In rugby, a phase is the period when the ball is in play between two static stages of possession. A phase can start with a kick-off, a scrum, a line-out, a tap-and-go, or the ball being moved away from a ruck. The phase ends when a player is tackled and the team keeps possession at the breakdown. For example, first phase would be winning the ball at the lineout and passing to a center who is tackled. Second phase would be winning the ball back from the ensuing breakdown and attacking again. There is no limit on how many phases a team can have in rugby union. When a team has a close lead near the end of the eighty minutes of match-time, running up the phases is a common strategy. The goal is to keep hold of the ball so that the opposition doesn’t have the chance to score.