A forward hand or arm touch can be a knock-on; a forward throw is a forward pass.

The rule and version used here

This page applies the International Rugby League 2026 International Laws of the Game for the standard 13-a-side game, especially the Section 2 glossary and Section 10, “Knock-on and Forward Pass.” The restart also depends on Sections 8, 11, 12 and 16.

The 2026 edition incorporates amendments implemented from 1 January 2026. The Rugby Football League's current law hub publishes that international book for the English baseline. Domestic competitions, age grades and modified formats can add playing conditions; the NRL's relevant 2026 in-goal variation is identified below rather than blended into the IRL rule.

Ask “touch or throw?” before deciding

IRL's glossary defines a knock-on as knocking the ball towards the opponents' dead-ball line with hand or arm while playing at the ball. All three elements matter: playing at the ball, hand or arm contact, and forward direction.

A forward pass is a throw towards the opponents' dead-ball line. It is the passer's release that matters. A forward pass is already an infringement when thrown; catching it, dropping it or having it bounce afterwards does not turn it into a different rule.

Momentum can carry a legal pass forward over the grass

Section 10's note judges a pass relative to the player making it, not solely by its ground-relative flight. A runner can release towards a teammate who is behind them and still see the ball travel forward over the field because the ball retains the runner's momentum. IRL specifically notes that this is especially visible with a high, lobbed pass.

Field markings, the catch point and a freeze-frame showing that the ball ended farther upfield are therefore not conclusive on their own. The official must judge whether the throw itself was forward relative to the passer. If a pass was correctly made and is then blown forward by wind or bounces forward, IRL says there is no infringement.

The same player has a narrow chance to recover

Section 10 Law 2 creates an express exception after an accidental knock-on. Play continues if the player who knocked on regains or kicks the ball before it touches any of these:

• The ground.
• A goal post or the crossbar.
• An opponent.

The identity of the player matters. A teammate catching the forward bobble does not satisfy the same-player recovery wording. Nor does a later regather undo the infringement after the ball has already touched the ground, post, crossbar or opponent.

Rebounds, backward losses and charge-downs are separate

• Accidental strike: if the ball strikes someone who made no attempt to play at it, IRL calls that an accidental strike. It is not automatically a knock-on merely because the ball rebounds forward.
• Backward loss: a ball lost towards the player's own dead-ball line fails the direction test for a knock-on, although another rule or loss of possession may still decide the phase.
• Charge-down: blocking the ball with hand, arm or body as it rises from an opponent's kick is a permitted charge-down under Section 10 Law 3, not a knock-on.
• Attempted catch: trying to catch a descending kick is not made a charge-down simply because the ball was kicked. If that played-at hand or arm contact sends the ball forward, the ordinary knock-on test applies.

A scrum follows an accidental breach when advantage is unavailable

For an accidental knock-on that is not recovered under Law 2, or an accidental forward pass, the normal IRL restart is a scrum. Under Section 12 Law 5, the non-offending team receives the loose head and put-in.

The scrum is normally in line with the infringement. Section 12 Law 10 prevents it being set closer than 20 metres to touch or 10 metres to a goal line, and gives the team with the feed five seconds to elect one of the law's permitted lateral positions. The scrum explainer covers that positioning procedure in detail.

Possession must offer a real benefit, not merely a touch

IRL Section 16 applies advantage to every phase. The referee can withhold the whistle if stopping would disadvantage the non-offending team, but a ball touching an opponent does not by itself erase the breach. The opponent must have an adequate opportunity to take advantage.

Where an accidental knock-on or forward pass changes possession, Section 11 Law 7(b) makes the following tackle a zero tackle, even if the team gaining the ball also gained territory. In a strong attacking position, IRL directs the referee to allow advantage only when the defending team immediately secures possession; a loose ball in a weak defensive position is not enough.

After the fifth play-the-ball, use a handover

A team is allowed five successive play-the-balls. If it then commits an accidental breach for which a scrum would normally be set, Section 11 Law 7(a)(ii) requires a handover instead. The new team brings the ball into play at the handover point; the handover play-the-ball itself is not counted in the new tackle count.

This is why a last-play knock-on does not give the offending team the chance to contest a scrum. If the opponent already collects cleanly, advantage and the zero-tackle provision can allow the transition to continue without a whistle.

Where the infringement occurs changes the restart

“The ball went into in-goal” is not enough information. Under the IRL 2026 book:

• Knock-on began in the field of play: if the ball travels into the opponents' in-goal and the player or a teammate touches down, Section 10's note sends play back to a scrum where the knock-on occurred, subject to the scrum-position limits and the last-tackle exception.
• Attacker infringes in the opponents' in-goal: Section 8 Law 2(b) gives the defending team a 20-metre restart. Under the IRL baseline, the first tackle following that optional kick is zero.
• Defender accidentally infringes in their own in-goal: Section 8 Law 4(b) requires a goal-line drop-out. A deliberate in-goal breach is treated differently and can produce a penalty ten metres into the field of play.

An attacking in-goal knock-on no longer gives seven tackles

The Australian Rugby League Commission announced that, for the 2026 NRL season, there is no seven-tackle set following an attacking knock-on in-goal. That removes the zero-tackle extension which accompanies the equivalent 20-metre restart under the IRL baseline.

This is a competition playing condition, not a rewrite of every Section 10 decision. It should not be projected onto international matches, RFL competitions, community games or modified formats without checking their appointed rules.

