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Major League Rugby rules

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Ask anything about Major League Rugby rules — answered from the rulebook below.

Rugby Union (Major League Rugby / 15-a-side) — Rulebook Reference

Rugby Union is a 15-a-side contact sport played under the World Rugby Laws of the Game. Major League Rugby (MLR) is North America's top professional competition and uses these laws, with several MLR-specific law trials adopted to speed up play. This reference covers standard 15s play and notes MLR variations where they differ.

1. Objective & Format

Two teams of 15 players each (8 forwards and 7 backs) compete to score more points than the opponent by carrying, passing, and kicking an oval ball over the opposition's goal line or through their goalposts. A matchday squad carries replacements (commonly up to 8, for a 23-player squad).

  • Field: A rectangular pitch up to 100 m long (try line to try line) and up to 70 m wide, plus an in-goal area at each end (typically 6–22 m deep). The goalposts are H-shaped with a crossbar 3 m high.
  • Duration: 80 minutes, split into two 40-minute halves with a half-time interval (about 10 minutes). The clock generally stops only at the referee's direction; play in a half continues until the ball next becomes dead after 40 minutes.
  • Officials: One referee, two assistant referees (touch judges), and a Television Match Official (TMO) in MLR.

2. Scoring

  • Try — 5 points: Grounding the ball in the opposition in-goal area.
  • Conversion — 2 points: A place- or drop-kick through the posts after a try, taken in line with where the try was scored.
  • Penalty goal — 3 points: A place-kick through the posts awarded from a penalty.
  • Drop goal — 3 points: A drop-kick through the posts during open play.
  • Penalty try — 7 points: Awarded (no conversion needed) when a probable try is illegally prevented.
  • MLR variation: A try grounded directly beneath the posts (between two marked lines extending to the dead-ball line) is automatically worth 7 points with no conversion kick required.

3. Core Rules of Play

  • Forward pass: The ball may only be passed laterally or backward; it may be kicked in any direction.
  • Knock-on: Losing the ball forward off the hand or arm is a knock-on (turnover).
  • Offside: A player ahead of a teammate who last played the ball is offside and must not interfere with play; offside lines also form at rucks, mauls, scrums, and lineouts.
  • Tackle: The ball-carrier may be tackled; once held and on the ground, the tackler must release and players must enter through "the gate" (from behind the ball).
  • Ruck: Formed when players from both teams contest the ball on the ground after a tackle; hands may not be used to pick the ball out.
  • Maul: Formed when the ball-carrier is held up off the ground and bound by teammates and opponents.
  • Scrum: Restarts play after minor infringements (e.g., knock-on); 8 forwards from each side bind and contest possession.
  • Lineout: Restarts play after the ball goes into touch (out of bounds); players lift a jumper to contest a throw-in.

4. Common Fouls, Violations & Penalties

  • Knock-on / forward pass: Scrum to the non-offending team (in MLR, a forward knock/throw into touch results in a lineout only).
  • Offside, not releasing the tackler/ball, hands in the ruck, collapsing a maul/scrum, not rolling away: Penalty kick.
  • High (dangerous) tackle, foul play: Penalty, plus possible yellow card (10-minute sin-bin) or red card (sent off). In MLR/global trials a red-carded player may be replaced after 20 minutes.
  • Repeated/cynical infringement near the line: Penalty try and/or card.
  • The non-offending team may choose to kick at goal, kick to touch, tap and run, or take a scrum from a penalty.

5. Win Condition

The team with more points when the final whistle blows wins. Drawn matches are permitted in regular-season MLR play (with bonus-point standings: 4 for a win, 2 for a draw, plus try-scoring and losing bonus points). Knockout and playoff matches that are tied proceed to extra time and, if still level, further tie-breaking procedures to determine a winner.