Five-eighth

Common card · No. 276733

Five-eighth or stand-off is one of the positions in a rugby league football team. Wearing jersey number 6, this player is one of the two half-backs in a team, partnering the scrum-half. As the name suggests (5⁄8 being between 1⁄2 and 3⁄4), the five-eighth plays between the half-back and the threequarters - the centres and wingers - moving the ball from the contested middle to the outside backs. In a traditional 'back-line' attack (No. 1–7), the five-eighth, sometimes known as the pivot or second receiver, receives the ball from the half-back, who is the first receiver of the ball from the dummy-half or hooker following a tackle. The role of the five-eighth is often to pass the ball away from the congested area around the tackle, further out along the 'back-line' to the outside backs (the centres and wingers) who have more space to run with. Furthermore, players in this position typically assume responsibility for kicking the ball for field position in general play. The five-eighth is therefore...

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