Passing
The ball can be passed laterally or backwards, but cannot be thrown forward. The opposing team is awarded a scrum if the ball is unintentionally thrown forward or if it is knocked forward from a players hand or arm. An exception is if a player knocks the ball forward in attempting to block an opponent's kick – a 'charge down'. Passing is an integral part of rugby union, as it allows the ball to be easily and quickly distributed to team mates. The backs are the major exponents of passes, and they are used to put running players into space. If a team has an overlap – more players attacking than the other team has defending at a particular moment – then the tactic is to draw a defending player to the tackle and pass to the person outside him. If every player executes the 'draw and pass', given space, the outside players may have no defenders in front of them.
Another tactic is pretending to pass the ball, called 'dummying'. It can be used during normal backline play or as part of a set move. The aim of the dummy is to confuse the opposition and create a gap for the player carrying the ball. When used as a set move a player will run as a decoy, usually at a different angle to the rest of the players. In complicated moves there will be multiple players acting as decoys. Care must be taken to ensure the decoys do not impede the tacklers, which would result in a penalty being awarded to the defenders.
The standard rugby pass is the spiral pass, where the player swings the ball across their body with the tip point upwards and the ball spinning about its axis. This technique propels the ball quickly and accurately. 'Quick hands' is the rapid movement of the ball between players, and at its best involves catching and passing the ball in one motion. A 'skip-pass' is a basic move where the ball is passed past the closest player to another further away. The 'double-around' is another simple move that involves the passer quickly running around the player they have just passed the ball and receiving the ball from them. If successful it can create an overlap. Anther common passing move is the 'cut and switch', which is used to change the direction of the play. For a cut the ball carrier runs laterally across the field before passing the ball to a player running back on an angle; the switch is a simple change of direction: a player standing on one side of a scrum, ruck or maul receives the ball and then passes it to someone on the opposite side.
There are also some specialised passes that can be used during a rugby game. The 'dive-pass' is a pass which is sometimes used by the scrum-half if they are unable to get into the correct position for a long pass. The player dives as they release the ball, resulting in a quick pass. A 'flick-pass' is similar to a standard pass except the ball is passed with a flick of the wrists, making it a faster pass but with less distance. The 'pop-pass' is a short pass where the ball is simply popped up in a small loop to a player. The 'gut-pass' is a pass straight into the stomach area of a player and is mostly used by the forwards when moving the ball back through a maul.
Read more about this topic: Rugby Union Gameplay
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