Scoring in rugby union
The five ways points are scored in rugby union and what each is worth — try, conversion, penalty try, penalty goal and drop goal — with the rule that surprises people about the penalty try.
Overview
Rugby union has five scoring actions. A try is worth five points; a conversion two; a penalty try seven; a penalty goal three; and a dropped goal three. Those values are set by Law 8 and are specific to Rugby Union.
A try is scored when an attacking player is first to ground the ball in the opponents' in-goal. Grounding it gives that team the right to attempt a conversion, taken as a place kick or a drop kick.
The penalty try is worth seven and is not converted
A penalty try is awarded between the goal posts when foul play by the opposing team prevents a probable try from being scored, or prevents it from being scored in a more advantageous position. It is worth seven points.
Law 8 then says something explicit that catches people out: no conversion is attempted. The seven points already represent a try plus a successful conversion, so the kick is not taken. A referee awarding a penalty try is awarding the full seven, not five and a chance.
Where the conversion is taken from
A conversion is taken on a line through the point where the ball was grounded, running back parallel to the touchlines. The kicker may go as far back as they like along that line, but they cannot move sideways.
That geometry is why grounding the ball closer to the posts is worth so much. A try under the posts leaves a straight kick; a try in the corner leaves an acute angle regardless of how far back the kicker retreats, which is why attacking sides work the ball infield before grounding when they have the time.
Penalty goal and dropped goal
A penalty goal is scored only from a penalty, and is worth three. A dropped goal is scored by kicking a goal from a drop kick in open play, and is also worth three.
Both are three points because both represent taking points without having crossed the line. The choice between kicking a penalty goal and kicking for the corner is one of the most common strategic decisions in the sport, and the arithmetic — three certain points against a possible seven — is what drives it.
How it works
- A try is five points and gives the right to a two-point conversion attempt.
- A penalty try is seven points and no conversion is taken.
- A penalty goal and a dropped goal are three points each.
- The conversion is taken on a line back from where the ball was grounded.
- These values are Rugby Union; Rugby League uses different ones.
Where it’s used
Sports that use scoring in rugby union:
Sources
The rules, dimensions and specifications on this page were read from these documents.
- Laws of the Game: Rugby Union — World Rugby, Law 8 — Scoring (read 2026-09-12)
How it connects
The meaning-bearing relationships that place Scoring in rugby union in the wider knowledge graph — each one with the reason it exists.
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Follow the threads that connect Scoring in rugby union to the rest of SocialSportHub.
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- Territory versus possessionRugby union's central strategic trade — when to keep the ball and when to kick it away — and why the 22-metre line makes field position worth more than possession in some parts of the field.
- Rugby union set-piece strategyWhy the scrum and lineout are attacking platforms rather than restarts — how a set piece fixes defenders in known positions, and what a team is buying when it chooses one over a kick.
- Rugby union defensive systemsHow a rugby union defence organises fifteen players across the width of the field — the drift, the blitz and the umbrella — and the specific weakness each system accepts.
- The power playWhat a team does with a one-player advantage — the umbrella and 1-3-1 setups, why the extra player creates a passing triangle a penalty kill cannot cover, and what the clock is worth.
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Facilities
- The rugby union fieldThe dimensions and markings of a rugby union pitch — the field of play, the in-goal areas, the 22-metre and 10-metre lines, the goal posts, and what the Laws fix versus what they leave open.
- Football pitchThe large rectangular grass or artificial-turf field on which football (soccer) is played, with a goal at each end.
Techniques
- Kicking in rugby unionThe kicks rugby union is played with — punt, grubber, box kick, up-and-under, drop kick and place kick — what each achieves and which law governs its use.
- Rugby union passingHow a rugby pass is actually made — the sideways swing that replaces a throw, why every pass must travel backwards, and what separates a spiral pass from a pop.
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Rules
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- Knock-on and forward passThe rule that makes rugby a backwards-passing game — what counts as a knock-on, what makes a pass forward, and why the sanction is usually a scrum rather than a penalty.
- The tackleWhat the Laws require of both players in a rugby union tackle — the height limit, the release obligations on the tackler, what the tackled player must do, and how the offside line is created.
- LetA call that stops a point and has it replayed without penalty, used across several racket sports.
- Leg before wicket (LBW)Cricket's most argued-about dismissal, set out as the Laws set it out: five conditions that must all be satisfied, and the one clause that changes everything if the batter played a shot.
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How this page is maintained
- Content type
- Scoring system
- Provenance
- Tier A — evergreen educational
- Verified external sources
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- Content updated
- 2026-09-01
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