Rugby union scoring starts with the type of score.

The basic point system

• Try: 5 points for legally grounding the ball in the opponents' in-goal.
• Conversion: 2 points after a try, if the kick at goal is successful.
• Penalty try: 7 points when foul play prevents a probable try, with no conversion attempted.
• Penalty goal: 3 points from a successful penalty kick at goal.
• Dropped goal: 3 points from a drop kick in open play.

These are the standard World Rugby scoring values for rugby union. Competitions can have their own match procedures, review systems, or tournament formats, but the core scoring methods come from Law 8.

What counts as a try

A try is scored when an attacking player is first to ground the ball in the opponents' in-goal. The try line is part of in-goal, so grounding the ball on the line can be enough. The whole player does not need to cross the line; the ball must be legally grounded in the scoring area.

A try can also be scored when a scrum, ruck, or maul reaches the try line and an attacking player is first to ground the ball. A tackled player near the line may score by immediately reaching out and grounding the ball, or by being carried by momentum in one continuous movement into in-goal and then grounding it.

The ball has to be grounded

In rugby union, getting the ball over the line is not the same as scoring. The player must ground it by holding it and touching it to the ground, or by pressing down on a loose ball with a hand, arm, or the front of the body from waist to neck.

Picking up the ball in in-goal is not itself grounding. A player may pick it up and then ground it elsewhere in in-goal, but there is no try until the grounding action is complete and legal.

When the attempt fails

A try is not awarded if the attacker knocks the ball forward before grounding, loses the ball into touch, grounds it while also in touch-in-goal or beyond the dead-ball line, or cannot ground it because defenders hold the ball up.

If there is doubt about which team first grounded the ball in in-goal, the law does not guess. Play restarts with a five-metre scrum in line with the grounding, with the attacking team throwing in.

The kick after a try

After a try, the scoring team has the right to attempt a conversion for 2 extra points. In 15-a-side rugby union, the conversion may be a place kick or a drop kick. The team may also decline the attempt by telling the referee after the try is awarded.

The kick is taken in the field of play on a line through the place where the try was awarded, parallel to the touchlines. That is why a try near the corner creates a much harder angle than a try near the posts.

The kicker has 60 seconds

The conversion must be taken within 60 seconds of playing time from the time the try was awarded. If the ball rolls over and has to be placed again, the same time limit still applies. If the kicker does not meet the requirements for the kick, the conversion is disallowed.

Opponents retire to their try line and may charge only when the kicker begins the approach. They must not overstep early, be physically supported while trying to block the kick, or shout during the attempt. If they infringe and the kick misses, the conversion is retaken without a charge.

When seven points are automatic

A penalty try is awarded between the goal posts if foul play by the opposing team prevents a probable try from being scored, or prevents a probable try from being scored in a more advantageous position. It is worth 7 points.

No conversion is attempted after a penalty try. The points already include the value of a converted try. The player guilty of the foul play must also be cautioned and shown a yellow card or sent off, depending on the offence.

Kicking three points from a penalty

A penalty goal can be scored only from a penalty. The team must indicate its intention to kick at goal without delay, and once that intention is indicated it must kick at goal. A successful penalty goal is worth 3 points.

The kick must be taken within 60 seconds of playing time from the moment the team indicates that intention. If the kick is successful, the score stands. If the team breaks the penalty-goal procedure, the sanction is normally that the kick is disallowed and a scrum is awarded.

What opponents can do at a penalty shot

For a penalty kick at goal, defenders do not charge the kicker like they can at a conversion. From the time the kicker starts the approach until the ball is kicked, the opposing team must stand still with hands by their sides and must not shout or intentionally touch the ball to stop the goal.

If the defending team infringes while the kick is being taken and the penalty goal is successful, the goal stands and no further penalty is awarded. If the kick is unsuccessful, the non-offending team is awarded a penalty 10 metres in front of the original mark.

What a dropped goal is

A dropped goal is scored when a player drop-kicks a goal from open play. The player drops the ball from the hands and kicks it after it rebounds from the ground. If it passes over the crossbar and between the posts in the required way, it is worth 3 points.

A team awarded a free-kick cannot score a dropped goal until the ball next becomes dead, an opponent has played or touched the ball, or an opponent has tackled the ball-carrier. That prevents a team from taking a free-kick and immediately turning it into three points.

How kicks at goal are judged

For a conversion, penalty goal, or dropped goal to count, the ball must be kicked over the crossbar and between the goal posts without first touching a team-mate or the ground. If the ball goes above the height of the posts, officials judge whether it would have passed between the posts if they extended higher.

If the ball has crossed the crossbar and the wind blows it back into the field of play, the score still stands. Officials judge the kick by the point where it crossed the plane of the posts, not by where it lands afterward.

Where fans get caught

• "The ball only has to break the plane": no. Rugby union requires legal grounding for a try.
• "A try is always seven points": no. A try is 5 points; it becomes 7 only if the conversion is successful, or if a penalty try is awarded.
• "Penalty tries still need conversions": no. A penalty try is worth 7 points and no conversion is taken.
• "Conversions are always from in front of the posts": no. The kick is on the line through where the try was awarded.
• "Penalty goals and drop goals are the same thing": no. A penalty goal comes from a penalty; a dropped goal comes from a drop kick in open play.
• "The kicker can take as long as needed": no. Conversions and penalty shots at goal are subject to a 60-second playing-time limit.

How scoring decisions are sorted

1. Identify the claimed score: try, conversion, penalty try, penalty goal, dropped goal, or no score.
2. For a try, confirm legal grounding in the opponents' in-goal and check touch, touch-in-goal, dead-ball, knock-on, obstruction, and foul-play issues.
3. For a penalty try, decide whether foul play prevented a probable try or a more advantageous scoring position.
4. For a conversion, confirm the kick is from the correct line and inside the 60-second playing-time limit.
5. For a penalty goal, confirm the team indicated its intention correctly and took the shot within the time limit.
6. For any goal, judge whether the ball passed over the crossbar and between the posts in the required way.

Source material

• World Rugby Passport: Law 8 Scoring
• World Rugby Passport: Law 21 In-goal
• World Rugby Passport: Law 5 Time
• World Rugby Passport: Law 20 Penalty and free-kick
• World Rugby Laws of the Game