with good handlers can stretch the defence.

Better teams will also have players supporting more effectively, so they can realign quickly from any breakdown.

There is plenty of jeopardy in the middle area. The best teams will find the right depth and then get ’tied up’ in the narrow channels.