The 2023 Rugby World Cup begins in under a week and for thousands of people, this will be their first Rugby World Cup. Whether it’s watching them in the comfort of your own home, your friend’s house, or a bar, or maybe you’re going to be attending some games; it’s going to be someone’s first Rugby World Cup, or at the very least, it could their first rugby game.
Rugby can be a truly mental and angry sport to follow to the uninitiated. Points are scored every which way, and it can be confusing to begin with, like which indictment Trump should be focusing on first. However, the way points are scored in rugby can be explained. So to help you understand what you’re looking at during the Rugby World Cup, here is a very quick guide to the points system.
Before I begin, I’m only explaining how to score points, what the points mean, and their value.
The value of points scored in a game comes in the form of 5 points (try), 2 points (conversion), 7 points (penalty try), and 3 points (penalty or drop goal).
5 points for a try
Scoring a try in rugby means your team is awarded 5 points. A try is similar to a touchdown in the NFL, except for some subtle differences.
To score a try, a player must place the ball on the opposition’s try line or beyond it. The “try zone” consists of a strip of grass in the form of a rectangle, that starts at the try line, with the parallel line being the “dead-ball” line. The two other lines of the rectangle are the touch/sidelines (out of bounds).
If the ball is placed before the try line, it’s not a try; just the same as if the ball is placed after the dead-ball line, it’s not a try. The ball just has to be placed in between them. To place the ball down, a player either can walk, jump, or run across the line and place the ball down, or simply be lying on the ground and stretch out with their hand, with the ball in it.
With the grounding, you can either do it with one hand or two. It doesn’t matter what you do, and this is important, so long as you have control of the ball and apply downward pressure on it. Even if you’re across the line, you must have control of the ball and be able to force the ball on the ground.
The TMO (Television Match Official) can be called upon by the referee to check the grounding of the ball, in case the ball was lost forward, if there was no grounding, or if another player placed their hand between the ball and the ground; thus preventing the grounding, then the try would not be given.
But if the referee and TMO are happy with the grounding, then your team is awarded 5 points.
I do need to point out, that even if you place the ball legally over the line, you may not be awarded the try, if someone in your team did something illegal, leading up to the try. Rugby is a cold sport.
Here are some examples of players scoring tries:
2 points for a conversion
Of all of the points to be discussed, this is the easiest. After your team scores a try, you have the chance to score an additional 2 points for a conversion. When your team’s try has been confirmed, the goal-kicker; traditionally the first five/fly half (player with 10 on their back) or the fullback (player with 15 on their back), will attempt to kick the ball between the posts and over the crossbar.
The kicker must kick the ball from the ground when the ball is placed on either a plastic tee or a pile of sand, or in the form of a drop kick.1 The place where the conversion attempt must be taken, is perpendicular to where the try was awarded. Basically what this means is that the closer you score the try to the posts, the easier the conversion is for the kicker. The further the try is scored away from the posts, the more challenging the kick is for the kicker.
The kicker is given one minute to complete the kick, and if the kick is successful; as in the ball passes in between the posts and over the crossover, your team receives 2 more points. If the kick misses the posts, no extra points are awarded.
Here’s a video showing examples of conversions:
7 points for a penalty try (try + conversion)
A penalty try is rare to witness, but they do happen. A penalty try is awarded to the attacking team, if the referee thinks the defending team has prevented a try from being scored through illegal methods. If the try was going to be probably scored, without the illegal actions of the defending team, then the referee would do three things:
1.) Confirm the penalty try under the posts.
2.) Award the attacking team an automatic 7 points, which equates to a try and conversion (5+2=7).
3.) Punish the offending player by showing them a yellow card (the player is sin-binned, so they are sent off for 10 minutes before coming back to the game) or a red card (the player is sent off for the rest of the game. They do not get to come back).
Here are some examples of penalty tries:
3 points for a penalty goal
Since rugby has so many laws and rules, it’s extremely easy to break any number of them. As an ex-player, I really can confirm this. From not releasing the ball, not rolling away after the tackle, hands in the ruck, committing an illegal tackle, to a scrum collapse, and so many more, the referee can and will punish any player and team, in the form of a penalty.
If the referee awards a penalty to a team, within a kickable distance to their posts, they are allowed an attempt to kick a penalty goal. It’s the same routine as a conversion, apart from three differences:
1.) With a conversion attempt, players from the defending team are allowed to run at the kicker, as soon as they start moving, so they can block the ball. With a penalty goal attempt, the defending players are not allowed to move.
2.) Where the infringement took place, is where the penalty goal is attempted; if it’s in a kickable distance to the posts.
3.) If the ball passes between the posts and over the crossbar, 3 points instead of 2, are awarded to the attacking team.
Here’s a video showing examples of penalty goals:
3 points for a drop goal
Drop goals are an easy and effective way to score 3 points for your team, and considering the Rugby World Cup is nearly upon us, you’ll see a lot of them.
To score a drop goal, you need to drop kick the ball. This involves dropping the ball onto the ground, and as it bounces up, you kick it. And just like the conversion and penalty goals, the ball must pass between the posts and over the crossbar to be awarded 3 points.
The drop goal is traditionally used; but only always, if the score is tied, or a team is only 1-2 points ahead or behind. Like I said before, drop goals will be used a lot in the knock-out games at the World Cup, because it won’t happen if a team wins by 1 point or 10; as long as they can stay alive and win. So believe me, a lot of drop goals will be used.
Here’s a video showing examples of drop goals in Rugby World Cup Finals:
Does the scoring system make sense? Does this make you want to watch some rugby games? As always, please let me know.
That’s it for another week. Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Please don’t forget to walk your dog; read a banned book; avoid licking windows, and I’ll see you next week.
1 Don’t panic, I’ll explain what a drop kick is very soon. It’s also a term for an idiot or loser!
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