How Long Are Rugby Games?

Somebody new to watching rugby might want to know how long the game will last so they know how much time they will have to invest. To calculate the length of a rugby game, you must consider the length of the halves, substitutions, halftime, injury timeouts and overtime.

  1. Halves

    • Each half in a rugby game is set to last 40 minutes. But the half will not end until a dead ball, so it could last a few extra minutes.

    Halftime

    • Between the two halves there is a five-minute halftime to allow the players a break.

    Substitutions

    • Rugby teams are only allowed five substitutions in a game so there will not be as much time wasted on substitutions like in basketball or football.

    Injury Timeouts

    • A timeout for an injury in rugby will only last one minute unless it is a serious injury that requires extra time to have a player carried off the field.

    Overtime

    • In most rugby leagues, a tied score in a regular season game will end in a tie, but in a tournament game that must have a winner, there will be sudden-death overtime, which means the game will continue until somebody scores.