Rugby League's Rules of the Game

At a glance rugby league and rugby union look like two very similar games. In both the objective is to score more points than your opponent, doing so by scoring tries or goals. It is even true that the two sports once existed as one. But today rugby league exists as a separate sport with rule changes that date back to the time the two split from each other.

  1. The Formation

    • In 1895, at the George Hotel in Huddersfield, England, representatives of 21 northern clubs met to break away from the established organisation known as the Rugby Football Union. These clubs did so by forming their own and calling it the Northern Rugby Union, later to be Rugby League. The first competition was called the Northern Rugby Football League.

    Reason for Split

    • Teams in the north relied more heavily on attracting players from working class backgrounds. The problem at the time was that players were not to be paid for playing rugby. This meant a man had to play for a club in his own time. As a result, working class players decided not to play as they could not afford to put rugby before work. Northern clubs tried to compromise by giving players money only for the time they missed from work, but the RFU would not allow it. They wanted the game to keep its amateur status, meaning no professional payments.

    Change in Rules

    • In 1906, two changes were made by the NRU that would ensure the split remained between rugby league and union. The number of players in each team was to be reduced in order to make the game more open and exciting for spectators. Each team would have 13 players, compared with 15 in union. They also changed the rules so that play would continue after a completed tackle. At the time after every tackle was made, and the player was held down, there would be a scrum. This meant that the game featured scrums more than open play.

    Today's Game

    • Today that form of continuous play is the six play--tackle--rule. When a player is tackled he must play the ball along a ground to a teammate standing directly behind him. The team will keep the ball until they have been tackled six times. Once this happens the team will surrender possession to their opponents. To gain more ground teams will usually kick the ball down--field after their fifth tackle.

    Points

    • Rugby league also differs from rugby union through the number of points that are scored from each scoring method. Four points for touching the ball over the opposition line--known as a “try”. After which, a “conversation kick” is worth a further two points. Penalty goals are also worth two points and a “drop goal” is worth one point.

    Time

    • It is a game of two halves, both lasting 40 minutes each. At the end of the 80 minutes, a timekeeper lets the referee know, through a siren or hooter, that the game is over.