Rugby tens, also known as ten-a-side and Xs, is a variant of
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 ...
in which teams are made up of ten players, typically five
forwards and five
backs. Matches are much shorter, usually played as two ten-minute halves.
Unlike the other two major rugby union variants - sevens and
beach rugby - which were invented in major rugby nations, rugby tens was developed in Malaysia, a nation that has never qualified for the
Rugby World Cup
The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport.
The tournament is administer ...
.
The rules (law variations) are similar to
rugby sevens and are published on the
World Rugby website.
History
Rugby tens was introduced by the Combined Old Boys Rugby Association (COBRA) of Malaysia in 1967 primarily, to enable Asian players to better compete with against larger-sized players from the traditional rugby playing nations. COBRA organized the first Rugby ten-a-side, tournament, COBRA 10s, that same year. It has grown from a local tournament into a prestigious international tournament, with more than 40 nations have been represented to date. Many players who have participated in the COBRA 10s have gone on to don national colours.
The game is fairly popular in
Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
,
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
,
Republic of Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
and
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
, and especially in South Africa where it is growing very fast. Other tournaments have been organised in Europe, Africa, Australasia and North America.
Features of the game
A rugby tens match has two halves of 10 minutes each, though the tournament organiser may change this rule. The scrum has five players, instead of eight as in rugby XV or three as in rugby sevens.
Unlike sevens rugby, tens offer players of diverse skills, capabilities and different fitness levels the opportunity to continue to enjoy the game they love so much. The more traditional scrums and lineouts are part of the game whilst the fact that there is a bit more space on the field, however not too much as to expose the slower forwards on the defensive lines, makes this a very popular game for all levels of players.
Tournaments
Major rugby tens tournaments include:
*
COBRA Rugby Tens (since 1967)
*
Hong Kong Football Club Tens (since 1986),
*
Cape Town Tens (since 2009)
*
World Club 10s (2014-2018)
*
Brisbane Global Rugby Tens (2017-2018)
*
Flanders Open Rugby (since 1993),
*
Manila 10s (since 1989)
*
Stockholm 10s (since 1993)
The popular Cape Town Tens attracts teams from all over the world to South Africa during the first week of February each year.
Cape Town Tens
/ref>
References
* Bath, Richard (ed.) ''The Complete Book of Rugby'' (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997 )
External links
Current tournaments
Former tournaments
{{Team Sport, state=collapsed
Sports originating in Malaysia
Tens
Tens