First identify the restart; then test the kick.

The ruleset and effective version used here

This page applies the World Rugby Laws of the Game, Law 12, incorporating the 1 July 2026 law update, to the standard 15-a-side game. World Rugby says the July changes apply to new competitions or events starting after 1 July 2026. A league or competition already in progress may retain the earlier wording until its union sets an implementation date.

The downloadable 2026 law-book PDF is an earlier snapshot and does not contain all of the July additions now shown on the live Law 12 page. For a competition implementing the July update, the live law page and update notice are the current texts; where a competition was already underway, its union determines the transition. Sevens is treated separately below, and authorised domestic or age-grade variations may also apply.

“Restart kick” has a narrow law meaning

World Rugby defines a kick-off as the drop-kick that starts each half or a period of extra-time. A restart kick is a drop-kick after a score, at a 22-metre drop-out or at a try-line drop-out. A penalty kick and free-kick are not “restart kicks” for this purpose.

A drop-kick is not a punt: the player intentionally drops the ball and kicks it as it rises from its first bounce. Law 12.1 makes that method compulsory. A punt, place-kick or tap therefore gives the non-kicking team the choice of a retake or scrum.

Who kicks, and from where?

Under World Rugby Laws 12.2–12.5 for 15-a-side rugby:

• The match and each half or extra-time period start with a drop-kick on or behind the centre of halfway.
• The opponents of the team that kicked off the match start the second half.
• After any team scores, the team that conceded the score restarts from halfway.
• At the kick, the kicker's team-mates must be behind the ball.
• The receiving team must be on or behind its 10-metre line.

A kick from the wrong place, or an accidental team-mate overrun under the current live Law 12 wording, gives the non-kicking team the choice of retake or scrum. If a receiving player is in front of the 10-metre line, the kick is retaken.

Judge the ball—not where it is caught

Law 12.6 requires the ball to reach the opponents' 10-metre line. It may bounce or fly there, so a short contestable kick is legal. If it does not reach the line, the non-kicking team chooses a retake or scrum.

There are two important play-on cases in Law 12.7. If the ball reaches the line and the wind then blows it back, play continues. If an opponent plays the ball before it reaches the line, play also continues. A receiver who elects to catch an eight-metre kick cannot then demand a retake simply because the ball never crossed the line.

A direct kick into touch creates four choices

If a halfway kick-off or restart after a score goes directly into touch, Law 12.8 lets the non-kicking team choose a retake, a scrum, a lineout or a quick-throw. “Directly” means the ball did not first land in the playing area or touch a player or the referee.

For the lineout option, Law 18.8(b) puts the mark where the ball reached touch or on halfway, whichever is nearer the kicker's try line; the non-kicking team throws. The scrum option is near the middle of halfway under Law 19.1. A quick-throw is available only while the separate Law 18 quick-throw conditions remain satisfied.

“Without delay” preserves the receiver's choice

Suppose a halfway restart enters the opponents' in-goal without touching a player. If a defender grounds it without delay, or it goes into touch-in-goal or on or over the dead-ball line, Law 12.9 gives the non-kicking team a retake-or-scrum choice.

If the defender waits before making the ball dead, World Rugby treats the kick as accepted and awards a try-line drop-out. “Without delay” is not expressed as a fixed number of seconds; it is a factual judgment for the referee. Picking the ball up is not itself a grounding, so a defender who chooses to run or wait risks losing the immediate option.

A rare opposite-direction case has a different result: if the kick is sent into the kicking team's own in-goal and is made dead there by the defending player, or goes dead through that in-goal, Law 12.10 awards the non-kicking team a five-metre scrum.

Two routes remain under the July 2026 law

World Rugby Law 12.11 uses a 22-metre drop-out when:

• An unsuccessful penalty-goal or dropped-goal attempt is grounded or made dead in in-goal by the defending team, or goes dead through in-goal.
• A team kicks from the field of play and the ball goes through the opponents' in-goal into touch-in-goal or on or over the dead-ball line. In this second case, the defending team may instead choose a scrum where the kick was taken, as confirmed by Law 21.11.

The scrum-at-the-kick option does not apply to the unsuccessful penalty-goal or dropped-goal exception. Those attempts restart with the 22-metre drop-out.

