U12 Pathway Laws

Welcome to the U12's WRU Pathway Laws page.

Please be advised that the laws on this page are WRU Pathway Laws which are variations of some of the World Rugby Laws. If a Law is not outlined on this page please refer to the full World Rugby Laws HERE.

Please note that Pathway Laws do change so please check back regularly.

For scrum ready and introduction to the tackle resource click HERE.

GENERAL:

Age: Under 12 as on the 1st September at the start of the season. A player may only play up one year.

Ball Size: Size four.

Coach Qualification: WRU Level one (Click HERE to book on to a course).

Referee Qualification: WRU Level one Award (Click HERE to book on to a course).

Pitch: Full pitch

Periods of Play:

Two halves of up to 25 minutes playing time, maximum 50 minutes - no extra time.

Scrum:

All scrums must follow the World Rugby process of crouch, bind and set
Eight person contested scrummage with 0.5m maximum push, no wheeling
Both hookers may strike for the ball
Both scrummages must be 3-4-1 formation
The number eight can pick up the ball from the scrum

Lineouts:

Full lineout, uncontested, no catch and drive
No lifting
Penalty: Penalty kick to the non offending team
The ball must enter the lineout above head height
The ball must be passed from the lineout
No shortened lineouts
The lineout ends according to World Rugby laws

Ruck:

When the ball is playable referees will immediately shout “Use it” and the attacking team will have 5 seconds to move the ball away from the contact area

Penalties:

Players may tap and run if a PK is awarded
A hand off to the chest is permitted however, hand off to the face is not permitted

Tackle

As of July 2023 we are now playing under the new World Rugby Tackle Height directives - Please see the tile in the resources section to familiarise yourself with the updated changes.