Rugby Union

Overview

Fifteen players a side carrying, passing and kicking an oval ball toward the opposition try line. Unlike rugby league, possession is genuinely contested at every breakdown — which is the defining difference between the codes.

Governed by World Rugby. This entry is checked against the World Rugby Laws of the Game 2026, which incorporate the playing charter. Law numbers below are World Rugby's. Several provisions apply to elite rugby only, and the page says which.

1. The basics

A match lasts no longer than 80 minutes: two halves of up to 40 minutes, plus time lost (Law 5), unless the match organiser sets otherwise.

Dimension	Minimum	Maximum
Field of play, try line to try line	94m	100m
In-goal, each end	6m	22m
Width	68m	70m

Fifteen players: eight forwards who contest set pieces and breakdowns, and seven backs who exploit the space they create.

2. Scoring

Play	Points
Try	5
Conversion	2
Penalty goal	3
Drop goal	3

A try requires downward pressure on the ball in the in-goal area. The conversion is kicked from a point in line with where the try was grounded, which is why players cross closer to the posts when they can.

3. The core principle: forward pass

The ball may never be passed or knocked forward. The Laws define a throw forward by the passer's arms, not the ball's flight:

Throw forward: When a player throws or passes the ball forward i.e. if the arms of the player passing the ball move forward.

A knock-on — losing the ball forward off the hand or arm — results in a scrum to the opposition. You may kick forward as often as you like.

4. The breakdown

When a tackled player goes to ground, a ruck forms. This is the heart of the game and where most penalties are awarded.

• The tackler must release the tackled player and roll away immediately.
• The tackled player must release the ball.
• Arriving players must come through the gate — from behind their own hindmost foot, never from the side.
• Players must stay on their feet to compete for the ball.
• Once the ball is available at the back of a ruck, the referee calls "use it", and it must be played away within five seconds. If it isn't, it's a scrum.

A maul forms when a ball carrier is held up without going to ground and at least one player from each team binds on, all on their feet.

A maul that stops moving towards a try line is not simply turned over. Law 16:

• It may start moving again once, provided it does so within five seconds.
• If it stops for more than five seconds, or stops a second time, and the ball is visible, the referee tells the team to "use it".
• Only if they don't use it within a reasonable time does it become a scrum to the other side.

5. Set pieces

Scrum — eight forwards bind and push, contesting possession. Awarded for a knock-on or forward pass. Unlike league, the scrum is genuinely contested and can win a penalty outright.

Lineout — forwards line up and one team throws in. The throw must be straight, and jumpers may be lifted. Awarded when the ball goes into touch.

6. Offside

In open play a player is offside if they are in front of a teammate who is carrying the ball or who last played it (Law 10). Being offside is not in itself an offence; interfering with play while offside is. Offside lines are created at rucks, mauls, scrums and lineouts, and running through them is penalised.

This is quite different from soccer's offside and is judged continuously throughout play.

7. Cards and the bunker

Card	Effect
Yellow	Temporary suspension, 10 minutes of playing time
Second yellow	Sent off. Law 9.29: a second yellow-card offence means a red
Red	Sent off for the rest of the match

Whether a red-carded player can be replaced depends on the level. Law 9.30:

A player sent off may not be replaced. Elite rugby only: For intentional and highly dangerous actions, the player cannot be replaced. For other actions, the player sent off may be replaced after 20 minutes playing time.

So the "20-minute red" is written into the Laws for elite rugby, and does not apply at community level, where a red card always leaves the team a player short.

What isn't in the Laws. The Laws list a foul play review officer among the possible match officials, but the bunker process — how long officials have to upgrade a yellow, and the head-contact decision process referees apply — is set out in World Rugby's separate protocols and competition regulations. Those have not been checked for this page.

8. Union versus league

	Union	League
Players	15	13
Try	5 points	4
Penalty goal	3	2
Drop goal	3	1
Breakdown	Contested ruck	Play the ball, uncontested
Possession	Retained while the contest is won	Six tackles then handover
Lineouts	Yes	No
Scrum	Contested	Formed to restart play; see the rugby league entry

Commonly argued

• A forward pass is judged by the passer's arms, not the ball's flight. The Laws define it as the arms moving forward, so a pass from a player running at speed can drift forward through the air and still be legal.
• You must enter a ruck through the gate, from behind the hindmost foot.
• The tackler must release and roll away, every time — the most penalised offence in the game.
• A try needs downward pressure. Simply having the ball over the line is not enough.
• You cannot be offside from a kick if you were behind the kicker.
• A stalled maul gets a restart and a "use it" before it becomes a scrum.
• The 20-minute red is elite-only. At community level a red card isn't replaced.
• Two yellows make a red.