The Six-Tackle Rule

When a side takes possession of the ball, they have five attempts to move the ball up the field and score a try or a drop goal with it. The referee keeps track of the tackle count; after each tackle, they shout how many tackles have been made, in either cardinal or ordinal form.

When a side has been tackled five times, the shout is "Fifth and last!" and is accompanied by an arm raised above the head with fingers spread. The referee also has the power to reset the tackle count; if the defending side commits a knock-on (for example, while trying to intercept a pass or catch a kick), but the attacking side immediately regains possession, the referee usually elects to wipe the tackle count in lieu of awarding a scrum: they will shout "Back to zero!" or "Six again", and wave one arm over their head with fingers clenched into a fist, and the attacking side gains another set of six tackles.

In this situation the referee will also award zero tackle: that is, the next tackle after the knock-on is not included in the tackle count, and the attackers still have their full complement of six tackles. This is indicated by the referee shouting "zero tackle" instead of "one" or "first". A zero tackle may only be awarded once per knock-on, however.

If a side is tackled for a sixth time the ball is handed over by the tackled player to an opponent, who conducts a play-the-ball and the opposition take possession. This indicated by a blast of the referee's whistle and a shout of "handover". Because of this, it is common to kick the ball on the last tackle, as it is far more desirable to concede possession closer to the opposition posts than in midfield or close to one's own posts. Kicks are also used on fifth tackle when near the opposing try-line as a different method of trying to beat the defence and score a try. In recent years, running on the last tackle has become known as a power play, a term taken and modified from ice hockey.