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Five-eighth or stand-off is one of the positions in a
rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...
football team. Wearing jersey number 6, this player is one of the two half backs in a team, partnering the . Sometimes known as the pivot or second receiver, in a traditional attacking 'back-line' (No. 1-7) play, the five-eighth would receive the ball from the halfback, who is the first receiver of the ball from the dummy-half or following a tackle. The role of the five-eighth is often to pass the ball away from the congested area around the tackle, further out along the 'back-line' to the outside backs, the centres and wingers, who have more space to run with it. Furthermore, players in this position typically assume responsibility for kicking the ball for field position in general play. The five-eighth is therefore considered one of the most important positions, often referred to as a 'play maker', assuming a decision-making role on the field. Over time, however, as the game has evolved, the roles of the two halves have grown more aligned and difficult to distinguish. Along with other key positions – fullback, hooker and halfback – the five-eighth makes up what is known as a team's spine. One book published in 1996 stated that in senior rugby league, the five-eighth and hooker handled the ball more often than any other positions. The
Rugby League International Federation The International Rugby League (IRL) is the global governing body for the sport of rugby league football. The IRL organises the Rugby League World Cup, the oldest international rugby World Cup, as well as the Women's and Wheelchair equivalen ...
's Laws of the Game state that the "Stand-off half or Five-eighth" is to be numbered 6. However, traditionally players' jersey numbers have varied, and in the modern
Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...
, each squad's players are assigned individual numbers regardless of position.


Etymology

Traditionally in
rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union or rugby league. Rugby football started at Rugby School in Rugby, Warwickshire, England, where the rules were first codified in 1845. Forms of football in which the ball ...
, there have always been two half-backs as well as scrums involving the forwards. Of the two half backs, the name "scrum half" was given to the one which was involved in the scrum by feeding the ball into it and the name "stand-off half" was given to the one which stood off to the side of the scrum. In Britain, where rugby league originated, this terminology has been retained. In
Australian English Australian English (AusE, AusEng, AuE, AuEng, en-AU) is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to Australia. It is the country's common language and ''de facto'' national language. While Australia has no of ...
, however, "five-eighth" is the term used for the number 6, to differentiate from the "half back" which is the name commonly given to the number 7. In New Zealand, both terms appear to be used interchangeably.


Notable stand-offs

Five-eighths that feature in their respective nations' rugby league halls of fame are England's Roger Millward, Australia's
Wally Lewis Walter James Lewis AM (born 1 December 1959) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 1980s and 1990s. He became a commentator for television coverage of the sp ...
,
Bob Fulton Robert Fulton (1 December 1947 – 23 May 2021), also nicknamed "Bozo", was an Australian rugby league footballer, coach and later commentator. Fulton played, coached, selected for and commentated on the game with great success at the highest ...
,
Brett Kenny Brett "Bert" Edward Kenny (born 16 March 1961) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He was a and for the Australian national team and New South Wales Blues representative sides, and ...
, Albert Rosenfeld and
Vic Hey Victor John Hey (18 November 1912 in Liverpool, New South Wales – 11 April 1995), also known by the nickname of "The Human Bullet", was an Australian rugby league national and state representative and later a successful first-grade and natio ...
, and New Zealand's George Menzies. Rugby league's first known black player, Lucius Banks, played in the position for
Hunslet R.L.F.C. Hunslet R.L.F.C. is a professional rugby league club in Beeston, Leeds, Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. They play home games at South Leeds Stadium and compete in RFL Championship, Championship, the second tier of British rugby leagu ...
in 1912-13.


See also

*
Rugby league positions A rugby league team consists of 13 players on the field, with 4 interchange players on the bench. Each of the 13 players is assigned a position, normally with a standardised number, which reflects their role in attack and defence, although playe ...
*
Rugby league gameplay Like most forms of modern football, rugby league football is played outdoors on a rectangular grass field with goals at each end that are attacked and defended by two opposing teams. The rules of rugby league have changed significantly over th ...


References

{{reflist, 3 Rugby league positions Rugby league terminology