Rugby Union Scoring: Tries, Conversions, Penalties and Drop Goals
Rugby union awards five points for a try, two for a conversion and three for a penalty goal or drop goal; a penalty try is worth seven with no conversion.
Timeline
- Possession: A team advances by carrying or kicking while legal passing moves laterally or backwards.
- Score: A try, conversion, penalty goal, drop goal or penalty try adds the points set by Law 8.
- Restart: Play resumes according to the scoring event and match law, usually with a kick from the halfway line after points.
Rugby union's highest common scoring play is a try, worth five points. An attacking player scores by grounding the ball in the opponents' in-goal under the conditions in Law 8. Crossing the try line while carrying the ball is not enough by itself; grounding matters. World Rugby's beginner guide describes the game's central objective as carrying the ball over the opponents' line and forcing it to the ground. [1][2][3]
A try gives the scoring team a conversion attempt worth two points. The kick is taken on a line through the place where the try was awarded, so grounding nearer the posts creates an easier angle. A successful goal must travel over the crossbar and between the uprights. The team may decline the attempt, and the current laws impose timing and positioning requirements on the kicker and other players. [1][2]
A penalty goal is worth three points. After the opposition commits a significant infringement and a penalty is awarded, the non-offending team may attempt a place kick at goal when range and match situation make that attractive. It can instead choose options such as a scrum, a quick tap or a kick to touch that retains the throw at the resulting lineout. A free-kick is different and cannot score directly. [1][4]
A drop goal is also worth three points and is attempted in open play. The player drops the ball so it touches the ground and kicks it on the rebound through the posts. Unlike a penalty goal, it does not require a preceding penalty award. Teams sometimes use it when field position and time make a three-point attempt valuable, but its execution under defensive pressure makes it less routine than carrying through phases. [1][2]
A penalty try is awarded when foul play prevents a probable try or prevents it from being scored in a more advantageous position. It is worth seven points and no conversion is taken. The seven-point award represents the try plus the expected conversion without requiring the kick. Law 8 also connects the award with disciplinary action against the player responsible for the foul play. [1][2]
Rugby moves the ball forward through carrying and kicking, but a deliberate pass must travel sideways or backwards. After a tackle, players may contest possession through the legally formed ruck; set pieces such as scrums and lineouts restart particular stoppages. These phases do not themselves add points. Their value is territorial and tactical: they can create the field position from which a team chooses a try, penalty attempt or drop goal. [3][5]
To read a score, separate tries from successful kicks rather than assuming every seven-point sequence occurred the same way. A 7 may be a converted try or a penalty try; six points may be two penalty goals; eight may combine a try and penalty goal. Rugby sevens uses the same core point values but has format-specific timing and conversion procedures. The match laws and any active global trials control operational details beyond the scoreboard. [1][2][5][6]
Sources
- World Rugby Laws — Law 8 Scoring
- World Rugby Beginner's Guide — Scoring Points
- World Rugby Beginner's Guide — The Game
- World Rugby Beginner's Guide — Penalty and Free-Kick
- World Rugby — Laws of the Game
- World Rugby — Rugby Union Laws 2026