Beach rugby is a sport that is based on

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

. Currently there is not a centralized regulation of the sport as in

beach soccer Beach soccer, also known as beach football, sand football or sand soccer, is a variant of association football played on a beach or some form of sand between two teams of five players each. Association football has long been played informally on ...

beach volleyball Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two to four players each on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side o ...

, but leagues are common across

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. The sport is particularly popular in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, in the

Balkan The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

region and in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

. Casual games are played around the world using different sets of rules. However, organized leagues use a field that is only a fraction of the size of a standard rugby field, far fewer players on each team, shorter matches, and a simplified scoring system. Annual events are held by dedicated organisations in Italy, UK, USA, and Spain. The inaugural European Beach Five Rugby Championships was held in Moscow in 2017 and is being held there since then.

Rules

In Beach rugby, rucks, mauls, scrums, gang tackles, kicks above waist heights, lineouts are outlawed.

Field dimensions

The size of a beach rugby field depends on the decision of the league. The field is between 30 and 50 metres long and 20–35 metres wide, and the in-goals are 3–7 metres deep. There are no goalposts on the field, and the lines are usually marked with some sort of tape or rope.

Number of players

Depending on the league and the field size, either 4 or 7 players are allowed on the field for one team at once. Between 3 and 7 reserves are allowed, again, depending on the league. Substitutions are often done "on-the-fly," similar to

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...

The ball

A standard

rugby ball A rugby ball is an elongated ellipsoidal ball used in both codes of rugby football. Its measurements and weight are specified by World Rugby and the Rugby League International Federation, the governing bodies for both codes, rugby union and rugby ...

is used, but many leagues will use a size 4 ball instead of size 5, the size used in all levels of field rugby above youth. A rugby ball is oval-shaped and made of synthetic leather panels that have small dimples to enhance handling.

Scoring

Most leagues use a "one try, one point" scoring system, since there are no goalposts on the field. Occasionally, a sudden-death

extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...

period is used to resolve matches drawn at the end of regulation, but not all leagues use this rule. One Italian league used a system where the in-goals were divided into five equal rectangles. A try scored from the outer rectangles was worth 3 points, from the central rectangle was 5 points, and from either of the two intermediate rectangles was worth 4 points. However, there is no evidence that this league still exists. The Ameland Beach Rugby Festival www.beachrugby.nl(The Netherlands) also uses this system.

Timing

Leagues use either two 5 or 7 minute halves (with a 1 or 3 minute interval for halftime) as the length of a single match.

Extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...

may be played if the league in question calls for it.

European Beach Five Rugby Championships

Men

Women

References

External links

This is SUPER BEACH5's RUGBY - 5-at-side, contact beachfives rugbyE.B.R.A. - European Beach Rugby Association
{{Team Sport Team sports Variations of rugby league Variations of rugby union rugby Rugby sevens Sports originating in Australia