Rugby union rules in five minutes
Rules baseline: World Rugby Laws of the Game and law application material in force on 1 August 2026 for the standard 15-a-side game. Unions and competitions may apply authorised variations, trials, and disciplinary procedures.
- Objective: score more points by grounding the ball in the opponents' in-goal or kicking goals while contesting possession legally.
- Players, field, and equipment: each team has up to 15 players on the field, including eight forwards; the playing enclosure, posts, ball, boots, mouthguards where required, and other equipment must meet World Rugby law.
- How play begins: a drop-kick at halfway starts each half and restarts after a score, with teammates behind the kicker and opponents behind the 10-metre line.
- Possession: players may carry, kick, or pass backwards or laterally; tackles create contests through the tackle area and ruck, while scrums and lineouts contest specified restarts.
- Scoring: a try is five points, a conversion two, a penalty goal three, and a dropped goal three; a penalty try awards seven without a conversion.
- Length and winner: a standard senior match lasts up to 80 minutes plus time lost, split into two halves; the higher score wins and competition rules handle draws or extra time.
- Main infringements and foul play: forward passes, knock-ons, offside, illegal tackle or breakdown entry, scrum and lineout offences, obstruction, and dangerous play lead to scrums, free-kicks, penalties, or cards.
- Restarts and sanctions: kick-offs, drop-outs, scrums, lineouts, free-kicks, and penalties restart play; yellow cards mean temporary suspension and red cards send a player off, subject to current competition protocols.
- Competition differences: substitutions, head-injury protocols, card review or replacement, bonus points, extra time, TMO scope, age-grade variations, and current law trials depend on the union or competition.
- Go deeper: read scoring, rucks and mauls, scrums, restarts, and the union explainers below.
Browse Rugby Union rules by topic
22 plain-English explainers, grouped by the kind of decision you need to settle.
Essentials and setup
Players, playing areas, equipment, positions, and the basic structure of the sport.
Scoring and match formats
How points, goals, results, tied contests, and competition formats are decided.
Fouls, penalties, and conduct
Illegal contact, violations, cards, discipline, and how sanctions are applied.
High Tackle Sanctions
World Rugby's July 2026 high-tackle rule explained: elite and community tackle heights, head-contact tests, mitigation, cards, reviews and restarts.
Read explainerRugby Union Obstruction, Blocking, and Crossing Rules
World Rugby's July 2026 obstruction rules: legal decoy lines, illegal blocking and crossing, accidental offside, maul screens, sanctions and TMO review.
Read explainerRugby Union Penalty Kicks and Free Kicks Explained
World Rugby's July 2026 penalty and free-kick law: quick taps, 10-metre retreat, touch, goal attempts, free-kick charges and end-of-half cases.
Read explainerRugby Union Sin Bin and Red Card Rules Explained
World Rugby's 2026 rugby union card rules: 10-minute yellow cards, two yellows, permanent reds, elite 20-minute replacements and review procedures.
Read explainerTiming, restarts, and reviews
Clocks, substitutions, restarts, replay systems, reviews, and official procedure.
Rugby Union In-Goal, Touch and Dead-Ball Rules (2026)
World Rugby's 2026 in-goal, touch and dead-ball rules: grounding, touch-in-goal, held-up balls and the correct 5m scrum, 22m or try-line drop-out.
Read explainerRugby Union Kick-Offs and Restarts Explained
World Rugby's July 2026 Law 12 explained: halfway kick-offs, the 10-metre test, direct touch, 22-metre and try-line drop-outs, options and sanctions.
Read explainerRugby Union Match Timing and Stoppage Time Rules
World Rugby's July 2026 rugby union timing rules: 40-minute halves, time off, when play ends after 80 minutes, late penalties and conversions.
Read explainerRugby Union Substitutions, Replacements, and HIA Rules
World Rugby's July 2026 rules for tactical and injury replacements, blood injuries, HIA timing, front-row cover and return-to-play exceptions.
Read explainerPlay and decisions
The live-play rulings, sequences, and judgment calls that decide what happens next.
Advantage in Rugby Union
World Rugby Law 7 advantage explained for 2026: clear and real benefit, when play returns, multiple offences, foul play and no-advantage cases.
Read explainerGrounding, Tries and Held-Up Balls
World Rugby 15s grounding and held-up rules for competitions adopting the July 2026 laws: legal grounding, touch, TMO review and correct restarts.
Read explainerRucks and Mauls
World Rugby's 2026 ruck and maul laws explained: formation, entry, hands, offside lines, use-it calls, failed mauls, scrum awards and current guidance.
Read explainerRugby Union Forward Pass Rules Explained
World Rugby's July 2026 forward-pass law: the arm-action test, momentum, scrums, deliberate passes, advantage, touch options and TMO review.
Read explainerRugby Union Kicking Rules and 50:22 Explained
World Rugby's July 2026 rules for 50:22 kicks, direct and indirect touch, the taken-back tests, penalties, restarts, marks, and offside kick chasers.
