Rugby League

The Field
Method of play
Point scoring
Passing
Tackling
Play-the-ball
Tactics
Breaching the defense
Defensive tactics
Turning defense into offense
Changeovers
Markers
Zero tackle rule
Scrum
40-20 kick
Goal-line drop-outs
Disciplinary sanctions
Players A game consists of two 40-minute halves, two teams and a rectangular grass field 120 metres in length. In the middle of the field is the 50 metre "halfway" line. 10 metres from the 50 metre line is the 40 metre line, followed by the 30, 20, 10 metre and goal or 'try' lines. This makes up 100 metres of field that is used for play.
Goal posts are in the middle of the goal line at each end and are used for point scoring from kicks. 6-12 metres beyond each goal-line is the dead ball line. The area between these two lines is called the in-goal area.
Back to Top Play commences once the ball has been kicked off from the ground in the centre of the field. A longer the kick forces the team receiving the ball to return it from deeper within their own territory. However a kick that is too large or misdirected and goes dead without first bouncing in it results in a penalty being awarded to the other team.
Each team is responsible for defending their end of the field, and they take turns defending and attacking. At half-time (the 40th minute), the teams have a 5 minute break, then swap ends.
The team with possession of the football is the attacking team. The aim of the attacking team is to get the ball from their end, into a more favourable position in the opposition's end, and score a try by grounding the ball in the opposition's in-goal area or on the try-line. In some cases the attacking team may kick a 1-point field goal instead. Scoring involves first gaining field position and breaking the opposition's defensive line.
Back to Top Point scoring
There are 3 ways to score points: tries, conversion/penalty goals and field goals.
•    The try is worth 4 points and is the primary way of scoring. To successfully score a try, the ball must be placed on the ground within the in-goal area (or on the try-line itself) with the hand or forearm without losing control of the ball, this is grounding the ball. If the player scoring is being tackled, the try must be completed before same time the tackle is completed. Occasionally a penalty try (instead of a regular penalty) can be given if a try would have been scored if it weren’t for a infringement by a defence player,
•    Both conversion goals and penalty goals are worth 2 points and are attempted off the ground, and are not part of general play. For a kick to be awarded a conversion or penalty goal, it must pass both over the crossbar and between the uprights of the goal-posts.
•    Following a try, the scoring team has a chance to convert the try from 4 points to 6; this is a 'conversion' and the resulting 6 points is a 'converted try'. The position where the kick is taken is worked out by drawing an imaginary line from the point that the try was scored. The kick can be taken as close to or as far from the try-line as the kicker likes, but must be in line with where the ball was grounded for the try. Try-scorers sometimes try to "improve field position" for the kicker, by grounding the football as close to the goal-posts as possible.
•    When an attacking team is awarded a penalty, they are given the choice of taking a penalty kick from the point that the offence took place, or continuing their attack with a new set of 6 tackles. Depending on how close they are to the goal posts, the team's captain will choose what he feels is the best option.
Back to Top Players on the team the ball may pass to one another while trying to reach the other end of the field. A player can only pass the ball behind him, or across the field parallel to the try-line. The rest of the players on the team must make sure they’re 'on-side' by staying behind or in-line with the passer. A ‘forward pass' results in an immediate halt to play and changeover of possession. Passes can also be intercepted by the defence, winning possession for their team.
Back to Top 6 tackle rule
An attacking team has a set of 6 'chances' to score, also referred to as '6 tackles'. The referee keeps track of how many tackles have been performed in each set.
When a side has used 5 tackles, the referee signals "5th tackle" by raising an arm above his head with fingers spread. If a sixth tackle is made, a change-over takes place, the attacking team hands the ball to the defence at the point on the field where the tackle was made. The defence, having gained possession then plays the ball and starts its assault on the opposition's end of the field.
6th tackles are usually avoided by the attacking team kicking the ball in either a last-ditch attempt to score, or to force the opposition to start as far back in their half as possible.
Back to Top Play-the-ball is used to restart play in various instances, most-commonly immediately after a tackle. To return the ball to play, the tackled player must:
1.    have stopped forward progress (i.e. been tackled)
2.    have both feet on the ground
3.    place the ball on the ground in front of one foot
4.    roll the ball backwards by use of the boot
From the moment the ball is rolled back play begins again. The 'dummy half' is the player who then picks up the ball and resumes his team's attack.
Back to Top Tactics
Hit-up
One-out rugby
Kicking
•    Kicks can result in field advancement. Towards the end of the tackle count, the best kicker will then give possession to the other side in the most favourable way for their team by kicking it down to the other end. These kicks are sometimes meant to go into touch (leave the field of play), resulting in a scrum. Scrums take a few minutes to form, so this gives the attack and a chance for a short rest.
Back to Top Breaching the defence
Players attempt to breach the opposing team's defence through combinations of plays, utilising speed, passing and/or kicking as well as Hit-ups.
•    Most tries result from back-line movements which involve passes between the attack to move the ball quickly to the wings or centres. If the passes are quicker than the defence's counter moves a space appears giving the faster wingers and centres the opportunity to score.
