Rugby Rules: A Guide To Rugby Penalties And Laws

For those new to the sport, rugby may seem confusing. There are often stoppages in play that may bewilder spectators or players who haven’t been around the game for very long. And while there are quite a few rugby rules — more commonly referred to as “laws” — the core concepts of rugby are relatively simple to follow, so you don’t need to be an expert to enjoy everything that rugby has to offer. In time, as you watch and play more rugby, the finer details of the game will become clearer, but all you need to get started is below.

What are the rules of rugby?

It is more accurate to say there are no rugby rules, rather it is a game governed by laws. These laws create the basic structure of the game. Some are quite complex and nuanced — so much so that the World Rugby Laws of the Game are more than 160 pages long. 

However, the game itself is relatively simple, and you only need to know the most basic rules about how to play rugby to get started. These 10 rugby rules are the most important to know before the first time you step on a rugby pitch.

This article contains a lot of rugby terms. If you’re new to the sport, check out our rugby terms glossary for key definitions you’ll need to know.

1. Each team must include 15 players

In rugby union, each team must have 15 players, including eight forwards and seven backs. These 15 players can be organized in whichever manner suits a team’s strategy, but there may be no more and no less than 15 players on the pitch for each team at any given time, unless the referee has issued any yellow or red cards (see below for more on how cards work in rugby.)

2. The rugby ball must be passed laterally or backwards

The only way to advance the ball forward is by carrying it or kicking it. Any passes to other team members must be lateral or backwards — a forward pass results in loss of possession. This is why attacking teams in rugby will generally be arranged in a staggered line or flying V formation, much like a flock of migrating birds. This arrangement allows players to run onto the ball at pace, hitting gaps in the defense with speed as a lateral pass from their teammate reaches them.

3. There are no limits on phases or “downs” for the attacking team

Players on the attacking team may be tackled an unlimited amount of times on their way down the pitch to score — there are no downs like there are in American football. Each time a player is tackled and the ball is recycled, it begins a new “phase” of play. If the defense does not legally turn the ball over or force the opposition into touch and the attacking team does not commit a minor infraction or penalty, they may continue attacking for an unlimited number of phases.

Confused about what happens at the “breakdown” when a player is tackled? Read our related article on rucking in rugby.

4. Rugby players must remain onside

Rugby players must remain “onside” at all times. This has separate meanings for the attacking team and the defending team. Failure to remain onside results in an offside penalty.

Attacking players must remain behind the player carrying the ball. If a player on the attacking team kicks the ball, only players behind them at the time of the kick may chase it to attempt to catch it or play defense. A kicking player may run up past the teammates in front of them to put them onside. 

Defensive players must remain behind the back foot of their team members in the ruck. In a scrum, the defense must remain 5 meters back until the ball comes out; for a line out, the defense must remain 10 meters back until the ball comes out.

5. A knock-on results in a scrum to the opposition

A knock-on is a minor infraction that occurs when a ball is dropped forward by the attacking team. When a knock-on occurs, a referee may choose to play advantage (see below) or stop play and award a scrum to the opposition. 

6. Carrying the ball into touch results in a lineout to the opposition

If an attacking player carries the ball into touch, or if they are forced into touch by the defense, the ball is turned over and play is restarted with a lineout. This stands in stark contrast with American football, where runners will often deliberately take the ball out of bounds to avoid contact and stop the clock. In rugby, running into touch results in lost possession and yields no benefits whatsoever.

7. Attacking players must not obstruct defensive players

There is no blocking of defenders permitted in rugby. Defensive players must not be obstructed from tackling the ball carrier by other members of the attacking team. Instead, support players on the attacking team should make themselves available for a pass or offload from the player carrying the ball. Failing that, support players on the attacking team may ruck over a tackled player to retain possession, but blocking defensive players is never permitted and results in an obstruction penalty.

8. Tacklers must wrap and go to ground with the ball carrier

Tacklers must always wrap up the ball carrier (or at least show a clear attempt to wrap) and go to ground with them before returning to their feet and continuing play. Throwing a shoulder into a ball carrier without intent to wrap is considered dangerous play and will result in a penalty and, oftentimes, a yellow card or red card depending on the severity of the violation.

9. Tackled players must release the ball after one movement

When a ball carrier is tackled, they have a single movement before they must release the ball. Generally, this movement is used to either present the ball back toward the attacking side or pass the ball from the ground to an oncoming player. After this initial movement, the tackled player must not attempt to play the ball. Doing so will result in a penalty for not releasing.

