Ball Sports 🇬🇧United Kingdom19th century

Rugby League

Officially Rugby League Football

13-a-side rugby code with faster, more open play — a team keeps possession for six tackles, then must score, kick, or hand the ball over.

👥13 per team📐pitch⏱~80 min🌤outdoor

What is Rugby League?

Rugby league is a 13-a-side, full-contact team sport that split from rugby union in 1895 over payment for working-class players in northern England. The teams differ from union: 13 players (no flankers), no lineouts, no rucks or mauls, and a six-tackle rule — after being tackled the attacker plays the ball back with the foot to a team-mate and if the team is tackled six times without scoring or kicking, possession is handed over. Points: try 4, conversion 2, penalty goal 2, drop-goal 1 (or 2 in some leagues). Rugby league is the dominant winter sport in New South Wales and Queensland (Australia), massively popular in northern England (Super League) and internationally strong in Papua New Guinea, France, New Zealand, Tonga and Samoa.

Quick facts

How it works

Objective

Score more points than the opposition by grounding the ball over the try line (try, 4 pts), kicking conversions and drop-goals, and successful penalty kicks.

Match structure

Play starts with a kickoff. The attacking side gets six tackles in a set — after each tackle, the tackled player plays the ball backwards through their legs to a team-mate (the 'play-the-ball'). On the sixth tackle the team usually kicks (bomb, grubber, or long kick for territory) to hand the ball over safely. Possession then swaps and the process repeats. Scoring restarts the game with a kickoff from the halfway line by the non-scoring team.

Rules

Basic rules

Six-tackle rule
Attacking side has 6 tackles to advance or score; a 7th tackle without a score, kick, or penalty turns over possession.
Play-the-ball
After a tackle, the ball carrier stands, plays the ball backwards under the foot to a team-mate to restart play.
10-metre rule
Defenders must be at least 10 metres behind the play-the-ball before advancing.
No rucks or mauls
Play never stops in a scramble; the play-the-ball keeps possession under a clear structure.
Forward pass
Passes must go backward or laterally; a forward pass is a knock-on and a scrum is awarded.
Knock-on
Dropping the ball forward is a knock-on; a scrum results (or a play-the-ball penalty on the 5th tackle).
Scrum
Uncontested scrum of 6 forwards each — used to restart play after knock-ons or forward passes; possession usually retained by the attacking side.

Advanced rules

Zero tackle
If the defence forces a knock-on or intercepts, the receiving team's next play is 'tackle zero' — a fresh set of six begins.
Bunker (video referee)
Video review used for tries and foul play; on-field ref signals for a review.
40/20 kick
A kick taken from inside the attacker's own 40-metre line that bounces before going into touch inside the opposition 20 — the attacking team gets the scrum feed.
Golden point
Sudden-death extra time in knockout matches — first score wins.
Six again
Instead of a penalty for a ruck infringement, referees may award a fresh set of six tackles to keep the game flowing (NRL 2020+).

Scoring

Points from tries, conversions, penalty goals and drop-goals.

Action	Points
Try	4
Conversion	2
Penalty goal	2
Drop-goal	1

Win condition · Team with more points at full time wins; competition-specific tiebreakers apply for finals (golden point or extra time).

Playing area

Called

pitch

Dimensions

100 m long × 68 m wide between goal lines; in-goal area 6-11 m deep; H-shaped goalposts 5.5 m wide with a crossbar 3 m high.

Rectangular grass pitch with goalposts on each try line. Ten-metre and twenty-metre lines mark restart and defensive zones.

Equipment

Rugby league ball
Oval leather ball similar to union but slightly more pointed and often lighter.
Boots with studs
Studded footwear for grip.
Mouthguard
Mandatory at all professional levels.
Shoulder pads / head-guard
Optional, thinner than in gridiron.
Team kit
Jersey, shorts, socks — with heavy sponsor branding at professional level.

Positions & roles

Fullback (1)
×1
Last line of defence; sweeps kicks and often runs support lines in attack.
Wing (2, 5)
×2
Fast outside backs — finishers on the wing.
Centre (3, 4)
×2
Powerful outside backs; create tries for wings.
Stand-off / Five-eighth (6)
×1
Second playmaker; runs and passes.
Scrum-half / Halfback (7)
×1
Primary organiser — often the kicker.
Props (8, 10)
×2
Front-row forwards — big ball-carriers and defenders.
Hooker (9)
×1
Rakes the ball in scrums and acts as a running dummy-half from play-the-balls.
Second-row (11, 12)
×2
Athletic forwards — carry, tackle, edge defenders.
Loose-forward / Lock (13)
×1
Anchoring back-row forward; ball-playing role.

Officiating

One referee has sole on-field authority; touch judges signal ball-into-touch and unsportsmanlike behaviour; a video referee reviews tries and foul play.