•    Forwards will, during a hit-up, look to release the ball in the tackle before it's completed to a player; known as an off-load. The hit-up, if successful, should create spaces in the defence’s line.
•    A 'dummy' is where the player with the ball pretends to pass to a team-mate, but doesn’t and continues to run with it. The aim is to take advantage of defenders that like to rush up on players who are about to receive the ball. This draws the defence away from the player with the ball.
•    Generally, defensive players are assigned a player who they must mark, the attack try to foil this system. A 'run-around' occurs when player A passes the ball to player B, and then circles behind them to receive the ball again. This is designed to take advantage of the defence who will follow the 'player' luring one or many defenders out of their positions in the defensive line. The defence must try to move sideways with the ball across the field to ensure all players remain marked.
•    A 'face-ball', 'second man play' or 'cut-out pass' is a pass that travels in-front of one or more attacking players (who do not catch it) to another player further down the line. Defenders may mistakenly focus on the next player in the attacking line, potentially leaving the actual ball-receiver unmarked.
•    A chip kick can be used to put the ball behind the defensive line so that either the kicker or a teammate can fetch it. Sometimes the kicker will attempt to fetch it after an short chip kick over the defence while running towards them. When a player kicks they are not allowed to be tackled or interfered with by the defence because the ball is no longer in their possession. The kicker's speed makes it hard for defenders to chase. But the chip and fetch is risky as it is difficult to complete successfully.
•    The grubber is more commonly used. The grubber kick is performed when close to the in-goal area; the grubber kick causes the ball to roll along the ground which can make the ball jump up into a perfect catching position. The rolling on the ground gives the attack more opportunities to fetch the ball. The rolling also slows down the ball, allowing the kicker to aim the kick inside the in-goal area.
Back to Top Defensive tactics
When a side is defending they must prevent metres lost. They must defend against ball runners and kickers.
Preventing metres lost
•    The easiest way to do this is have the largest players from the team to do the tackling; A larger tackler will force back an attacking player easier than a smaller tackler.
•    To prevent metres lost it is also important to 'wrap up the ball', this prevents the attacking from offloading. Offloading will mean the attack can continue seamlessly with their next attempt.
Defence spread across the field in a single line to stop the attack from breaking through. The 'Slide Defence' and the 'Umbrella Defence' aim to curb the amount of breaks in the line.
•    The 'sliding defence' has gaps at either end of the defensive line, which puts more players around the area of play. The line is strongest around the position of play, giving the attack less opportunity to run through. Should the attack move the ball towards one edge of the field, then the defensive line moves in that direction; this is known as sliding.
•    The 'umbrella defence' (or 'up and in' defence) doesn’t have players spread across the entire field. The defensive line is particularly vulnerable on the edges, so the best defence is a preventative. The aim becomes to prevent the attack from going to the edges or to disrupt any passes towards the edges. To stop this defensive players (wingers or centres) on the edge move up faster than those in the middle of the line.
An attacking side may kick the ball through or over the defensive line. The defence must defend against kicks in the normal field of play and in the in-goal area.
Defending the field of play
•    Late in the tackle count, when the attack is more likely to kick, the fullback and wingers drop back. The full back covers the end of the field and in-goal area whilst the wingers cover the edges and area between the defence line and the full back. This allows the other rear defenders to become available for a pass when starting their side's attack.
Defending the in-goal area
•    If the ball is caught by a defender before it hits the ground, and the defender is standing in the in-goal area, the defence team is awarded possession. This is to penalise the attack for a poor kick that was easily fielded and awards the defence for fielding the kick. The defence restarts play on the 20 metre line with an option kick.
•    A defender will shadow the ball over the touch line in order to stop an attack player from getting into a position to ground the ball. It is likely a ball may be heading to touch off a kick. When this happens, the roles of each team are reversed, where the attack becomes the defence and vice versa.
•    Grounding the ball in-goal or putting the ball into touch are last ditch defence to stop the attack scoring. These 2 moves force a stop to play, which means the opposition can’t score. Both of these mean the attack keeps possession of the ball.
Back to Top The defence can gain possession of the ball at any stage during the game by:
•    The one-on-one strip is performed is when there are 2 players in a tackle and the strip itself is the act of taking the ball from the arms of an attacking player, gaining possession.
•    An intercept a defending player preventing a pass reaching its targeted player. An intercept usually ends in a try because in achieving the interception, the player has passed through the opposition's line of players.
•    During a tackle, the defence may force the attack player 'into touch' while they’re in possession of the ball. This results in a stoppage of play, with play restarting via a scrum with the head and feed going to the defence. The defence can only win a scrum (if the attack has the head and feed) if the ball comes forward out of the tackle towards them (consisting of a knock-on), otherwise the first team to pick up the ball wins possession.
•    Lastly, strong tackles can force the ball loose from the impact. Forwards are more effective at this play than the backs because of their size.
Back to Top Late in the tackle count the attack will start to think defensively in anticipation of a change over. The attacking team use tactics (mostly kicks) to put themselves in the better defensive position when their set of six ends..