10. Repeated infringements or dangerous play results in a card

If a team consistently violates one of the laws of the game after the referee has advised them to clean up their play, the referee may choose to give a yellow card to the offending player. A yellow card results in a player being sent off the pitch to the “sin bin,” where they must remain for 10 minutes before rejoining the match. During that time, their team must play with 14 players on the pitch. A yellow card may also be given for dangerous play that appears unintentional but still requires the referee to reassert control over the game.

If a referee determines that intentionally dangerous play occurred, such as an incident of severe head to head contact with no attempt to avoid the other player, they may issue a red card to the offending player. A red card results in immediate ejection from the match for the remainder and requires the ejected players team to finish the game with 14 players.

Both yellow and red cards can stack, meaning a team that incurs two cards must play with 13 players, a team that incurs three must play with 12 players, and so on.

Minor infractions

Minor infractions in rugby include things like knock-ons or forward passes. These infractions do not rise to the level of a penalty and generally result in a loss of possession at the point where the infraction occurred and a scrum down to restart play. 

If a minor infraction results in the opposition collecting the ball, a referee may choose to award that team advantage. When a team is playing advantage, play will continue until the referee decides that either no advantage is being gained (at which point, the scrum will commence where the infraction occurred) or the team has adequately benefited from continued play since the infraction occurred, usually by gaining significant territory.

For somewhat more significant infractions that still do not warrant a penalty, a referee may choose to give a short arm penalty, which results in a free kick to the opposition. A free kick gives the team awarded the short arm penalty an opportunity to gain some territory if they are able to collect their own kick or, at the very least, earn some breathing room for their defense.

Rugby penalties

When a more serious violation of one of the laws of the game occurs, but not so grave as requiring a yellow or red card, it results in a penalty. Penalties can be extremely detrimental to a team, so it’s critical that rugby players be disciplined and understand rugby rules inside and out. Otherwise, they could find themselves repeatedly turning over possession and giving away large swaths of territory one whistle at a time.

The following are some of the penalties you may see called in rugby union:

• Not releasing: When a tackled player holds onto the ball and does not let the defensive team legally attempt to poach it, a not releasing penalty may be called.
  
• Entering ruck/maul from the side: When rucks and mauls form, players must enter through a narrow channel called the gate. Entering a ruck or maul from the side instead of the gate is illegal and may result in a penalty.
  
• Diving over: When players enter a ruck on either the attacking or defensive side, they must do so under control, on their feet, and supporting their own weight. If a player dives into the ruck off their feet, it may result in a penalty for diving over.
  
• Collapsing scrum/maul: Deliberately collapsing the scrum or maul is illegal and will result in a penalty. It is worth noting that, in a maul, there are legal ways for the attacking team to bring the maul to ground.
  
• Offside: Players must remain onside, behind the back foot of their teammate in the ruck. When kicking, players in front of the kicking player are considered offside until the kicking player advances in front of them on the field.
  
• Tackling a player without the ball: Only the ball carrier may be tackled. Tackling a player without the ball in any situation is illegal. This penalty most commonly occurs during a close kick chase, in which one player preemptively tackles the other before they can collect the kicked ball.
  
• Obstruction: Attacking players may not block defenders from tackling the ball carrier. Doing so may result in an obstruction penalty.
  
• Not retreating: When a penalty is called, the players on the offending team must retreat 10 meters. Failing to do so and attempting to defend a quick tap will result in an additional penalty, and repeated failure to retreat may result in a yellow card.
  
• Foul play: In rugby, every player has a responsibility to care for their teammates, their opponents, and the referee. The spirit of the game is important, and unsportsmanlike conduct may result in consequences. The referee reserves the right to determine whether any other unsportsmanlike conduct constitutes a penalty. Examples include deliberate violent play like eye gouging, throwing the ball away from the opposition when a penalty is called, or using abusive language toward the opposition or referee.

It is important to remember that much is left to the referee’s discretion in rugby. Some referee’s run a strict game and intervene frequently, while others adopt a more laissez faire approach. 

When playing rugby, always pay attention to the referee’s tendencies and adjust your play style accordingly.

What happens when a penalty is called in rugby?

A penalty is not as severe as a yellow or red card in that a player does not have to leave the pitch. However, a penalty does result in loss of possession and requires the offending team to retreat 10 meters, giving up precious territory along with the ball. 

