The whistle gets attention. The signal explains the decision.

Which signals this page explains

This page uses International Rugby League's 2026 International Laws of the Game, effective from 1 January 2026. Sections 16 and 17 govern the referee's whistle, duties, and standard signals; Section 11 supplies the tackle-count signals. Unless a section below is labelled as a competition variation, every description refers to that IRL 2026 rule set for the running game.

NRL, RFL, international tournaments, junior leagues, and other competitions can add operating procedures or replace an ordinary restart under their own playing conditions. Those additions do not change the safest viewing method: first identify the official's decision, then the team receiving the restart, then any competition-specific call.

Watch the decision in three parts

Under IRL 2026 Section 17, when the referee stops play they should indicate the nature of the decision, identify the offending player, and signal how play will restart. In practice, voice and gestures may overlap, but they answer three separate questions.

1. What happened? For example, a knock-on, forward pass, offside position, play-the-ball infringement, obstruction, or touch.
2. Who was responsible? The referee may point to the offending player or otherwise make the direction clear.
3. What follows? A scrum, penalty, differential penalty, drop-out, handover, score, or another restart.

A gesture that mimes the offence is not necessarily the restart signal. Keep watching until the referee shows direction or the mark.

What the whistle officially means

IRL 2026 Section 16 requires the referee to carry a whistle and use it to begin and end each half. The referee also whistles for a try or goal, when the ball goes out of play, when restarting play other than at a scrum, for a detected breach when advantage should not be allowed, and when another irregularity or necessary stoppage occurs.

The international laws do not create a universal code in which a particular number, pitch, or length of blasts always means penalty, scrum, try, or full time. Referees commonly vary tone and duration to communicate urgency, but spectators should use the visible signal, field position, and verbal call to identify the ruling.

No whistle can mean advantage

Under IRL 2026 Section 16, the referee should not stop for a breach when doing so would disadvantage the non-offending team. The referee is the sole judge of whether a tactical or territorial advantage is real. A loose ball merely touching an opponent does not automatically provide that advantage; the opponent must have an adequate opportunity to use it.

This is why a visible error does not always produce an immediate whistle. If play continues, players must continue too. The referee can still deal with misconduct after the advantage has developed. Read more in the rugby league advantage explainer.

Even a mistaken whistle stops play

IRL 2026 Section 16 expressly covers an accidental whistle. Play stops even though the referee did not intend to stop it. Under the international law, the restart is a scrum where a player in the field of play last touched the ball, with that player's team receiving the loose head and put-in.

Players therefore cannot ignore a whistle because they believe no offence occurred. They stop, look to the referee, and wait for the ordered restart. A competition whose playing conditions replace certain scrums with another restart should apply its own current procedure.

The main restart signals

IRL 2026 Section 17 defines four core restart gestures:

• Scrum: the referee brings the fingertips of bent hands together at shoulder height, then points to the team awarded the loose head and put-in.
• Penalty kick: facing the non-offending team, the referee extends one arm forward slightly above shoulder height.
• Differential penalty: the referee begins with the penalty-arm position, moves the arm upright, and repeats the continuous movement. This distinguishes the limited goal-kicking sanction from an ordinary penalty.
• Drop-out: the referee points to the place from which the drop kick must be taken.

Direction matters. A penalty arm points toward the non-offending team, while a scrum signal is followed by a point identifying the team with the feed.

Five, handover, and a renewed count

IRL 2026 Section 11 says the referee indicates the fifth tackle by holding one arm vertically with all five digits extended. On completion of the sixth tackle, the referee whistles, raises the arm, points to the team gaining possession, and mimes a play-the-ball for the handover.

That sixth-tackle whistle is a contextual signal that the ball must be released for the opponents' handover play-the-ball; the Section 11 note says it is not intended to stop the game in the ordinary sense. When the tackle count is cancelled and begins again, the IRL signal is a clenched fist waved from side to side above the head. Competition equipment may add an audible stadium cue, but the referee's call governs.

Held, play on, and ball touched

Several IRL 2026 signals help manage live play without awarding a penalty. For play on, the referee waves both hands across the front of the chest with the palms facing away. For a ball touched in flight, one hand is raised and the fingertips are tapped with the other hand. To cancel the tackle count, the referee uses the clenched-fist signal described above.

When a player is held and must play the ball, the referee's retirement gesture resembles a breaststroke movement at chest height. The accompanying “held” call fixes the tackle under the laws; the gesture also directs uninvolved defenders to retire. Players should respond to the call, not wait for a whistle that may never come.

Knock-on and forward-pass gestures differ

For a knock-on, IRL 2026 Section 17 has the referee make two or three forward movements with both hands low in front of the body, palms forward and fingers down. For a forward pass, the referee uses a straight arm to trace the ball's forward line of flight.

These gestures explain the error; they do not by themselves tell you whether play stopped immediately. Advantage may allow play to continue, and the eventual outcome can depend on possession and tackle count. If the whistle has stopped play, watch for the next signal identifying the restart. See the full knock-on and forward-pass rules.

Play-the-ball signals identify who infringed

The IRL 2026 signal list distinguishes several play-the-ball offences. Examples include a lifting flick for a tackled player who delays getting up, a mimed play-the-ball when the ball was not played backwards correctly, a downward hand movement when the tackler delays release, a backward direction signal for offside at the play-the-ball, and a snatching mime for an illegal steal.

That detail prevents every ruck whistle from being read as “holding down.” The ball-carrier, tackler, marker, or an offside defender may be responsible, and the restart can depend on the precise breach. The play-the-ball and ruck guide explains the underlying decisions.

