A penalty try is seven points for a probable try stopped by foul play.

What a penalty try means

A penalty try is a scoring decision, not just a stronger penalty. It is used when the referee judges that, without the opponents' foul play, the attacking team probably would have scored a try or probably would have scored it in a better position.

The score is awarded between the goal posts and counts as 7 points. That matters in sevens because ordinary tries are often followed by rushed drop-kick conversions from difficult angles. A penalty try removes the kick entirely and gives the full value immediately.

Probable is the deciding word

The referee does not need absolute certainty, but the chance must be stronger than a hopeful possibility. Officials look at the ball, the carrier, the support, nearby defenders, field position, and whether a legal tackle or cover defence still had a realistic chance to stop the try.

In sevens, that judgment can happen in open space. A defender who deliberately knocks on a final pass, tackles a player without the ball, plays from an offside position, or illegally stops a near-certain finish may turn an ordinary penalty into a penalty try if the score was probable.

It must come from illegal play

The law is tied to foul play by the opposing team. That can include deliberate or cynical offending, obstruction, illegal interference with a player, dangerous play, repeated infringements, or another foul-play action that removes a probable scoring outcome.

An accidental event is different. If an attacker drops the ball, loses control in contact, runs out of space, or is stopped by a legal tackle, a penalty try is not available simply because the attacking team was close to scoring. There must be an opponent's foul play and a probable try lost because of it.

The foul can affect the place of the score

A penalty try can also be awarded when foul play prevents a probable try from being scored in a more advantageous position. That covers situations where the attacking team may still ground the ball, but the illegal action has forced a worse scoring position than the one that was probably available.

This is why officials do not only ask whether the ball eventually reached in-goal. They also ask whether foul play changed a likely central score into a corner score, or otherwise reduced the attacking team's scoring position in a material way.

Why there is no kick after it

No conversion is attempted after a penalty try. The seven points already represent the full value of a converted try, so there is no drop-kick conversion, no angle to choose, and no 30-second sevens conversion clock to manage.

This is a common source of confusion because ordinary sevens tries require fast drop-kick conversions. A penalty try is different: the referee awards the score, records seven points, deals with the card sanction, and then the match moves to the correct restart.

The offender must be carded

When a penalty try is awarded, the player guilty of the foul play must be cautioned and shown a yellow card or be sent off. The card is not optional. The level depends on the nature of the offence: cynical or repeated offending may be yellow, while serious dangerous play can be red.

In sevens, a yellow card means a two-minute suspension. That is short on the clock but severe on the field because the team defends with six players across a full-size pitch. If the action is serious enough for red, the sending-off consequences are handled under the foul-play and competition rules that apply to the match.

Goal-line offences are common, not automatic

Many penalty tries happen close to the goal line because the link between the infringement and a probable score is easier to see. Examples include collapsing a legal attacking drive, deliberately killing the ball as it is about to be grounded, or playing the ball illegally from an offside position with no realistic cover behind.

But being close to the line is not enough by itself. If legal defenders were in position, the ball was not controlled, the attacking option was unclear, or the foul play did not prevent the probable score, the referee may award only a penalty and any separate card that the offence deserves.

It can happen before the ball reaches in-goal

A penalty try does not require the ball-carrier to be over the try line. In sevens, a last defender can illegally stop a break well before the line if the referee judges that the attack probably would have scored but for the foul play.

The open-field version still has a high threshold. Officials consider speed, distance to the line, ball control, support players, cover defence, and whether the attacking team still had work to do. If the try was only possible rather than probable, the decision should stay with the underlying penalty and any card.

How advantage fits the decision

Referees may play advantage after foul play if the attacking team still has a real chance to score. If the team scores the try that was probably available, the referee may allow the try and then deal with any card or restart consequences required by the foul play.

If the foul play means the probable try is not scored, or is not scored in the better position that was probably available, the referee can come back to award the penalty try. In practice, the official is comparing what actually happened with what probably would have happened without the illegal act.

What happens after the award

After the penalty try is awarded and the card sanction is handled, the match restarts as it does after points in sevens. The scoring team restarts with a drop kick from halfway, subject to the normal sevens restart requirements.

There is no conversion interval to slow that sequence. This can make the decision especially costly: the defending team gives up seven points, loses a player if the sanction is yellow or red, and then has to receive or contest the next sevens restart under pressure.

Where people get caught

• "Any professional foul near the line is a penalty try": no. The referee must judge that a try probably would have been scored, or scored in a better position.
• "The attacker has to be over the line already": no. The foul play can happen before in-goal if the lost try was probable.
• "The team still has to drop-kick the conversion": no. A penalty try is 7 points and no conversion is attempted.
• "A penalty try means an automatic red card": no. The offender must be yellow-carded or sent off, depending on the offence.
• "Sevens has a different penalty-try value": no. The value is 7 points, the same scoring value used in the main World Rugby scoring law.
• "If the attacking team scores anyway, there can be no penalty-try discussion": not quite. Officials may still consider whether foul play prevented the try from being scored in a more advantageous position.

How referees sort the call

1. Identify the foul play and the player responsible, if a specific offender can be identified.
2. Ask whether a try probably would have been scored without that foul play.
3. If a try was still scored, ask whether the foul play probably prevented a more advantageous scoring position.
4. Check whether legal cover defence, ball control, touch, dead ball, or another lawful outcome means the try was only possible rather than probable.
5. Award the penalty try if the threshold is met, with 7 points and no conversion.
6. Show the required yellow or red card, then manage the sevens restart after the score.

Source material

• World Rugby Law 8: Scoring
• World Rugby Sevens variation: Scoring
• World Rugby Law 9: Foul play
• World Rugby Sevens variation: Foul play
• World Rugby Sevens variations
• World Rugby Laws of the Game