Dead inside in-goal is the key July 2026 category

Under the updated Law 12.12, a try-line drop-out follows when the attacking team plays, kicks in open play or carries the ball into in-goal, fails to score, and the ball becomes legally dead inside in-goal. It also follows if that attacking ball-carrier carries the ball out of the playing area. This captures, for example, an attacking carrier held up after taking the ball into in-goal or an attacking kick grounded there by a defender.

A try-line drop-out also follows when an attacker knocks forward in the opponents' in-goal; when an attacking player charges down the ball in the field of play and it then goes dead through in-goal; or when a defender delays before making an untouched kick-off or restart dead.

A defender taking the ball back changes the answer

Do not award a try-line drop-out merely because an attacking player is later held up or the ball is grounded in the defending team's in-goal. First ask which team played or carried it across the try line.

If the defending team puts the ball into its own in-goal and it is then made dead, Law 19.1 awards a five-metre scrum to the attacking team. Law 21.16 applies the same “how did it enter?” logic to a ball-carrier held up in-goal: try-line drop-out where the attack put it in; attacking five-metre scrum where the defence put it in.

The mark and sanction line are different

Law 12 uses two lines for each drop-out:

• 22-metre drop-out: take the drop-kick on or behind the defending team's 22-metre line; the ball must cross the 22.
• Try-line drop-out: take the drop-kick on or behind the defending team's try line; the ball must cross the five-metre line.

The line the ball must cross is the sanction line. The kicker may stand deeper than the named line, but that does not shorten the required travel. If wind blows the ball back after it crosses the sanction line, play continues.

Wrong place, delay and short kick have different outcomes

World Rugby Laws 12.13–12.17 separate these faults:

• Wrong drop-out location: scrum.
• Failure to take the drop-out without delay: free-kick.
• Failure to cross the sanction line: the non-kicking team chooses a retake or scrum; advantage may apply.
• An opponent advances in front of the sanction line before the kick: free-kick.
• An opponent already in front of that line delays or obstructs the drop-out: penalty.

These specific outcomes are why “every bad restart is simply retaken” is wrong.

Direct touch again gives four choices

If a drop-out goes directly into touch, Law 12.13(d) lets the opposing team choose a retake; a scrum on the sanction line in line with the kick; a lineout; or a quick-throw. Under Law 18.8(b), the lineout mark is where the ball reached touch or on the drop-out's sanction line, whichever is nearer the kicker's try line.

If the ball first bounces in the field of play or touches a player, this special direct-touch sanction does not apply. The ordinary touch rules then determine the throw and mark.

Team-mates and opponents have separate duties

At a drop-out, the opponents may not advance beyond the sanction line before the kick. Team-mates of the kicker must be behind the ball. Under Law 12.19, a team-mate who is in front can avoid taking part only by retiring and not interfering until put onside by a team-mate's actions; the stated sanction is a scrum.

The position of the kicker therefore matters. If a 22-metre drop-out is taken several metres behind the 22, the kicker's team-mates must still be behind the ball, not merely behind the 22-metre line.

A drop-out can create another restart choice

If a 22-metre or try-line drop-out reaches the opponents' in-goal without touching a player and the opponent grounds it without delay—or it goes into touch-in-goal or on or over the dead-ball line—Law 12.18 gives the non-kicking team a retake-or-scrum choice.

If the opponent delays before making it dead, the kick is accepted and the next restart is a try-line drop-out. This mirrors the immediate-versus-delayed test for a halfway restart.

A planned technical breach can become foul play

The listed Law 12 sanctions deal with ordinary restart faults. World Rugby Clarification 2-2025 addresses a team deliberately running ahead of the kicker or deliberately ensuring the ball does not reach 10 metres. If officials conclude that the breach was intentional, Law 9.7(a) applies instead: intentionally infringing a law is unfair play and the sanction is a penalty.

This is a judgment about intent. A mistimed chase or mishit drop-kick is not automatically foul play; it receives the applicable Law 12 outcome.

The receiver catches before ten metres

Situation: a 15-a-side halfway restart is dropping short. A receiver steps forward and catches it eight metres from halfway.

World Rugby July 2026 ruling: play continues under Law 12.7. The decisive fact is that an opponent played the ball before it reached the 10-metre line. Had no opponent played it and it failed to reach the line, the receiving team would choose a retake or scrum.

The restart flies directly into touch

Situation: a halfway restart crosses the touchline on the full, 18 metres into the receiving half.