Read explainerRugby Union Lineouts and Knock-Ons
World Rugby's July 2026 lineout and knock-on (knock-forward) laws: touch, quick throws, straightness, scrums, advantage and edge cases.
Read explainerRugby Union Mark Rule Explained
World Rugby's 2026 mark rule: the catch, call and 22-metre tests, excluded kicks, free-kick procedure, Game On variation and worked rulings.
Read explainerRugby Union Offside at Rucks and Mauls
World Rugby 2026 offside rules at rucks and mauls: the exact back-foot lines, legal entry, when each phase ends, retiring players, sanctions and worked cases.
Read explainerRugby Union Ruck Entry and Jackal Rules Explained
World Rugby's 2026 ruck-entry and jackal rules: legal tackle entry, hands before a ruck, cleanouts, sanctions and worked rulings.
Read explainerRugby Union Tackle Release and Not Rolling Away
World Rugby's tackle-release and not-rolling-away rules, updated 1 July 2026: immediate duties, legal steals, ruck transition, penalties and edge cases.
Read explainerScrums and Resets
World Rugby's 2026 scrum law explained: throw-ins, reset triggers, sanctions, offside lines, uncontested scrums and under-19 variations.
Read explainerTMO Checks in Rugby Union
World Rugby TMO checks explained: reviewable decisions, attacking-passage and two-phase limits, foul play, live referrals and 2026 scope.
Read explainerWhere union gets disputed
- Grounding and tries: whether the ball was controlled, where it was grounded, and if something illegal happened earlier in the move.
- Knock-ons and possession changes: whether the ball went forward off hand or arm, and which team gained from what happened next.
- High tackles and foul play: how referees judge danger, mitigation, and whether a yellow becomes a red.
Current rugby union pages
- Scoring rules: tries, conversions, penalty goals, and drop goals: how rugby union points are awarded, where kicks are taken, and why penalty tries and drop goals have their own checks.
- Grounding, tries, and held-up balls: when pressure on the ball creates a try, when the ball is held up, and why touch-in-goal changes the outcome.
- Touch, in-goal, and dead ball rules: when the ball is in touch, how in-goal boundary calls work, and which restart follows a dead-ball outcome.
- Lineouts and knock-ons: when touch brings a throw, what counts as forward handling, and how the restart is chosen.
- Forward pass rules explained: what counts as a throw forward, why momentum can mislead, and when the result is a scrum, penalty, or advantage.
- Kicking rules and 50:22: how kicks to touch, 22-metre gain, restarts, penalty kicks, and 50:22 lineouts work.
- Mark rule explained: when a defender can call mark from an opponent's kick, where the free-kick is taken, and why restarts and bouncing balls are excluded.
- Kick-offs and restarts: how halfway kick-offs, score restarts, 10-metre requirements, direct touch, 22-metre drop-outs, and try-line drop-outs work.
- Match timing and stoppage time rules: how 40-minute halves, referee timekeeping, time lost, final-play exceptions, conversions, and extra time work.
- Penalty kicks and free-kicks: the difference between penalties and free-kicks, quick taps, shots at goal, kicks to touch, and the 10-metre retreat.
- Player positions and team numbers: how numbers 1 to 15 map to forwards, backs, front-row roles, half-backs, centres, wings, full-back, and replacements.
- Substitutions, replacements, and HIA rules: tactical replacements, injury changes, blood replacements, Head Injury Assessment procedures, and front-row cover.
- Advantage: when it starts, when a team has had enough benefit, and when play comes back.
- TMO checks: what the TMO can review, how far back they can look, and who makes the final decision.
- Rucks and mauls: how each contest forms, where the offside line sits, and when the ball must be played.
- Tackle, release, and not rolling away rules: what tacklers, tackled players, and arriving players must do before the contest becomes a ruck.
- Ruck entry and jackal rules: how players enter the breakdown, when a jackal is legal, and why side entry, sealing off, and hands in the ruck are penalised.
- Offside at rucks and mauls: where the back-foot line is, when players may join, and when defenders can move up.
- Obstruction, blocking, and crossing rules: when support runners are legal, when a screen becomes obstruction, and how referees judge material impact.
- Scrums and resets: when scrums restart play, why they are reset, and when a reset becomes a sanction.
- High tackle sanctions: the step-by-step check from contact point to danger to mitigation.
- Sin bin and red card rules: yellow-card suspensions, red-card send-offs, two yellows, and competition-specific red-card replacement trials.
Need a different rugby ruleset?
- Rugby league rules covers the separate 13-a-side code.
- Rugby sevens rules covers the shorter seven-a-side union format.
- Rugby rules hub explains how the rugby sections are split.
Where these rulings come from
- World Rugby Laws of the Game - the official rugby union law book, definitions, and law-by-law guide.
- World Rugby Passport: Laws of the Game - World Rugby's detailed laws hub with signals, guidelines, and clarifications.
- World Rugby Officiating - information about match officials and elite officiating.
- World Rugby Law Application Guidelines - official guidance used to apply tricky laws consistently.