What changes at U10

Your squad has had a season of tackling. U10 hands them the ruck, the maul and a three player scrum in one go, on a wider pitch with a bigger ball. Here is the lot in plain English before your first Tuesday.

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Free to read with no account. It works at a pitch with no signal too.

The short version

At U9 nobody could compete for the ball. A defender who grabbed at it gave away a free pass. Once the carrier was down the ball came back to their own side every time. That is the thing that goes at U10. The RFU's own summary of the grade puts it as a contest for the ball of one player against one player, which is a small phrase for quite a large change.

• Rucks arrive. Capped at two players from either team, counting the ball carrier and the opponent.
• Mauls arrive. Same cap of two a side.
• The scrum arrives. Three players, the nearest three to the stoppage, nobody pushing.
• A knock on is now a scrum rather than a free pass, which is the change your referee will use most often.
• Eight a side on a wider pitch, with a size 4 ball.

U9 against U10, side by side

The contest for the ball

This is the part worth reading twice, because it is where your Sunday mornings will be won or lost and it is the part nobody explains properly at the start of the season.

What a ruck is at U10

The ball is on the ground and players from both sides, on their feet, close around it. Open play has ended. No more than two players from either team can be involved. That count includes the ball carrier and the opponent, so it stays small on purpose.

Once a team has clearly won the ball the referee calls "Use it" and you have five seconds to play it. Miss that and it is a free pass to the other side.

When the tackle has been made and the carrier is on the ground, one supporting player from each team, who has to stay on their feet, may do one of four things:

• Rip the ball and pass it immediately
• Pick it up and pass it away from the contact
• Pick it up and run, but only if no ruck has formed
• Join to form a ruck from their own side and drive over the ball

If somebody has driven over the ball like that, the next player to arrive has to pass it. Nobody gets to set up camp.

What a maul is at U10

A maul starts when the carrier is held up by one or two opponents and one of their own team binds onto them. That is three players minimum, all on their feet, all moving towards a goal line. The same cap applies: no more than two from either team, counting the carrier and the opponent. Five seconds once it is formed, then the ball moves or the other side gets a free pass.

The bit that catches sides out

When the carrier is held but still upright and has stopped going forward, the ball has to be played away from the contact area. It is not a three second count and there is no shout to wait for. If the ball stays in there, it is a free pass against you. Half a squad's first month at U10 is spent learning to move it before somebody tells them to.

The scrum

Three players a side, a prop either side of the hooker. They are simply the nearest three to the stoppage. The fourth nearest becomes the scrum half. The RFU's phrase for it is "all players trained, late specialisation", which in practice means everyone in your squad ends up in there at some point over a season. That is deliberate.

• The referee calls "Crouch", then "Bind", then "Set". Each prop binds onto the back or side of their opposite number with the outside arm
• Nobody pushes. Only the team throwing in may strike for the ball
• No charging in. Heads and shoulders never below the hips, no downward pressure
• The scrum half passes from the base of the scrum and must not run with it
• The defending scrum half stays directly behind their own scrum, in the pocket between the two props
• Both back lines stay 5 metres behind until the ball is out
• A scrum awarded inside the 5 metre line gets moved out, so the middle of it sits 5 metres from the goal line

If a scrum collapses the whistle goes immediately. A player who keeps collapsing it or binding illegally takes no further part in the scrum. One whose technique or strength makes them a danger gets replaced. Every player who goes in there, replacements included, should have been trained for it.

What is different about the tackle

Most of it is last season's work and the safety lines have not moved. Contact stays below the base of the sternum, so tummy or below. The carrier still must not go in with shoulders below the hips, dip down late and low, or put their head into an opponent's head space. What is new is everything either side of the contact.

• When the carrier has not been taken to ground, an opponent may grab the ball. At U9 that was a free pass against them
• The tackler has to release the carrier and get back on their feet before touching the ball or blocking a pass
• On "Tackle-Release" the carrier passes immediately, rolls away or places the ball back towards their own team
• The team in possession supports from behind only
• Support players still cannot stand either side of the carrier to keep defenders off
• The six tackle turnover that some U9 sides moved on to is gone. Possession changes hands at the breakdown now

Offside is worth a mention too. At U9 it only really happened at the tackle. At U10 there is an offside line at the tackle, the ruck and the maul. It is the hindmost foot or hindmost point of the players involved. Defenders stay between their own goal line and the tackled player until the pass is made.

What has not changed

• No kicking of any kind. No fly hacking a loose ball along the ground either
• No lineout. Touch restarts with a free pass 5 metres in, level with where it went out, other side 7 metres back, nobody running until the pass is made
• No hand off, no fend, with either the hand or the ball
• Free passes rather than penalty kicks. The passer starts with the ball in both hands and passes backwards through the air on "Play"
• No sin bin. The referee has a word with you on the touchline and the sides stay even
• Squeezeball is out. No coach may teach it either
• Rolling subs, as many as you like, whenever the ball is dead and the referee says so
• Boys and girls play together. That holds until U12, when the game splits into separate bands
• The Half Game Rule applies, so every player gets at least half of the playing time. Across a festival that means half of the morning rather than half of each game

That last one is the one clubs get wrong most often. Match day works the rotations out for you on the touchline, so nobody has to count it on the back of a team sheet.

What to get in before the season starts

• Ball placement. Long arms, ball back towards your own side, then get up. This is the single highest value thing you will teach all year
• Getting to your feet. The tackler has to release and stand up before they can touch the ball again. Most U10 free passes are somebody who did not
• Arriving from your own side. On your feet, over the ball, from the direction of your own goal line. That plus the point above covers the bulk of your penalty count
• The five second habit. A squad that has never heard "Use it" will freeze the first time, so put it in your training games from week one
• Scrum shape with nobody pushing. Duller than they want it to be. It is also the bit that keeps necks safe, so it gets its own slot
• Keep the handling going. A squad that only rucks all winter cannot move a ball come March

Common questions

Is the ruck contested at U10?

Yes, but it is capped. The RFU describes U10 as a contest for the ball of one player against one player. No more than two players from either team can be involved in a ruck. That count includes the ball carrier and the opponent, so a third body piling in gives away a free pass.

How many players are in an U10 scrum?

Three a side. They are just the three nearest players to the stoppage rather than three specialists. The fourth nearest acts as scrum half. Nobody pushes and only the team throwing in may strike for the ball, so it is a way of restarting play rather than a contest.

Do U10s have a lineout?

No. Play restarts with a free pass 5 metres in from touch, level with where the ball went out, with the other side 7 metres back. There is none at U11 or U12 either. The lineout arrives at U14.

Can U10s kick the ball?

No. Kicking of any kind is out at U10. So is fly hacking a loose ball along the ground. Kicking from hand comes in at U11, which is why U11 coaches spend September explaining catching to parents.

Can U10s hand off?

No. A fend or hand off with the hand or the ball is a free pass at U10. The hand off comes in at U12, below the armpits.

What is the biggest change from U9 to U10?

The ball becomes contestable. At U9 a defender who grabbed at it gave away a free pass. At U10 an opponent can grab it, rucks and mauls exist and a knock on brings a scrum, so possession changes hands in ways your squad has never had to deal with.

The other age grades

• What U7 rugby looks like
• What U8 rugby looks like
• What U9 rugby looks like
• What U11 rugby looks like
• What U12 rugby looks like

Every grade side by side is the whole progression on one page. U10 rugby drills are the ones written for an U10 grade.