Two school sporting powerhouses are preparing to face off in an exhibition match of Hybrid Rugby.
Proud sporting schools in St Gregory's College and Barker College will participate in a unique contest at the Parramatta Eels Centre of Excellence on Wednesday afternoon.
The hybrid game will see the rules of rugby union and league combined in what will be an undertaking with great intrigue for fans of either code.
Wednesday's match will see teams adapt to both union and league rules on the fly.
The field position of the team in possession will determine the code of play, with league rules used while a team has the ball inside their own defensive half, before rugby union rules take over once the attacking team crosses the halfway line.
A shot clock will be in play to restrict the attacking side to 60 seconds of play in each half of the field.
Tries will be worth five points, with conversions and penalty goals worth two and field goals scoring one point.
There will be 13 players on the field, with each side having seven reserves.
The match is the first high-profile hybrid football game since Western Suburbs took on Randwick Rugby in 2016.
Hybrid Rugby’s Paul Franks declared hybrid rugby has the chance to introduce both codes to a new audience.
“Hybrid Rugby is not a disruptor or 3rd code," Franks said. "It was designed to host spectacle events, at a mutually convenient time and share in potential revenue. It is a fast free flowing and exciting game"
Hybrid Rugby
St Gregory's College v Barker College, 2pm Wednesday October 29 at Parramatta Centre of Excellence
The Rules
- The field position of the team in possession determines the code of play; When the team in possession is in their own (defensive) half of the field, the game is played in accordance with the rules of Rugby League (‘Play the Ball’). When the team in possession is in the (attacking) half of the field, the game is played in accordance with the laws of Rugby Union (‘Ruck and Maul’).
- Thirteen (13) players are allowed on the field at any single time, six (6) forwards and seven (7) backs, with an additional seven (7) reserves.
- A try is worth five (5) points; conversions and penalty goals are worth two (2) points; a field goal is worth one (1) point.
- A Shot Clock is used to restrict the attacking side to sixty (60) seconds of possession in each half of the field (no tackle counts are used). NB – The average time for a set of six tackles is (40-42) seconds.