World Rugby July 2026 ruling: the receiving team chooses retake, scrum, lineout or quick-throw under Law 12.8. If it chooses the lineout, the mark is on halfway—not 18 metres downfield—because Law 18.8 uses whichever point is nearer the kicker's try line.

Two attacking kicks, two in-goal outcomes

Situation A: an attacker grubbers into in-goal and a defender grounds the ball there. Ruling: try-line drop-out under updated Law 12.12(a), because the attack kicked it in and it became dead inside in-goal.

Situation B: the grubber instead rolls untouched over the dead-ball line. Ruling: the defender chooses a 22-metre drop-out or a scrum at the place of the kick under Laws 12.11(b) and 21.11. The decisive fact is that the ball went dead through in-goal.

The defender carries the ball back

Situation: a defender catches the ball in the field of play, retreats over the try line and grounds it in in-goal.

World Rugby July 2026 ruling: attacking five-metre scrum under Law 19.1. The defending team took the ball into its own in-goal, so the try-line drop-out provision for an attacking team putting the ball in does not apply.

How to identify the correct restart

1. Name the event. Start of a half, score, unsuccessful goal attempt or an in-goal outcome.
2. For in-goal, identify who put the ball in. Attack usually points toward a drop-out; defence making its own ball dead points toward a five-metre scrum.
3. Ask how it became dead. Dead inside in-goal and dead through in-goal can produce different choices.
4. Select the kick and mark. Halfway, on or behind the 22, or on or behind the try line.
5. Freeze player positions at the kick. Check the kicker's team-mates and the opponents' required line.
6. Track the ball. Ten-metre line, sanction line, direct touch and untouched in-goal each have their own test.
7. Apply the exact option or sanction. Do not substitute a generic retake for a scrum, free-kick, penalty, lineout option or play-on ruling.

The scoring team restarts in sevens

World Rugby's current sevens variation replaces the standard Law 12.4: after scoring, the same team restarts from halfway. It must take the restart within 30 seconds of the conversion being taken or declined, or of a penalty goal or dropped goal being scored.

Several sevens restart faults—including a team-mate in front, failure to reach 10 metres, direct touch and an untouched kick made dead immediately in the opponents' in-goal—produce a free-kick rather than the standard 15-a-side choices. Sevens also varies the in-goal restart structure. Do not transfer the 15-a-side outcomes on this page to a sevens match.

Five shortcuts that give the wrong call

• “The scoring team always kicks next.” Not in standard 15-a-side; the scoring team restart is a sevens variation.
• “A short restart must cross ten before anyone touches it.” An opponent may play it earlier, in which case play continues.
• “Direct touch means a lineout where it went out.” The receiving team has options and the mark is capped by halfway or the drop-out sanction line.
• “Every attacking kick made dead in-goal gives a 22.” Under the July 2026 update, a ball made dead inside in-goal generally produces a try-line drop-out; a ball kicked dead through in-goal carries the 22-or-scrum choice.
• “Held up always means a try-line drop-out.” Who took the ball into in-goal decides between that drop-out and an attacking five-metre scrum.

Governing-body sources and effective version

• World Rugby — Laws of the Game, Law 12: Kick-off and restart kicks (live July 2026 wording)
• World Rugby — 2026-07 Law updates (effective and implementation notice)
• World Rugby — Laws of the Game Rugby Union 2026 PDF, Laws 12, 18, 19 and 21 (pre-July snapshot)
• World Rugby — Laws of the Game definitions: drop-kick, kick-off and restart kick
• World Rugby — Law 18.8(b): direct touch from kick-offs and drop-outs
• World Rugby — Law 19.1: scrum locations after restart and in-goal outcomes
• World Rugby — Laws 21.11 and 21.16: kicked dead through and held up in-goal
• World Rugby — Clarification 2-2025: deliberate infringement at a kick-off or restart
• World Rugby — Sevens variation, Law 12: kick-off and restart kicks (current live wording)

Checked on 28 August 2026 against World Rugby's live laws incorporating the 1 July 2026 update and compared with the earlier 2026 PDF snapshot. World Rugby states that the changes apply to new competitions and events starting after 1 July; competitions already underway should follow their union's implementation date. Competition regulations and authorised domestic or age-grade variations may supplement this baseline.