How many points is each score worth?
| Score | Points | How it is scored |
|---|---|---|
| Try | 5 | An attacking player is first to ground the ball in the opponents' in-goal area |
| Conversion | 2 | A kick at goal after a try, taken on a line through the place where the try was awarded |
| Penalty try | 7 | Awarded between the posts when foul play stops a probable try. No conversion is taken |
| Penalty goal | 3 | A kick at goal from a penalty |
| Drop goal | 3 | A goal kicked from a drop-kick in open play. The law calls it a dropped goal |
These values come from Law 8 of World Rugby's Laws of the Game. Every kick at goal must go over the crossbar and between the posts without first touching a team-mate or the ground. A ball that passes higher than the tops of the posts still counts if it would have gone between them had they been taller.
What counts as grounding the ball?
A try needs an attacking player to be first to ground the ball in the opponents' in-goal area. In-goal is the area between the try line and the dead-ball line, and it includes the try line itself, so a ball grounded on the line counts. The law book calls this line the try line. If you look up goal line in its definitions, it sends you to try line. There are two ways to ground the ball.
- Holding the ball and touching the ground with it.
- Pressing down on the ball with a hand or hands, an arm or arms, or the front of the body between the waist and the neck.
Picking the ball up is not grounding it. A player may pick the ball up in in-goal and ground it somewhere else in in-goal. When a defender grounds the ball in their own in-goal, it is a touch down, not a score.
Tries that often cause confusion
- Held up over the line. If the ball carrier is held up in in-goal and cannot ground or play the ball, the ball is dead and no try is scored.
- Tackled just short. A try can still count if the tackled player's momentum carries them along the ground into in-goal in one continuous movement and they ground the ball first, or if a player tackled near the line reaches out straight away and grounds it.
- Pushover tries. When a scrum, ruck or maul reaches the try line, an attacking player can score by being first to ground the ball.
- Touching the lines. If the ball carrier grounds the ball while touching the touch-in-goal line or the dead-ball line, or the ground beyond them, the ball is dead and no try is scored. If they touch the touchline while grounding it, the ball is in touch and the other team gets a lineout.
- The corner flag. Touching the corner flag or its post does not, on its own, put the ball carrier in touch-in-goal. Play continues unless the ball is grounded against the post.
- Both teams on the ball. The attacker must be first to ground it. World Rugby has ruled that when an attacker and a defender ground the ball at the same moment, the attacker was not first, so no try is given.
The referee awards a try by standing with their back to the dead-ball line and raising an arm straight up. The same signal is used for a penalty try. Where the match organiser has appointed a television match official (TMO), the TMO can help the referee check the grounding.
Where is the conversion taken from?
A try gives the scoring team the right to attempt a conversion. The kicker takes it in the field of play, on a line through the place where the try was awarded and parallel to the touchlines. So a try grounded under the posts gives a kick from straight in front of them, and a try grounded in the corner gives a kick from out wide, however far back the kicker stands.
- The kick can be a place-kick or a drop-kick. For a place-kick, the ball sits on the ground, on sand or sawdust, or on a kicking tee, and a team-mate may hold it.
- The defending team goes back to its try line. Defenders may charge the kick once the kicker moves to begin the approach, but they must not shout.
- Under a current global law trial, the kick must be taken within 60 seconds of the try being awarded.
- A team can decline the conversion by telling the referee "no kick" after the try is awarded.
- If a try is scored after time has run out, the referee still allows time for the conversion to be taken.
When is a penalty try awarded?
The referee awards a penalty try when foul play by the opposing team prevents a try that would probably have been scored. It also covers foul play that stops a try being scored in a more advantageous position. Foul play means anything that breaks Law 9, which covers obstruction, unfair play, repeated infringements, dangerous play and misconduct.
The try only has to be probable, in the referee's opinion. A penalty try is worth seven points and is awarded between the posts. No conversion is attempted. The player guilty of the foul play must be shown a yellow card or sent off.
How do penalty goals and drop goals work?
A penalty goal can only come from a penalty. The team must show without delay that it wants to kick at goal. It can tell the referee, or signal it when the kicking tee or sand arrives or when the kicker makes a mark on the ground. Once it has done so, it must kick at goal, and the kick must be taken within 60 seconds. A penalty kicker can also drop-kick the ball over, and the goal stands even if they did not first say they would kick at goal.
A drop goal is scored from a drop-kick in open play. The player drops the ball from their hands and kicks it as it rises from its first bounce. The law calls this a dropped goal. A team awarded a free-kick cannot score a drop goal until the ball next goes dead, or until an opponent has played or touched the ball or tackled the ball carrier.
When a kick at goal succeeds, the assistant referees or touch judges raise their flags to show that the ball has gone over the crossbar and between the posts.
Are bonus points part of the laws?
No. The Laws of the Game set how many points each score is worth in a match. League tables and bonus points are not part of the laws. Each competition sets its own table rules, so check your league or tournament's regulations to see what a win, a draw or a bonus point is worth.