Play Rugby racers

You’ll need

Cones (optional)

Before you begin

Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. There's also more guidance to help you carry out your risk assessment, including examples.
Make sure all young people and adults involved in the activity know how to take part safely.
Make sure you’ll have enough adult helpers. You may need some parents and carers to help if you’re short on helpers.

Planning and setting up this activity

Set boundaries with your group for during the game, which you could mark out with cones or natural features, such as walls and hedges.
Remember to check the terrain and make sure the game area is free of hazards. For example, if you’re playing outside, the hazards could be roads, logs and rocks, or dips in the grass, and if you’re playing inside, the hazards could be bags, slopes and steps, or wet floors.
Find a way to identify the teams - one may wear Neckers, while the other may not.
Use our guidance on setting up and playing active games safely.

Running this activity

Gather everyone together and explain that the aim of the game is for people to get from one side of the space to the other without getting tagged.
Depending on the size of the group, choose two or more players to be the ‘Number 8s’’. The Number 8 in rugby is the main link between the forwards and the backs. As a result, they must have a high level of fitness, be mentally alert, have very good communication skills, be mentally and physically tough and have good anticipation. They are good at providing support, tackling and carrying the ball.
The ‘Number 8’ players should be in the middle of the playing space. They need to try to tag people gently with a light tap anywhere below the shoulders. They shouldn’t tackle anyone.
Everyone else should line up along one end of the playing space.
When everyone’s ready, the person running the game should shout ‘Go!’, everyone should aim to get to the other side without being tagged.
A ‘Number 8’ player can only tag one person per run.
Keep playing from alternating sides and see how many people the ‘Number 8’ can get.
You can make the choice to end this game after a few rounds or once all the ‘runners’ have been tagged.

Reflection

This activity was all about having fun, working together and playing a game.

Wide games help people to practice their teamwork and problem-solving skills. As a runner, what did you do to try and not get tagged? Did you work with the people around you at all?

If you were ‘the Number 8’, how did you plan to tag people – did you have a strategy?

This game was also about problem-solving. What was the trickiest part of the game? Did people have to think ahead when they were deciding what to do?  

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

Contact games and activities: Make sure everyone understands what contact is acceptable, and monitor contact throughout the activity.
Outdoor activities: You must have permission to use the location. Always check the weather forecast, and inform parents and carers of any change in venue.
Active games: The game area should be free of hazards. Explain the rules of the game clearly and have a clear way to communicate that the game must stop when needed. Take a look at our guidance on running active games safely.