3.4 Penalties / Free-kicks

When a team is awarded a penalty or a free-kick they need to decide quickly whether they want to launch an immediate attack on the opposition (a ‘tap and go’). The advantage of a tap and go is that there is a good chance the opposition will be unprepared defensively. This disadvantage is that the team in possession may also be unprepared in attack!

If the tap and go is decided against then the normal options off a penalty are to kick for goal, to call for a scrum, to kick the ball out and take the line-out, to attack from the penalty spot, or to set up a special move.

From a free-kick the options are limited to kicking the ball out and conceding the

line-out or attacking from the free-kick spot.

When a team has a penalty or a free-kick awarded against them their first priority should be to retreat 10 meters and get their defensive line in order.