A confirmed historical change
World Rugby Council approved this amendment on 9 May 2024, when World Rugby also announced it. General commencement was 1 July 2024; the announcement specifies competitions beginning after that date. These are distinct from any competition-specific implementation date. See the official adoption announcement and amendment text.
This record compares the 2023 and 2025 lawbooks across that intervening amendment. It does not describe a newly introduced 2025 or 2026 rule.
What players and spectators see
Example: a team receives a free-kick away from a lineout. Under the 2023 wording, its captain could select a scrum. Under the amended rule, that choice is unavailable; the team can restart with a tap or kick.
The distinction matters to captains choosing restarts, referees administering them and spectators interpreting the decision. A penalty still offers a scrum choice. A free-kick awarded at a lineout retains the alternative of another lineout at the same mark. The amendment therefore does not mean every free-kick must always be tapped.
The before-and-after provisions appear in the 2023 lawbook and the 2025 lawbook, Law 20.3–20.4.
Competition and historical scope
This draft covers the standard 15-a-side provisions. It does not establish separate commencement dates for competitions already underway, early adopters or domestic youth formats. Do not infer that every match changed rules on 1 July 2024. The official announcement ties implementation to competition starts and separately describes other closed trials.
The later rulebook confirms the amended wording in the 2025 edition; this historical comparison is not a comprehensive statement of every competition’s current regulations. For broader explanations, see penalties and free-kicks and scrums and resets.
Official evidence
- 2023 lawbook: Law 20.3–20.4, printed page 116.
- 2025 lawbook: Law 20.3–20.4, printed page 113.
- 9 May 2024 announcement: approval, commencement and competition-start qualification.
- July 2024 amendment text: removal of the scrum option and retained lineout alternative.
Change status
Confirmed change
Effective from:
Before and after
| Situation | World Rugby · Laws of the Game Rugby Union 2023 · Standard 15-a-side laws; historical baseline before the July 2024 amendment. This comparison does not establish implementation dates for individual competitions or domestic age-grade variations. | World Rugby · Laws of the Game Rugby Union 2025 · Standard 15-a-side laws; later edition recording the July 2024 amendment. The change date is established separately by the official adoption notice, not by this edition’s year. |
|---|---|---|
| Choosing a scrum instead of a free-kick | The 2023 edition allowed a team awarded either a penalty or a free-kick to choose a scrum. At a lineout, either award could instead become a lineout or scrum at the same mark. | The 2025 edition reserves the scrum choice for penalties. A free-kick awarded at a lineout can still become a lineout at the same mark, but cannot become a scrum. |
Rule editions and sources
- World Rugby · Laws of the Game Rugby Union 2023 · Standard 15-a-side laws; historical baseline before the July 2024 amendment. This comparison does not establish implementation dates for individual competitions or domestic age-grade variations. — World Rugby Laws of the Game Rugby Union 2023
- World Rugby · Laws of the Game Rugby Union 2025 · Standard 15-a-side laws; later edition recording the July 2024 amendment. The change date is established separately by the official adoption notice, not by this edition’s year. — World Rugby: Laws of the Game Rugby Union 2025