At the end of an attack’s set of 6, they may wish to the ball in to touch and give the opposition a scrum feed. This is aimed at slowing down play to give them a better defensive stance. A scrum is better than the other team fetching the ball, forcing the newly defensive side to make a tackle. Putting the ball into touch makes the new attack team play from a non-running position, as far away from their in-goal area as possible.
Back to Top During the play-the-ball its normal for a player from the defence to stand directly in front of the player with the ball this player is called the marker. If no marker is present, the tackled player may tap the ball on his boot to start the next play. The tap is faster than the play-the-ball which gives the attack an advantage, so there is almost always a marker. Usually the person who tackled the player becomes a marker. There is a maximum of 2 markers for each play-the-ball, the second stands behind the first.
The marker(s) must stand directly in front of the tackled player; not doing so will result in a penalty. A marker must also not move towards the ball until the play-the-ball has been completed, otherwise they’ll be penalised.
Back to Top If the defence 'knocks on' or touches the ball when it's in the air, and the ball is immediately fetched by the attack, the referee may decide to re-start the tackle count instead of awarding a scrum; known as the zero tackle rule because the next tackle is counted as 'tackle zero' and not 'tackle one'. The zero tackle rule can’t be used in again in that set. On awarding the zero tackle rule, the referee will shout "Back to zero!" or "Six again", and wave one arm over his head with fingers clenched into a fist.
Back to Top The scrum is formed by the 'front row' forwards of each side locking together, and packing down to push against each other. The 'second row' forwards pack in behind the front rows, and the loose forwards join the scrum at the back. The ball is "fed" through the legs of one of the props by the halfback, who normally then retrieves it again from the back of the scrum.
The scrum was originally used when the teams compete for possession; but this has since changed with the introduction of uncontested scrums, where the ball is fed into the second row, instead of the first, almost removing any competition for the ball. The scrum now simply removes the forwards from the play for a period, creating more space for the backs to attack the defensive line. This gives advantage to the side that is awarded the scrum.
A scrum can be awarded following a forward pass, knock on or the ball going into touch.
Back to Top The 40-20 was introduced to reward accurate kicking; a 40-20 kick must be both accurate and long. For a successful 40-20:
•    the kicker must be behind their side's 40 metre line when they kick the ball,
•    the ball must first land on the field past the opponent's 20 metre line,
•    the ball must then going over the sidelines (into touch) past the opponent's 20 metre line.
The team that kicked is awarded the scrum from the point that the ball left the field.
Back to Top If a defence player is tackled behind his own try-line, or plays the ball over his own dead-ball line, their team must perform a drop-kick from between their own goal posts. This kick must travel over the 10-metre line before it bounces. The goal-line drop-out usually gives possession back to the attack.
Back to Top The standard is the penalty, the referee may also award a penalty try.
If a team that has been penalised commits a further offence the referee may advance the position of the penalty 10 metres towards the offending team's goal line, and may also sin bin or send off the offending player(s).
Back to Top Players are divided into forwards and backs. Each position has a number between 1 and 13. Numbers 14 to 17 are given to players starting on the bench, who are used as substitutes. Typically the bench is comprised of 3 forward substitutes and a hooker/halves substitute. Each side is allowed 12 substitutions per game.
The backs are generally smaller and faster. They use fine kicking, passing or manoeuvring skills, tactics and/or set plays to break the defensive line instead of brute force.
•    The title of fullback (numbered 1) comes from the fullback's defensive position where the player drops out of the defensive line to cover the rear from kicks and runners. In attack the fullback will typically make runs into the attack or support a runner in anticipation of a pass out of the tackle.
•    The wings (numbered 2 and 5) are the fastest players and play on the far left and right of the field (the wings). Their main task is to receive passes and score tries. The wingers also drop back on the last tackle to cover the left and right sides of the field for kicks.
•    The centres (numbered 3 and 4) are positioned one in from the wings and together complete what is known as the three-quarter line. Usually the best mixture of power and vision, their main role is to try and create attacking opportunities for and defend those of the opposition.
Are a team's creative-unit or 'playmakers'.
•    The stand-off-half (numbered 6) operates in front of the pack during 'Forward-Play' and in front of the backs during 'Back-Play'.
•    The scrum-half (numbered 7) there’s not much difference between them and the stand-off-half they also operate in front of the pack during 'Forward-Play' and in front of the backs during 'Back-Play'
The forwards' 2 responsibilities are in "normal play" and "scrum play", forward positions are broken into:
•    Front row forwards
o    The props (numbered 8 and 10) are the largest players on field. They are positioned in the centre of the line. The prop will be an "enforcer", stopping the opposition from attacking the centre of the defensive line and in attack give the team momentum by taking the ball up to the defence aggressively.
o    The hooker (numbered 9) is most likely to play the role of dummy-half. In defence the hooker usually defends in the middle of the line. The hooker is responsible for organising the defence in the middle of the field. In attack as dummy-half this player is responsible for starting the play from every play-the-ball by either passing the ball to the right player, or running from dummy-half. Hookers also probably make more tackles.
•    The second row forwards (numbered 11 and 12) Very similar to a centre and is expected to be faster than the prop and will play amongst the three-quarters, providing strength in attack and defence when the ball is passed out to the wings.