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.