A penalty also gives the opposition several choices of how to restart play. These choices include the following:

• Quick tap: The team awarded the penalty can quickly tap the ball with their foot and begin advancing through the “mark” where the penalty occurred. This is especially deadly when the defense has not retreated 10 meters quickly enough, and any player attempting to defend the quick tap prior to retreating 10 meters will incur another penalty.
  
• Scrum: The team awarded the penalty can elect a scrum down at the mark to restart play. This is often an effective choice when one forward pack is overpowering the other, or when the team awarded the penalty has a strong attacking platform, such as when a penalty was committed at the center of the pitch.
  
• Kick to touch: Following a penalty, the team awarded the penalty may choose to kick to touch. They will then possess the ball for a lineout at the point where the ball crossed the touch line. This is an especially potent opportunity for a team with a reliable kicking game.
  
• Kick at goal: If the penalty occurs within range of a team’s kicker, they may elect to kick at the posts. If the kick is successful, the team is awarded three points. This can be an effective way to quickly run up the score on an undisciplined side that commits a lot of penalties in their own half of the pitch. 

Disciplined and clever rugby teams can use penalties to their advantage to turn the tide of a match. Therefore, reducing penalty count as much as possible should be a high priority for any rugby team that wants to be competitive.

5 intermediate rugby laws to know

If you want to build on your knowledge of the basic rugby rules listed above, these five intermediate rugby laws are a great place to start. 

1. Kicking from inside the 22 meter line

When a team finds themselves under pressure from a defense inside their own 22 meter line, they may elect an “exit kick,” which is an attempt to give them some breathing room. An exit kick is a ball kicked into touch from within the 22 meter line. While an exit kick forfeits possession, it results in a lineout at the point where the ball crosses the touch line. Sometimes it is better to play defense at midfield than to try and play rugby in the shadow of your own goalpost.

Importantly, the ball must already be inside the 22 meter line before the exit kick takes place — it cannot be passed back to a kicker. That would result in a lineout from the point where the ball was kicked, rather than where it crossed into touch, giving a highly advantageous attacking platform to the opposition. The same is true when a ball is kicked directly into touch from outside the 22 meter line — the lineout would come back to the point from where the ball was kicked, not where it exited play.

2. Collapsing the scrum

Sometimes, scrums collapse under the sheer force of two forward packs coming together and driving against each other. Other times, they collapse because a player has deliberately brought it down. Doing so results in a penalty. In some cases, a player may not be deliberately collapsing a scrum but is unable to maintain stability — if this occurs repeatedly, a referee may choose to award a penalty anyway, rather than continue resetting a consistently unstable, dangerous scrum.

3. Grounding the ball in own try zone

If a player is under pressure in their own try zone, they may ground the ball much like they would when scoring a try in the opposition’s try zone. This results in a 22-meter drop-out, a drop kick that enables the team to restart play, ideally with more advantageous field positioning. 

Similar to an exit kick, the ball must not be carried into the try zone deliberately before grounding it — only a player already fielding the ball in their own try zone may ground it for a 22-meter drop-out. If a player instead carries the ball into their own try zone and grounds it, the result is a 5 meter scrum to the opposition, giving them a strong attacking platform instead of creating breathing room with a  22-meter drop-out.

4. Kicking the ball directly into touch on a kickoff

If a ball is kicked directly into touch on a kickoff, the receiving team is awarded a scrum at the center of the field. This is considered one of the most advantageous attacking platforms on the pitch, and a competent rugby team can set up many different attacking opportunities from it. A scrum center also occurs when a kickoff does not travel at least 10 meters.

5. Kicking a 50:22

A 50:22 is a relatively new rule added by World Rugby in 2022. It occurs when a ball is kicked from an attacking player’s own half, bounces in play at least once, and travels into touch behind the 22-meter line of the opposition. When a 50:22 occurs the kicking team retains possession and gets a lineout at the point where the ball crosses into touch. The 50:22 rule creates a potent way for teams with strong kickers to rapidly gain territory and create try scoring opportunities in a moment.

Commit to an ongoing rugby education

There is, of course, far more to the sport of rugby than the basic laws contained within this article, but the material here offers you a strong foundation from which to learn more. By far the best way to learn rugby is by watching and playing a lot of it, so come on out to Queens Rugby practices and matches either as a player or spectator — all are welcome!

Want to join a New York rugby club? QRC is based in western Queens, playing and practicing out of Randall’s Island and Astoria in NYC. Join Queens Rugby today or contact us for more information.