Rugby Rules for Beginners

Before you start

Rugby has a reputation for having a lot of rules. It does — but a beginner does not need most of them. If you learn the eight rules on this page, you can play a game, follow a match on television and understand almost every whistle the referee blows.

It helps to know that nearly every rugby rule exists for one of two reasons: to keep the contest for the ball fair, or to keep players safe. When you meet a rule that seems strange, ask which of those two it is protecting. Usually the answer is obvious, and then the rule is easy to remember.

This page is the beginner's route in. For the full lesson, with scrums, rucks, the points table and a quiz, read the rules of rugby.

Rule 1: How you score

The main way to score is a try: you carry the ball over the other team's goal line and press it down onto the ground. Touching the line with the ball is not enough — you must ground it.

A try is worth 5 points in rugby union and 4 in rugby league. After it, your team gets a free kick at the tall H-shaped posts, called a conversion, worth 2 more.

You can also score by kicking: a penalty kick or a drop goal through the posts is worth 3 points in union. Kicks are how teams score when a defence is too strong to break through.

Rule 2: Pass backwards, always

This is the rule that makes rugby rugby. You may only throw the ball backwards or sideways. A pass towards the other team's goal line is a forward pass, and the referee stops play.

It feels wrong at first — you are trying to go forwards, so why throw the ball back? Because it forces the whole team to run forwards together. Nobody can wait near the try line for an easy ball. If you are new, this is the single habit worth practising most: look for a teammate slightly behind you before you pass.

Rule 3: Do not knock the ball on

A knock-on is when the ball comes off your hands or arms and goes forwards before it touches the ground or another player. Almost every beginner does it while learning to catch.

Nobody is in trouble for a knock-on — it is a mistake, not a foul. Play simply stops and the other team gets the ball back at a scrum. If the ball goes backwards out of your hands, that is perfectly legal and the game carries on.

Rule 4: Tackle safely, or not at all

Because you may run while carrying the ball, defenders are allowed to bring you down. There are firm safety rules about how:

• Tackle below the shoulders — never around the head or neck.
• Wrap your arms around the player. A shoulder charge with no arms is a penalty.
• Only tackle the player who has the ball.
• Never tackle a player who is in the air catching a kick.

High or dangerous tackles give away a penalty and can get a player sent off. Tackling should only ever be learned with a coach or an adult supervising. If you are just starting, play tag rugby instead — see the last section.

Rule 5: Once you are tackled, let go

When you are tackled and brought to the ground, you must immediately release the ball. You cannot hold onto it and wait for help.

This is a fairness rule: it gives the defending team a real chance to win the ball back, so tackling is worth doing. Holding on is one of the most common penalties in the game.

Rule 6: What happens next — rucks and scrums

After a tackle, play does not stop. A ruck forms: players from both teams stand over the ball, on their feet, and push to win it. You must join a ruck from your own side, behind the ball — coming in from the side is a penalty.

A scrum is different. It restarts play after a small mistake such as a knock-on or a forward pass. The eight biggest players from each team bind together, push against each other, and the ball is fed in for them to hook back with their feet.

Rule 7: Stay onside

Because passing is backwards, staying onside is simple: stay behind the ball. If you are in front of the teammate carrying it, you are offside and must get back before you join in.

At a ruck or a scrum there is an imaginary offside line running across the pitch at the back foot of the last player. Cross it early and the other team gets a penalty kick.

Rule 8: Restarts and going into touch

The last thing a beginner needs is what happens when the ball leaves the pitch or the game restarts:

Situation	How play restarts
Start of a half, or after a score	A kick-off from the halfway line
Ball goes out over the side line (into touch)	A line-out: both teams line up and the ball is thrown in straight between them
Knock-on or forward pass	A scrum to the other team
A penalty offence	A penalty kick, which can be kicked at the posts, kicked to touch, or tapped and run

Start with tag rugby

Almost every rugby player starts without any contact at all. In tag rugby, each player tucks two ribbons into a belt. Instead of tackling, a defender pulls off a tag, and the ball carrier must stop and pass backwards within three seconds.

It teaches the four things that matter most — passing backwards, supporting the player with the ball, running into space, and grounding the ball to score — with no risk of a bad tackle. All you need is a soft ball, some belts and an adult to referee.

Five things beginners get wrong

1. Running with the ball in two hands and nobody behind you. Always know where your support is before contact.
2. Passing flat. A pass that looks level often drifts forwards. Aim slightly behind your teammate.
3. Reaching for the catch. Snatching at the ball causes knock-ons. Make a basket with your hands and let it come.
4. Tackling high because it feels safer. It is the opposite — aim for the thighs and drive with your shoulder, arms wrapped.
5. Standing in front of the kicker. If the ball is behind you, you are offside. Turn and get back.

Where to go next

Ready for the full picture? Read the rules of rugby for scoring, scrums and rucks in detail, then compare it with the rules of American football, which uses an oval ball but allows forward passes.

Before your first session, warm up properly with dynamic warm-ups by sport, learn how to prevent sports injuries, and read about teamwork and sportsmanship — in rugby the referee is always called "Sir" or "Ma'am", and their decision is final.