A lineout in rugby sevens restarts play after the ball or ball-carrier goes into touch. The basic rugby union lineout law still applies, but sevens changes the timing and removes some tactical detail from the 15-a-side game. Because only seven players are on the field, one clean throw can immediately create space across the pitch.
A lineout is a throw-in restart after the ball has gone into touch. It gives both teams a structured contest for the ball near the touchline while keeping players onside and leaving space elsewhere on the field.
The lineout is not awarded because a team has committed foul play. It is usually the restart for a boundary outcome: a player carries the ball into touch, a kick goes out, a pass or knock goes into touch, or the ball otherwise crosses the touchline under Law 18.
The clearest sevens-specific lineout variation is timing. In the 15-a-side law, teams form the lineout within 30 seconds of a mark being made. In sevens, that is replaced by a 15-second requirement after the assistant referee or touch judge indicates the mark of touch.
That shorter window fits the format. Sevens is designed for quicker restarts and fewer long delays. If teams do not form the lineout in time, the referee can award a free-kick against the team responsible for the delay.
The usual rule is simple: if a team puts the ball or ball-carrier into touch, the opposition throws in. If a ball-carrier steps on or beyond the touchline, the other team normally gets the throw. If a player kicks indirectly into touch and no special exception applies, the non-kicking team normally throws in from where the ball crossed touch.
There are important exceptions. A team that kicks a penalty into touch normally keeps the throw. Incorrect throws, incorrect quick throws, restart kicks directly into touch, and other listed cases have their own outcomes. Officials first identify how the ball reached touch, then set the mark and the throwing team.
In 15-a-side rugby union, a team can sometimes keep the throw after kicking indirectly from its own half into touch inside the opposition 22. That is the 50:22 law. The sevens variation removes that event from the lineout table.
For practical sevens viewing, do not expect a 50:22-style attacking throw just because a kick bounces into touch inside the opposition 22. Unless another law gives the kicking team the throw, the ordinary touch outcome applies.
Before a lineout has formed, a player may be able to take a quick throw. The throw must be taken by a player with both feet outside the field of play, between the mark of touch and that player's own try line, and it must travel at least five metres before touching the ground or another player.
A quick throw is not available once a lineout has already formed, if the wrong ball is used, or if the ball has been touched after going into touch by someone other than the thrower or the player who carried it into touch. If the quick throw is disallowed, play comes back for the appropriate lineout.
The lineout is formed at the mark of touch, but not within five metres of a try line. Each team forms a single line parallel to the touchline, half a metre from the mark of touch on its own side, between the five-metre and 15-metre lines.
At least two players from each team are needed to form a lineout. The throwing team determines the maximum number of players in the lineout. The non-throwing team may have fewer players, but normally cannot have more than the throwing team unless the throw is taken as soon as the lineout forms.
The laws do not create a special fixed two-player sevens lineout. The minimum is still two players from each team, and the throwing team controls the maximum number. In practice, sevens lineouts are often small because committing too many players to the set piece leaves fewer defenders or attackers across the rest of the field.
A common sevens picture is a thrower, two or three lineout players, and a receiver or backline option ready to use the ball quickly. That shape is tactical, not a separate law. Different teams and competitions may use different lineout calls within the same legal framework.
The thrower stands on the mark of touch with both feet on or behind the touchline and must not step into the field of play before releasing the ball. The ball must be thrown in along the mark of touch toward a lineout player and must reach the five-metre line before it hits the ground.
Under the current global law trial wording, a not-straight throw is treated differently depending on whether the non-throwing team lifts a team-mate to compete. If the non-throwing team does not lift to compete, play continues. If it does lift to compete, the non-throwing team is offered the usual lineout or scrum option.
Lineout players may lift or support a team-mate jumping for the ball. They can pre-grip legally before the throw, but they cannot jump, be lifted, or be supported before the ball leaves the thrower's hands.
Once a team has lifted a player, the lifters are responsible for bringing that player safely back to the ground. Contacting an opponent before the throw, interfering with a player in the air, or failing to support a lifted player safely can move the decision from a technical free-kick into penalty territory.
Lineout participants must stay on their own side of the mark of touch until the ball is thrown and has touched a player or the ground. After that, their offside line is through the ball. Players not taking part in the lineout must stay at least 10 metres back from the mark of touch on their own side, or behind their try line if that is closer.
This matters even more in sevens because one early runner can shut down the entire attacking space. Referees watch for players creeping forward, leaving the lineout early, crossing the mark of touch, or moving from the thrower and immediate opponent roles to illegal positions.
The lineout ends when the ball or a player carrying it leaves the lineout, enters the area between the touchline and the five-metre line, goes beyond the 15-metre line, or when a ruck or maul forms and all feet in that ruck or maul move beyond the mark of touch. It also ends if the ball becomes unplayable.
Until the lineout has legally ended, players cannot treat it as open play. That is why officials may penalise a defender who rushes early or an attacker who peels away illegally before the ball has reached the required area or the lineout has ended.
Many lineout infringements are technical and bring a free-kick: delaying formation, failing to keep the gap, having too many players, pretending to throw, blocking the five-metre throw, lifting early, or leaving the lineout illegally in certain ways.
Other offences are more serious and can bring a penalty, especially offside, contact before the throw, dangerous interference with a jumper, or bringing an opponent to ground illegally. Some throw-in errors give the non-offending team a choice between a lineout and a scrum rather than an immediate free-kick or penalty.