Intent changes a scrum infringement into a penalty

Section 10 Law 1 says a player who deliberately knocks on or passes forward is penalised. The law's note says an ordinary forward pass in a passing movement is usually misjudgement; a referee may rule it deliberate when satisfied the passer must have been well aware that the catcher was in front.

The same distinction applies to a deliberate knock-on: it is not enough that the forward contact benefited the player; the referee must judge the act deliberate. Section 10 also expressly makes it illegal to head the ball forward, so heading is not a workaround for the hand-and-arm definition.

Section 11 can supply a phase-specific outcome

IRL's amendment effective 1 January 2026 requires a tackled player to lift the ball clear, place it on the ground in front of the foremost foot, and genuinely attempt to play it backwards with the foot. The amendment notice clarifies that dropping the ball onto the ground constitutes a knock-on.

However, the current book also contains specific Section 11 instructions for faulty play-the-ball actions, including a play-the-ball to the non-offending team or a handover depending on the precise failure. Do not assume that every error around the ruck automatically follows Section 10's general scrum route; identify whether the error occurred before possession was brought back into play and apply the play-the-ball provision.

The law test is universal; replay procedure is not

IRL makes the referee the judge of fact and recognises a video referee where one is appointed, but its international law book does not create one universal captain's-challenge or replay protocol for every competition. Whether a knock-on can be challenged, how far a try review may look back, and whether a forward-pass judgment is reviewable depend on the competition's current procedures.

For that reason, “the video showed it” does not answer whether a field decision can be reopened. Check the appointed competition rules as well as Section 10. See the captain's challenge and video referee explainer for competition-specific review processes.

A fast runner's pass lands ahead of the release point

Situation: Blue 6 is sprinting towards the opponents' line, releases a high pass towards Blue 3 positioned behind them, and momentum carries the ball forward over the painted line before Blue 3 catches it.

IRL 2026 ruling: play on if the throw was not forward relative to Blue 6. The ground-relative catch point does not decide the pass direction.

The ball is bobbled forward but caught before landing

Situation: Red 1 plays at a high ball with both hands, sends it towards the opponents' dead-ball line, then regains it before it touches the ground, post, crossbar or an opponent.

IRL 2026 ruling: play on under Section 10 Law 2. If Red 2, rather than Red 1, catches the bobble, the same-player recovery exception is unavailable; apply advantage or the normal scrum/last-tackle outcome.

A defender blocks the kick as it rises

Situation: Blue 7 kicks and Red 11 extends an arm into the ball's path immediately as it rises. The ball rebounds forward from Red 11.

IRL 2026 ruling: no knock-on merely from that contact. It is a permitted charge-down. If Red 11 instead tries to catch a descending ball and loses it forward from the hand or arm, apply the ordinary knock-on test.

A clean interception follows a forward pass

Situation: Blue throws forward and Red catches cleanly with space to run.

IRL 2026 ruling: the referee may play advantage. Because possession changed after an accidental forward pass, the following tackle is zero under Section 11 Law 7(b). If Red does not obtain an adequate opportunity, return to the scrum restart.

The last-play knock-on is not another scrum

Situation: after Blue's fifth play-the-ball, the first receiver drops the ball forward and it hits the ground before any opponent secures it.

IRL 2026 ruling: handover, not scrum. The decisive fact is that the accidental scrum-type breach occurred after the fifth play-the-ball.

How to rule the replay in order

1. Name the ruleset and phase. International baseline, NRL condition, age-grade rule and play-the-ball procedure may differ.
2. Identify the action. Was it a throw, played-at hand or arm contact, an accidental strike, a charge-down or a kick?
3. Judge direction. For both infringements, “forward” is towards the opponents' dead-ball line; for a pass, judge relative to the passer.
4. For a knock-on, test the recovery. Did the player who knocked on regain or kick it before contact with ground, post, crossbar or opponent?
5. Check advantage. Did the non-offending team immediately secure a real tactical or territorial opportunity?
6. Check tackle count and location. After the fifth play-the-ball and in-goal incidents have special outcomes.
7. Assess intent. Accidental usually means scrum or handover; deliberate means penalty.
8. Apply the competition's review protocol. Replay jurisdiction is not supplied by Section 10 alone.

Six shortcuts that give the wrong answer

• “The ball travelled forward, so the pass was forward.” Momentum, wind or a bounce can produce that path after a legal release.
• “Any forward body contact is a knock-on.” The IRL definition requires hand or arm contact while playing at the ball.
• “Any player can rescue a bobble before it lands.” Law 2 names the player who knocked on.
• “Every touch of a kick is a charge-down.” The charge-down definition is tied to blocking the ball as it rises from the kick.
• “A knock-on always means a scrum.” Advantage, zero tackle, last-tackle handover, intent and in-goal location can all change the outcome.
• “The NRL outcome is the international rule.” The NRL's 2026 attacking in-goal condition is competition-specific.

Governing-body sources and effective version

• International Rugby League — 2026 International Laws of the Game, glossary and Sections 8, 10–12 and 16
• International Rugby League — amendments implemented 1 January 2026
• Rugby Football League — current Laws of the Game hub, publishing the IRL 2026 law book
• Australian Rugby League Commission / NRL — 2026 on-field changes, attacking knock-on in-goal

Checked on 27 August 2026 against the IRL 2026 international law book and its amendment notice. The IRL baseline controls this page; competition regulations and modified-game rules may supplement or replace the stated restarts.