One referee (on field)
Two touch judges
Video referee (bunker) in top leagues

Penalties & fouls

Penalties

Penalty kick
Awarded for offside, high tackles, holding down in the play-the-ball, dissent, etc. — kicked for goal, into touch, or tapped to restart.
Sin bin
Ten-minute suspension for repeated or dangerous fouls; team plays a man short.
Send-off (red card)
Serious foul play — player leaves for the remainder of the match; disciplinary review may add suspensions.
On-report
Referee flags an incident for post-match review by the judiciary; suspensions may follow.

Strategies

Yardage sets
Early tackles in a set are used to run the ball out from your own goal-line before a long kick on tackle 5 or 6.
Attacking bombs
High kick to a wing forces a contested aerial catch and often a tap-back opportunity for a try.
40/20 kick
Field-position weapon that changes the possession dynamic.
Sliding defence
Outside defenders slide across on wide plays to shut down passes to the wing.

Terminology

Play-the-ball: The way play restarts after each tackle — the tackled player rolls the ball backward with the foot.
Set of six: The six tackles a team has to advance or score before turning over possession.
Bomb: A high, hanging kick contested aerially by the receiving fullback or wing.
Grubber: A low kick that skims and rolls along the ground, often through the try line.
Chip kick: A small over-the-defence kick that a team-mate chases and re-gathers.
Dummy-half: The player receiving the ball at the play-the-ball, usually the hooker.
Try: Grounding the ball with downward pressure over the try line — worth 4 points.
Conversion: A kick after a try, taken from perpendicular to where the try was scored.
Sin bin: 10-minute suspension for a professional foul; team plays a man short.
State of Origin: Annual best-of-three between NSW and QLD; players eligible for the state where they first played senior rugby league.

Major competitions

Rugby League World Cup
quadrennial · worldwide · since 1954
NRL Telstra Premiership
annual · Australia / New Zealand · since 1908
Super League
annual · Europe (UK / France) · since 1996
State of Origin
annual · Australia (NSW vs QLD) · since 1980
Considered the pinnacle of representative rugby league.
Challenge Cup
annual · England (knockout) · since 1897

Where it is played

Governing bodies

International Rugby LeagueIRL
Founded 1948 · London, UK
Official site ↗
National Rugby LeagueNRL
Founded 1998 · Sydney, Australia
Official site ↗
Rugby Football LeagueRFL
Founded 1895 · Manchester, UK
Official site ↗
Super League Europe
Founded 1996 · Leeds, UK
Official site ↗

Famous names & records

Famous athletes

Andrew Johns
Wally Lewis
Cameron Smith
Johnathan Thurston
Billy Slater
Ellery Hanley
Ryan Papenhuyzen
Sam Burgess
Kalyn Ponga
Ali Brigginshaw

Records

Most NRL games
Cameron Smith — 430 (2020)
Most tries in a season (NRL)
Josh Addo-Carr / others — 28 (2020)
Most World Cup titles
Australia — 12 (2022)

Learn this sport

beginner

1
The six-tackle rule
Understand possession changes every six tackles.
2
How to play-the-ball
Practise the standing motion and the backward foot-roll to the dummy-half.
3
Scoring
Learn tries (4), conversions (2), penalty goals (2), drop-goals (1).
4
Passing
All passes must go backward or laterally.

intermediate

1
Kicking arsenal
Bomb, grubber, chip and long kick for territory.
2
Reading defensive lines
Identify sliding vs up-and-in defence to pick the right pass.
3
Playing dummy-half
Fast service to the halves and picking your moments to run.
4
Fitness base
Repeated 40-metre sprints with quick recovery.

advanced

1
Attacking structures
Left-side / right-side shape, second-phase plays and edge attacks.
2
Set-piece kicks
40/20s, cross-field bombs to a leaping winger.
3
Defensive systems
Slide, up-and-in, umbrella — situational choices per opposition.

Frequently asked

How is rugby league different from rugby union?+

13 players vs 15, six-tackle rule vs contested rucks/mauls, no lineouts, faster restart via play-the-ball, and different scoring values (try = 4 in league, 5 in union).

What is a 'dummy-half'?+

The player who receives the ball at each play-the-ball — usually the hooker, though anyone can fill in.

How is State of Origin played?+

Best-of-three annual series between New South Wales and Queensland representative sides, with players selected based on where they first played senior rugby league.

What happens on the 6th tackle if a team doesn't kick?+

The defence tackles the attacker to the ground and gets possession (a hand-over).

Is rugby league played in the Olympics?+

No — the sport is not currently in the Olympic programme, but wheelchair rugby league has grown internationally.

Sources & provenance

Wikipedia — Rugby league— Wikipedia
International Rugby League Laws— International Rugby League
NRL Rules— National Rugby League

Last verified 2026-08-24.community