🏉 Rugby, explained

Rugby union is played on a grass pitch roughly 100 metres long between the two try lines, with an in-goal area behind each try line where tries are scored. H-shaped goalposts stand on each try line; kicks at goal must pass over the crossbar and between the uprights. Key painted lines include the halfway line, the 10-metre lines either side of it, the 22-metre lines, and the 5-metre lines near each edge.

Each team has 15 players on the field: eight forwards (numbered 1-8), who contest scrums and lineouts and do much of the close-quarters carrying, and seven backs (9-15), who are generally faster and create attacks in open space. Teams also have replacements on the bench; a player who is replaced can normally not return, except for temporary blood or head-injury assessments and some front-row situations. The ball is oval, and matches are controlled by a referee assisted by two touch judges (assistant referees) and, in televised games, a TMO (television match official).

The defining law of rugby is that the ball may not be passed or knocked forward. Players advance by running with the ball or kicking it — anyone may kick forward — but every pass must travel sideways or backwards. If a player passes forward, the referee stops play and awards a scrum to the other team. If a player fumbles the ball forward off their hands or arms, that is a knock-on, also punished with a scrum to the opposition.

This single restriction shapes everything you see: attacking teams form diagonal lines so runners stay behind the passer, support players chase the ball carrier to receive offloads, and teams kick when running into a wall of defenders. Possession is contested constantly — there is no equivalent of shielding the ball out of play — so keeping the ball through contact is a core skill.

See the scoring section for values. A try requires clear downward pressure on the ball on or beyond the try line; sliding grounding is fine, but losing control before grounding is not, and the TMO frequently reviews these. The conversion must be taken in line with where the try was grounded, any distance back the kicker chooses.

When a team is awarded a penalty, the captain chooses: kick at goal for 3, kick to touch for a lineout deep in opposition territory, take a scrum, or tap and run. That decision — 3 points now versus a chance at 7 — is one of rugby's recurring strategic moments. A drop goal can be attempted at any time in open play and is a classic way to win tight knockout games.

Only the ball carrier may be tackled, and tackles must wrap the arms and stay below the line of the shoulders — contact with the head or neck brings penalties and often cards. Once brought to ground, the tackled player must immediately release or pass the ball, and the tackler must release the player and roll away. What happens next — the contest on the ground — is called the breakdown, and it is where a huge share of penalties and turnovers occur.

The ruck

A ruck forms when the ball is on the ground and at least one player from each team, on their feet, makes contact over it. Once a ruck forms, players may not use their hands to pick up the ball until it emerges — the ball is won by driving opponents backwards or by teammates sealing it off. Players must join a ruck from behind its rearmost foot ("through the gate"), and an offside line forms at the back of each side of the ruck. Defenders who can get over the ball before a ruck forms and stay supported on their feet may try to steal it — the celebrated "jackal" turnover.

The maul

A maul is the standing version: the ball carrier is held up by an opponent, a teammate binds on, and the ball stays off the ground. The attacking team may drive a maul forward — the rolling maul from an attacking lineout is a classic try-scoring weapon. Defenders may collapse a maul only in limited legal ways; if a maul stops moving and the ball does not come out, the defending team is awarded the scrum.

A scrum restarts play after minor infringements such as knock-ons and forward passes. Each team's eight forwards bind together in three rows — the front row of two props and a hooker, the second row of two locks, and a back row of two flankers and a number 8 — and the two packs engage on the referee's cadence. The scrum-half of the team awarded the scrum feeds the ball into the tunnel between the front rows, and both hookers may strike for it while the packs push.

The team going forward at the scrum gains more than just the ball: dominant scrums win penalties and sap opponents' legs. The ball is usually controlled at the number 8's feet and picked up by the scrum-half or the number 8 to launch an attack. Scrums must stay square and up — collapsing, wheeling excessively, or early pushing are all penalised, and safety rules around the front row are strict. Rugby league scrums still exist but are uncontested in practice and serve mainly as a quick restart.

When the ball goes into touch (off the side of the field), play restarts with a lineout on that touchline. Forwards from both teams line up in two rows a metre apart, and a player — almost always the hooker — throws the ball down the corridor between them. The throw must be straight. Teammates are allowed to lift a jumper high into the air to catch the ball, and the throwing team uses coded calls to disguise which jumper is the target.

Where the lineout takes place depends on how the ball went out: kicked out on the full from outside your own 22, the lineout comes back level with the kick; bounced into touch or kicked from inside your own 22, it is taken where the ball crossed the line. Winning a lineout inside the opponent's 22 often sets up the driving maul. The defending team can compete in the air, so lineout accuracy is a heavily tracked team stat.

Kicking in open play is central to rugby strategy. Common kicks include the box kick (a high, steep kick by the scrum-half from the base of a ruck), the up-and-under or bomb (a high contestable kick), the grubber (along the ground behind the defensive line), and long clearing kicks to touch. A team kicking to touch from inside its own 22 keeps the ground gained; from outside the 22, a ball kicked directly into touch on the full gives the lineout back level with the kicker, so players kick for the bounce instead.

A player inside their own 22 who cleanly catches an opponent's kick can call "mark" for a free kick. Kicks also come with an offside rule: teammates in front of the kicker are offside and must not chase until put onside. Watch how much teams kick in wet weather or when defences are on top — territory-first rugby is a deliberate style, not a lack of ambition.

Rugby's offside lines move constantly. At a ruck or maul, defenders must stay behind the hindmost foot of their own side until the ball is out; creeping past that line ("offside at the breakdown") is one of the most common penalties. At scrums and lineouts, backs must stay back set distances until the ball is available.

Other frequent infringements: not releasing the ball or the tackled player, holding on after the tackle, entering the breakdown from the side, collapsing a scrum or maul, obstruction (blocking a defender from the ball carrier), and deliberate knock-ons. The referee plays advantage after many infringements — letting the non-offending team try to profit before deciding whether to bring play back — so you will often see play continue for several phases after a whistle-worthy offence.

A yellow card sends a player to the sin bin for 10 minutes, leaving their team a player short — teams concede points at a sharply higher rate with 14. A red card removes the player for the rest of the match; in several competitions a 20-minute red card variant allows the sent-off player to be replaced after 20 minutes, a law area that has been evolving, so check the competition's rules. Dangerous high contact with the head is the offence match officials police hardest.

The TMO (television match official) reviews try-scoring situations, potential foul play, and acts of play in the build-up to scores. Referees in rugby are addressed respectfully, are miked up in professional matches, and their explanations to captains are part of the broadcast — one of the easiest ways for a new fan to learn the laws.

Union and league split in 1895 and are now distinct sports with separate governing bodies, competitions and cultures. The most-watched differences:

Players and possession: union has 15 a side and possession is contested at every tackle through rucks; league has 13 a side and a team keeps the ball for a set of six tackles, after which possession is handed over — so league teams almost always kick on the last tackle. After each league tackle, play restarts with the tackled player rolling the ball back with the foot (the play-the-ball), with no contest on the ground.

Set pieces and scoring: union has contested scrums and lineouts; league scrums are uncontested formalities and there are no lineouts (a ball into touch usually means a handover or scrum). Union scores tries at 5 with 2-point conversions and 3-point penalties/drop goals; league scores tries at 4, goals at 2, and one-point field goals. League is faster and more open with fewer stoppages; union has a deeper set-piece and kicking-strategy layer. Major league competitions are Australia's NRL (with the State of Origin series) and England's Super League, plus the Rugby League World Cup.