Lesson 3 of 5 · Learn Major League Rugby
Lesson 3: How Scoring Works
Rugby has several ways to score points, and knowing them makes every moment of the game exciting to watch.
Ways to Score:
- Try — 5 points: Ground the ball in the opponent's in-goal area. This is the most common and most valuable score.
- Conversion — 2 points: After a try, the scoring team kicks the ball through the goalposts. The kick is taken in line with where the try was grounded.
- Penalty Goal — 3 points: A place-kick through the posts awarded after the opposing team commits a foul.
- Drop Goal — 3 points: A player drops the ball and kicks it through the posts during open play — a skillful and rare score.
- Penalty Try — 7 points: Awarded when a player is illegally stopped from scoring a likely try. No conversion kick is needed.
MLR Special Rule:
- A try grounded directly beneath the posts (between two marked lines extending to the dead-ball line) is automatically worth 7 points — no conversion kick required!
The most important score to aim for is the try, as it opens the door to bonus conversion points.