Many gestures imitate the infringement

IRL 2026 Section 17 uses intuitive mimes for several other breaches. The referee indicates offside by showing that a player should have been farther back, obstruction by imitating the blocking action, tripping by extending a foot, and disputing a decision by placing a hand over the mouth. Scrum offences have their own gestures for an incorrect feed, premature strike, handling, collapse, or illegal packing.

The mime explains why the official acted. The sanction still comes from the relevant law and field position, so the same offence signal should be read together with the penalty, scrum, or other restart signal that follows.

Try, no try, goal, and penalty try

Under IRL 2026 Sections 6 and 17, a referee awards a try by pointing to the place where it is awarded. A penalty try is signalled at the midpoint between the posts. To disallow a try, the referee waves both hands across the front of the body below the waist with palms downward. For a successful goal, the referee raises a hand above the head.

The international signal list also recognises the “eight-point try” situation: foul play against the try scorer produces a penalty kick at goal after the conversion attempt. The name describes the maximum total if both two-point kicks succeed; it does not turn the try itself into an eight-point score. See rugby league scoring rules for the full sequence.

What the flag tells you

Under IRL 2026 Sections 16 and 17, a touch judge raises the flag above the head at the point where the ball enters touch. For “ball back,” the flag is waved above the head with an emphasised backward movement. For touch in-goal, the flag is waved across the body below the waist while the other hand points to the goal line or 20-metre line for the restart.

For a successful kick at goal, the international signal is a flag waved across the front of the body below the waist; the referee also gives the goal signal. A touch judge cannot independently stop play for an infringement, but may assist when the referee was unsighted and requests guidance. Touch, touch in-goal, and goal decisions have specific authority under Section 16.

Management signals do not identify the restart

IRL 2026 Section 17 uses both arms raised vertically to signal time off or extra time for a stoppage, and one arm waved overhead to indicate that the stoppage is ending. A temporary suspension is indicated by raising both hands with all ten fingers displayed, matching the ten-minute suspension in the international laws.

A caution, temporary suspension, dismissal, or injury instruction manages players and time; it does not by itself explain how play restarts. The referee must still apply the outcome of the underlying incident. Competition-specific card, “on report,” replacement, and medical-review procedures should be checked separately. See the discipline explainer.

The screen-shaped signal means a referral

IRL 2026 Section 17 describes a video-referee referral as drawing a square with both hands, beginning above the head and bringing the hands together near the waist. It tells viewers that the on-field referee is seeking a replay decision; it does not itself mean try or no try.

Video-official powers, automatic reviews, captain's challenges, available technology, and the way the final decision is displayed vary by competition. The separate video referee and Captain's Challenge guide explains that distinction.

“Six again” and broadcast calls are not universal

The IRL 2026 international signal list contains the traditional signal for cancelling and restarting the tackle count. It does not prescribe every modern competition's set-restart system. Competitions such as the NRL may use a physical “six again” signal, a verbal reason, and an audible stadium cue for specified defensive infringements instead of stopping for a full penalty.

The qualifying offences, field zones, sound effects, and occasions when a full penalty is still required come from the competition's current interpretations. The same caution applies to Bunker announcements, Captain's Challenge signals, cards, and “on report” gestures. Never transfer a broadcast convention automatically to an international, community, junior, or other league match. Read the six-again and set-restart guide for that variation.

What spectators often misread

• “One whistle means penalty”: no. Under IRL 2026, the whistle is also used for scores, touch, restarts, irregular events, and the ends of halves.
• “A louder whistle means a worse offence”: not as a codified rule. Look for the offence, restart, and discipline signals.
• “The fifth-tackle arm means six again”: no. Five open digits overhead warn that the team has been tackled five times.
• “Every raised arm is a penalty”: no. Tackle count, time, goal, penalty, and suspension gestures use raised arms in different positions.
• “A no-try gesture always means a knock-on”: no. It communicates that no try is awarded; another signal or explanation identifies the reason and restart.
• “A touch judge can award any penalty”: no. Under IRL 2026, the referee controls the match, although touch judges have defined decisions and may supply requested information.

Reading a complete sequence

Example 1: the ball-carrier loses the ball forward and no advantage develops. The referee whistles, gives the knock-on gesture, identifies the player or direction, then signals the scrum and the team with the put-in. The low hand movement explains the error; the joined-hands gesture and point explain the restart.

Example 2: a defender is offside at the play-the-ball. The referee may show that the defender should have been farther back, then signal a penalty toward the non-offending team. If that competition uses a set-restart rule for the incident, play may continue with its “six again” procedure instead. The applicable competition conditions decide which outcome is correct.

Example 3: the sixth tackle is completed. The whistle, raised arm, direction point, and play-the-ball mime indicate a handover. It is not a penalty and does not imply misconduct.

A reliable way to follow the referee

1. Did the whistle stop play, mark the sixth-tackle handover, confirm a score, or start or end time?
2. What offence or event did the first gesture describe?
3. Which player or team did the referee identify?
4. What restart gesture and direction followed?
5. Did a tackle-count, held, play-on, time-off, discipline, or video-review signal add context?
6. Did a touch judge flag touch, ball back, touch in-goal, dead ball, or a goal?
7. Is the match using a competition-specific set restart, video process, or disciplinary procedure?

Governing sources

• International Rugby League: 2026 International Laws of the Game — Sections 11, 16, and 17.
• International Rugby League: Laws of the Game — official publication page.
• International Rugby League: 2026 law amendments — changes effective 1 January 2026.
• National Rugby League: officials, laws, and interpretations — use for current NRL competition procedures.
• Rugby Football League: Laws of the Game — use for current RFL competition procedures.