A maul keeps the ball alive in contact.

What a maul is

A maul is a standing contest around a ball-carrier. The ball is not on the ground. It is being held by a player while team-mates and opponents are bound around that player and trying to move the contest legally.

The minimum ingredients are specific: the maul must be in the field of play, the ball-carrier must be held by at least one opponent, at least one team-mate of the ball-carrier must bind on, and the players must be on their feet. If the ball is on the ground instead, the phase is not a maul.

Why mauls are less common but still important

Mauls appear less often in sevens than in 15-a-side rugby because teams have fewer forwards, fewer close support players, and more incentive to keep the ball moving into space. That does not make the law optional.

A short maul after a tackle attempt, kick receipt, or lineout can still decide possession. In sevens, committing two or three extra players to a maul is a major choice because it changes the defensive line and leaves space elsewhere.

When contact becomes a maul

A single defender holding up a ball-carrier is not enough by itself. A maul forms only when a team-mate of the ball-carrier also binds on and the required players are on their feet and bound together.

The exact moment matters because it creates maul offside lines and changes what players may do next. Before the maul forms, players are still in open play and may tackle, rip, pass, or contest under the open-play and tackle laws. Once the maul forms, maul entry, binding, offside, safety, and ending rules apply.

How players must enter

Players joining a maul must come from an onside position and bind onto the hindmost player in the maul. Joining from the side, swimming around the edge, or latching onto an opponent from an illegal angle can be penalised even if the player does not win the ball.

Players also need safe body positions. A player who joins with head and shoulders below hip height risks a free-kick, while dangerous contact, lifting, twisting, or collapsing can bring a penalty or further foul-play sanction.

The hindmost foot creates the line

At a maul, each team has an offside line running parallel to the try lines through the hindmost foot of that team's maul participants nearest that team's own try line. Players who are not in the maul must stay behind that line.

A player who leaves the maul must retire behind the offside line before rejoining or defending in open space. In sevens this is a common pressure point: a defender who detaches and immediately blocks the pass, tackles from the side, or closes space ahead of the line is likely to be penalised.

The maul must keep the ball available

The law expects a maul to move toward a try line or produce the ball. A maul that stops can be managed by the referee with a call to use the ball. Once that call is made, the team in possession must play it within the required time.

The ball-carrier may go to ground only if the ball is made available immediately. If the ball-carrier goes down and the ball does not come out, the referee can stop play and award a scrum rather than allowing players to pile over a trapped ball.

When the maul is over

A maul ends successfully when the ball or the ball-carrier leaves the maul, when the ball goes to ground, or when the ball reaches the try line. At that point, the next phase depends on where the ball is and who can legally play it.

If the ball goes to ground and players from both teams are over it, a ruck may form. If the ball-carrier breaks clear, open play resumes. If the ball is carried on or over the try line, the in-goal laws decide whether play continues, a try is scored, or a restart is needed.

When play stops

A maul can end unsuccessfully if the ball becomes unplayable, the maul collapses without foul play, the maul does not move toward a try line for too long and the ball does not emerge, or the referee has called for the ball to be used and it is not played.

The usual restart is a scrum. In many maul turnover situations, the scrum goes to the team that was not in possession when the maul began, but there are specific law details for how the maul started. For example, a maul formed immediately after a player directly catches an opponent's kick is treated differently for the resulting scrum.

Legal defence is upright and bound

Defenders may hold the ball-carrier up, bind into the maul legally, drive straight, and try to stop the ball being played. They may also contest possession by ripping the ball, but a player ripping the ball must stay in contact with the ball-carrier until the transfer is complete.

Defenders cannot deliberately collapse the maul, drag opponents out, join from the side, or pretend the maul has ended to draw opponents into an illegal action. Officials look at whether the defender is genuinely bound and contesting or simply using the side of the maul to obstruct play.

Attackers still have responsibilities

The attacking team can drive the maul, transfer the ball within it, or move the ball away to keep play alive. Those actions must be legal: players in the maul must be bound, the ball-carrier must not slide backward through the maul, and support players cannot obstruct in front of the ball-carrier while detached from the maul.

Because sevens rewards quick ball, attackers often want to use the maul briefly and then release the ball before defenders win the restart. Holding the ball too long can turn promising possession into a turnover scrum.

Penalty, free-kick, or scrum

The sanction depends on the offence. Illegal entry, offside, collapsing, dragging an opponent out, dangerous contact, and failing to stay on feet usually bring a penalty. Joining with head and shoulders too low, or creating a false impression that the maul has ended, can bring a free-kick.

A scrum is used when the maul ends unsuccessfully without a penalty offence, such as an unplayable ball after a legal maul. Referees can also play advantage if the non-offending team is better served by continuing.

Where people get caught

• "Held up means maul": not by itself. A team-mate of the ball-carrier must bind on with an opponent involved, and the players must be on their feet.
• "The maul is over as soon as it stops": no. A stopped maul is managed under the maul law; the referee may call for the ball to be used or stop play if it becomes unsuccessful.
• "Defenders can pull it down because it is sevens": no. Sevens does not remove the maul safety rules.
• "The ball is out because spectators can see it": visible is not always out. Officials judge whether the ball or ball-carrier has legally left the maul.
• "Leaving the maul makes a defender onside": no. A player who leaves must retire behind the maul offside line before rejoining or defending from open space.

How to read the call

1. Check whether the ball is held off the ground in the field of play.
2. Identify whether the ball-carrier, at least one opponent, and at least one team-mate of the ball-carrier are bound together on their feet.
3. Once the maul forms, locate each team's offside line through the hindmost foot on that team's side.
4. Watch new arrivals: they must join from onside, bind onto the hindmost player, and keep safe body positions.
5. Watch the ball: it should move toward a try line, emerge, or be played after the referee's use-it call.
6. Apply the outcome: play on, advantage, penalty, free-kick, or scrum for an unsuccessful maul.

Source material

• World Rugby Law 16: Maul
• World Rugby Law 10: Offside and onside in open play
• World Rugby Law 15: Ruck
• World Rugby Law 21: In-goal
• World Rugby Sevens variations
• World Rugby Laws of the Game