Offload

A pass made by a ball carrier who is in the act of being tackled, keeping the ball alive and moving to a supporting teammate instead of the play stopping for a ruck. A good offload requires the passer to keep an arm free through contact and the timing to find a supporting runner exactly when the tackle lands. Teams built around a fast, expansive style treat the offload as a core attacking weapon, because it lets an attack keep its momentum through a tackle rather than resetting into a slower phase-by-phase grind. It's also genuinely risky: an offload that doesn't find its target is a turnover with the defense already committed forward, which is why more conservative coaching philosophies discourage it in favor of just taking the tackle and setting up a ruck. Rugby Coach Weekly's technique breakdown covers the mechanics in detail.