Touch Footy, Explained
Trying out touch? (Pun intended… sorry 🤣) Here’s a quick run down on the rules:
Based on rugby, the aim is to score points, or ‘trys’. A try is scored when a player carries the ball across the try line and touches it to the ground.
Players carry the ball toward their try line, passing to their team and attempting to evade being touched by the opposing team. If a player is touched, they must place the ball on the ground and step over it, while a teammate picks it up and continues play. The ball must always be thrown backwards.
A team has possession for a period of 6 consecutive touches. There are a few ways possession can be transferred to the opposing team:
After the 6th possession
After a try is scored
If the ‘Dummy Half’ is touched
From an intercept
If a player passes the ball after being touched
From a dropped ball, failed pass, or other failure to maintain possession
After the defending team makes a touch, the team must retreat 5 meters from where the touch was made (or in line with the umpire who marks the spot). If a penalty is awarded, the defending team must retreat to 10 meters from the point.
Dummy half: When a player has been touched, they place the ball on the ground and step over it. The player who picks up the ball is called the ‘Dummy Half’. This player cannot score a goal, and if they are touched before passing to another player possession is awarded to the opposition.
Substitutions are rolling and can be made at any time.
The game consists of 2 x 20 minute halves with a half-time interval of 5 minutes.
Still got questions?
