What changes at U9

The belts come off and the tackle arrives. It is the biggest single step in minis rugby and the one most coaches turn up to wondering whether they are qualified for it. Here is exactly what U9 allows, in plain English.

Read it in the app

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

The short version

One thing arrives. It happens to be the thing the whole sport is built on, so it takes the season.

• The tackle. Held by an opponent and brought to ground, arms used.
• No contest for the ball at all. A defender may not grab at it or block the pass. This is the bit people get wrong.
• No ruck, no maul, no scrum, no lineout. All of that is next year or later.
• Seven a side on a longer pitch, with 15 minute halves rather than 10.
• The six tackle turnover is optional now rather than standard. Both coaches plus the referee have to agree it.

U8 against U9, side by side

What counts as a tackle

The carrier is held by one or more opponents and brought to ground. Arms have to be used. A carrier who is not held has not been tackled, whatever it looked like.

The tackler grips and holds below the base of the sternum, which the RFU spells out as the tummy or belly or below. The carrier must not go into contact with their shoulders below their hips, dip down late and low, or put their head into an opponent's head space. Contact above the sternum stops the game, the offender gets spoken to and the other side gets a free pass.

When the carrier stays on their feet

The referee allows roughly three seconds to see whether they are genuinely held, then calls "Tackle". From that call the carrier has three seconds to pass to a teammate, standing or off the ground. They can keep going forward while they do it.

Once "Tackle" has been called they cannot score. Inside a metre of the line the referee should let the three seconds run before calling, so a try that was there is still there. If they were never held for three seconds and no call came, they can score or place the ball over the line in one movement.

When the carrier goes to ground

The referee calls "Tackle-Release". The tackler releases straight away, gets to their feet as soon as they can, does not touch the ball, does not block the pass and gets back onside between their own goal line and the tackled player.

The thing nobody expects: no contest

At U9 the tackler may not contest the ball. No grabbing at it, no blocking the pass. They may hold on to stop the carrier gaining more ground, but the moment the pass is made they release and rejoin. More than one defender can be in the tackle. None of them may stop the carrier passing.

So possession does not change hands in contact at U9 at all. It changes hands on a knock on, a forward pass or an infringement. That is the single biggest difference between this grade and the next one. It is also why a U9 tackle drill that carries on into a scramble on the floor has quietly become a U10 ruck drill.

What the carrier's own team may do

• A teammate may rip the ball from their own carrier, then has to pass it immediately
• A teammate may pick the ball up off a tackled player or off the ground, then has to pass it immediately. That player cannot be tackled
• Anyone passed the ball before, during or after contact may run with it
• Nobody may drive the carrier forward with a shoulder or by binding on
• Nobody may stand either side of the carrier to keep the next tackler off

Offside

At the tackle, opponents stay a metre behind the hindmost foot of the hindmost player. They retreat and stay behind that line, or behind their own goal line if it is closer, until the pass is made. Away from the tackle, offside works as it did at U8.

What has not changed

• No kicking of any kind. No fly hacking a loose ball along the ground either
• No scrum. A forward pass or a knock on is a free pass, the same as last year
• No lineout. Touch restarts with a free pass 5 metres in, other side 7 metres back, nobody running until the pass is made
• No hand off, no fend, with either the hand or the ball
• The ball may not be pulled out of the carrier's hands by an opponent
• No sin bin. The referee has a word with you on the touchline and the sides stay even
• Rolling subs, unlimited, 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

• Falling over safely. Before any of them tackle anybody. Getting to ground and back up is a skill and it is week one
• Where the shoulder goes. Cheek to cheek, head on the safe side, eyes open. Taught slowly, from kneeling, with nobody moving fast
• Below the sternum, every time. Say the height out loud in every drill until they stop thinking about it
• Passing off the floor. Three seconds is not long and most of them have never done it
• Getting up and rejoining. The tackler's job is not finished when the tackle is
• Keep the handling going. It is still a passing game. A squad that spends all winter on contact cannot move a ball in March

Common questions

What is different about U9 rugby compared to U8?

The tag belts go and the tackle arrives, which is the biggest single step in minis rugby. Seven a side rather than six, on a longer pitch, with 15 minute halves rather than 10. There is still no ruck, no maul, no scrum and no lineout.

Can U9s ruck?

No. U9 is tackle only. Once the carrier is down the ball comes back to their own side every time, because a defender may not grab at it or block the pass. Rucks and mauls arrive at U10.

What is a legal tackle at U9?

Grip and hold below the base of the sternum, so the tummy or belly or below, using the arms. The carrier must not go into contact with their shoulders below their hips, dip down late and low, or put their head into an opponent's head space. Contact above the sternum stops the game.

What happens when a U9 ball carrier stays on their feet?

The referee allows about three seconds to see whether they are properly held, then calls "Tackle". From that call they have three seconds to pass. They can keep going forward while they do it, but they cannot score once the call has been made.

Do U9s have the six tackle rule?

Only if both coaches and the referee agree it before kick off. Regulation 15 lists it as a transitional variation for squads that are ready rather than as standard. At U8 the equivalent tag rule applies to everybody.

The other age grades

• What U7 rugby looks like
• What U8 rugby looks like
• What U10 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. U9 rugby drills are the ones written for an U9 grade.