Rugby · Scoring guide
How does rugby scoring work?
Rugby is scored by adding up points from scoring plays over two halves of 40 minutes. In rugby union a try is worth 5 points, a conversion 2, a penalty goal or drop goal 3 and a penalty try 7, and the team with more points at full time wins.
Rugby union scoring at a glance
| Score | Points | How it is scored |
|---|---|---|
| Try | 5 | Grounding the ball in the opponents' in-goal area, which starts at their try line |
| Conversion | 2 | A kick at goal straight after a try. A miss scores nothing |
| Penalty goal | 3 | A kick at goal from a penalty the referee has awarded |
| Drop goal | 3 | A drop kick over the crossbar in open play |
| Penalty try | 7 | Awarded when foul play prevents a probable try. No conversion is taken |
A kick at goal scores when the ball goes over the crossbar and between the posts. There are no points for anything else: territory, possession, scrums and lineouts only matter because they lead to scores.
How many points is a try in rugby?
A try is worth 5 points in rugby union and rugby sevens, and 4 in rugby league. It also earns a kick at goal for 2 more, so a converted try is worth 7 in union.
Old scorelines can look odd because a try has not always been worth this much; rugby league vs union scoring shows when the value changed.
How does a conversion work?
After a try, the scoring team gets one kick at goal, the conversion, worth 2 points. It is taken from a spot on a line straight out from where the try was grounded, and the kicker can go as far back along that line as they like. That is why attackers try to ground the ball near the posts: a try under the posts leaves an easy kick, while a try in the corner leaves a hard one from out wide.
In fifteen-a-side rugby the conversion can be a place kick or a drop kick. In sevens it must be a drop kick. A missed conversion scores nothing, but the try's 5 points always stand, and nothing else can be scored between a try and its conversion.
What is the difference between a penalty goal and a drop goal?
Both are worth 3 points in union. The difference is how the kick comes about:
- Penalty goal: the referee awards a penalty for an offence, and the team that was wronged can choose to kick at goal from where the penalty was given. The kick is taken with play stopped, usually as a place kick off a tee.
- Drop goal: kicked in open play, with no stoppage. A player drops the ball onto the ground and kicks it as it bounces up, over the crossbar.
What is a penalty try worth?
A penalty try is worth 7 points in rugby union. The referee awards it when foul play by the defending team prevents a try that would probably have been scored. It is awarded between the posts and no conversion is attempted. It has been a flat 7 since 2017; before that a penalty try was worth 5 points plus a conversion kicked from in front of the posts.
How do you keep score in a rugby match?
- Write down each score as it happens, with the team and the type: try, conversion, penalty goal, drop goal or penalty try. A list of plays is easier to check afterwards than a running total on its own.
- Record the conversion straight after the try, as made (+2) or missed (+0), so you always know which tries were converted.
- Note the score at half-time. The teams change ends and the second half carries on from that score.
- Add it up at full time. The team with more points wins. A level score is a draw unless the competition needs a winner; see how long a rugby match lasts for extra time.
Cards do not change the score by themselves. A yellow card sends a player to the sin bin for 10 minutes, and the score only moves if the referee also awards a penalty try or the other team kicks the penalty.
Worked example: a union match added up score by score
Here is a whole match between Home and Away with every kind of union score in it, including a missed conversion and a penalty try.
| When | Team | Scoring play | Points | Score | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 min | Away | Penalty goal | +3 | 0–3 | Away kick a penalty between the posts. |
| 14 min | Home | Try | +5 | 5–3 | Grounded close to the posts, so the conversion is a short kick. |
| 15 min | Home | Conversion | +2 | 7–3 | Converted: 7 points from the move. |
| 27 min | Away | Try | +5 | 7–8 | Grounded near the touchline, so the conversion is kicked from out wide. |
| 28 min | Away | Conversion missed | +0 | 7–8 | The kick misses. The try's 5 points still stand. |
| 38 min | Home | Penalty goal | +3 | 10–8 | Half-time: Home lead 10-8. |
| 46 min | Home | Drop goal | +3 | 13–8 | Dropped over the crossbar in open play. |
| 55 min | Away | Penalty try | +7 | 13–15 | Foul play stops a probable try: 7 points and no conversion kick. Away lead 15-13. |
| 63 min | Home | Try | +5 | 18–15 | |
| 64 min | Home | Conversion | +2 | 20–15 | Home back in front by 5. |
| 71 min | Away | Penalty goal | +3 | 20–18 | |
| 78 min | Home | Penalty goal | +3 | 23–18 | Full time: Home win 23-18. |
Running totals added up at build time. Every play's value is checked against the World Rugby point values.
Check the totals by type. Home scored 2 tries (10), 2 conversions (4), 2 penalty goals (6) and a drop goal (3), for 23. Away scored 1 try (5) with its conversion missed, a penalty try (7) and 2 penalty goals (6), for 18. Home win by 5, and that margin matters beyond the match: under the standard bonus-point system a team that loses by 7 points or fewer takes a bonus point, so Away still get something from the day. See rugby bonus points.
To check any total, or to see every combination of scores that makes it, use the rugby points calculator.
How is rugby league scored?
Rugby league has the same kinds of score, but most are worth less: a try is 4 points, a conversion 2, a penalty goal 2 and a drop goal, usually called a field goal, 1. The NRL in Australia also has a 2-point field goal for kicks from 40 metres or more out. League has an 8-point try too: when the try scorer is fouled in the act of scoring, the try and conversion are followed by a penalty kick at goal.
Rugby league vs union scoring puts the codes side by side and scores the same match under both, with a different winner.
How the app handles it
The rugby score tracker starts in Union, with Try +5, Penalty +3 and Drop goal +3 on each team's menu. After a try, the scoring team picks Conversion (+2) or No good (+0), and nothing else can be scored until it is recorded. There is no game clock: tap Next half at half-time and End match at full time, and a level score is recorded as a draw. A Penalty-try button (+7, no conversion) can be switched on under Advanced, and the League setting switches to league values. Missed penalty kicks and drop goals are not recorded, and scores are kept per team, not per player. With Pro, match stats show how many of each scoring play each team made, conversions made out of attempted and points by half.
Questions
Why is it called a try in rugby?
In early rugby, grounding the ball over the line scored no points at all. It only earned the right to try a kick at goal, and the goal was what counted. Tries began to earn points of their own in the 1880s, and the name stuck.
Can a conversion be charged down?
Yes. The defending team must wait behind its own goal line, but once the kicker starts the run-up to kick, defenders may charge or jump to block the ball. A blocked conversion scores nothing, and the try still counts.
How many tries do you need for a bonus point in rugby?
Four, in competitions that use the standard system, such as the Rugby World Cup, the Six Nations and the URC: a team that scores 4 or more tries gets 1 extra table point, whether it wins, draws or loses. France's Top 14 and Super Rugby Pacific base it on scoring at least 3 more tries than the opponent instead. See rugby bonus points.
Last reviewed September 25, 2026
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