Rugby union is a team sport played between two teams of fifteen (15) players.

This is a general glossary of the terminology used in the sport of rugby union. Where words in a sentence are also defined elsewhere in this article, they appear in italics.

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0-9 22 The 22-metre line, marking from the tryline.

50-22 The 50:22 is a kicking law in which a player in possession kicks the ball from inside their own half (the 50), and it bounces in the field of play before going out (into touch) inside the opponent's 22-metre area. The kicking team is then rewarded with the throw into the resulting lineout. The 50:22 law was introduced in 2021 after being trialed in the Super Rugby AU.

89 An "89" or eight-nine move is a phase following a scrum, in which the number 8 picks up the ball and transfers it to number 9 (scrum-half).

99 The "99" call was a policy of simultaneous retaliation by the 1974 British Lions tour to South Africa, (the 99 comes from the British emergency services telephone number which is 999). The tour was marred by on-pitch violence, which the match officials did not adequately control and the relative absence of cameras compared to the modern game made citing and punishment after the fact unlikely. The Lions' captain, Willie John McBride (Ireland), therefore instigated a policy of "one in, all in" - that is, when one Lions player retaliated, all other Lions were expected to join in the melee or hit the nearest Springbok. By doing so, the referee would be unable to identify any single instigator, and so would be left with the choice of sending off all or none of the team. In this respect, the "99" call was extremely successful - no Lions player was sent off during the tour.

A

Accidental offside see Offside

Advantage "Advantage" is the period of time after an infringement in which the non-offending side have the opportunity to gain sufficient territory or tactical opportunity to negate the need to stop the game due to the infringement. The referee will signal advantage with their arm out horizontally toward the non-infringing team. If no tactical or territorial advantage is gained, the referee will whistle and give the decision that had been delayed. If sufficient advantage is gained, the referee will call "advantage over", and play will continue. The Advantage Law allows the game to flow more freely, and not stop for every minor infringement, giving no incentive for a player to commit "intentional" fouls.

An example of the application of advantage would be if Team A knocked the ball on (technical offence, conceding a scrum) but a Team B player picked the ball up and made a run forwards before being tackled.

Advantage line Also called the gain line. It is an imaginary line drawn across the centre of the pitch when there is a breakdown in open play, such as a ruck, maul or scrum. Advancing across the gain line represents a gain in territory.

Alickadoo A non-player associated with a rugby game or club, especially a committee member or administrative official. May perform various off-field roles, particularly on a match day.

Ankle tap An ankle-tap or tap-tackle is a form of tackle. It is used when the player carrying the ball is running at speed and a defending player is approaching from behind. Even if the defender is not able to get close enough to the ball-carrier to wrap their arms around them in a conventional tackle, they may still be able to dive at the other player's feet and, with outstretched arm, deliver a tap or hook to the player's foot (or feet) causing the player to stumble.

B

Ball back If the ball enters touch, then play is restarted by a line-out at the point where the ball left the field of play. The exception to this is if the ball is kicked into touch on the full. In this case, a line-out is taken at the point from where the ball was kicked, and not from where it entered touch.

Ball back is waived in certain circumstances:

If the kicking player is inside his own 22m line when he receives and then kicks the ball. If the player receives the ball outside the 22, then retreats back into the 22 and kicks into touch on the full. This would result in a lineout at the nearest point on the touchline from where the ball was kicked. If a side elects to kick a penalty into touch.

Bill Australian name given to the (William Webb Ellis) Webb Ellis Cup.

Black dot A mark in the centre of the crossbar connecting the goal posts, usually black in colour, used as an aid to kickers with their aiming. A player scoring a try in the centre of the goal line, that is beneath the posts, can be said to have scored "under the black dot".

Blindside The narrow side of the pitch in relation to a scrum or a breakdown in play; it is the opposite of openside. The blindside flanker is expected to cover the opposing team blindside at scrum and breakdown.

The blindside of the scrum is the side that the opposing scrum half is feeding the ball from. The open side is the other side. Open in this situation means unimpeded.

Blitz defence The blitz defence is a defensive technique similar to the defence used in rugby league. It relies on the whole defensive line moving forward towards their marked man as one, as soon as the ball leaves the base of a ruck or maul. The charge is usually led by the inside centre.

The idea of this technique is to prevent the attacking team gaining any ground by tackling them behind the gain line and forcing interceptions and charged down kicks. However, the defending team can be vulnerable to chip kicks and any player breaking the defensive line will have much space to play because the defence are running the other way and must stop, turn and chase.

Blood bin It is also called blood replacement or blood sub(stitution). A player who has a visible bleeding injury may be replaced for up to fifteen minutes (running time, not game time), during which he or she may receive first-aid treatment to stop the flow of blood and dress the wound. The player may then return to the pitch to continue playing.

Bonus points Bonus points are a method of deciding table points from a rugby union match. It was implemented in order to encourage attacking play throughout a match, to discourage repetitive goal-kicking, and to reward teams for "coming close" in losing efforts. Under the standard system, 1 bonus point is awarded for scoring 4 (or more) tries and 1 bonus point for losing by 7 points (or fewer). The French professional league replaces the four-try bonus point with a point for a win in which the winning team scores at least 3 more tries than its opponent. In addition, the "losing" bonus point requires a margin of defeat of 5 or fewer points. Australia's National Rugby Championship uses the same system as France, except that a losing bonus point is awarded if the margin of defeat is 8 points or fewer.

Box-kick This is a kick taken from behind a scrum, normally by the scrum-half, in which he turns away from the scrum facing the touchline, and kicks the ball back over the scrum into the clear "box" of space behind the opposition to allow his own team to chase through and regain the ball in undefended territory.

Breakdown The breakdown is a colloquial term for the short period of open play immediately after a tackle and before and during the ensuing ruck. During this time teams compete for possession of the ball, initially with their hands and then using feet in the ruck. Most referees will call "ruck" or "hands away" as soon as the ruck is formed. Most infringements take place at the breakdown, owing to the greater variety of possible offences at a breakdown, for example handling in the ruck, killing the ball, offside at the ruck, and so on.

C

Caution A player who deliberately or repeatedly infringes the laws is cautioned, and shown a yellow card. A cautioned player is suspended from playing for ten minutes.

Cavalry charge Typically during a penalty kick or free kick, the attacking players form a line behind their kicker. When signaled, they charge forward. The kicker then tap-kicks the ball and passes to one of the players behind. This move is explicitly forbidden under 10.4(p) and the penalty is a penalty kick.

Centre They are the players wearing shirts numbers 12 & 13. They are divided into inside and outside centre. The inside centre is also known as the second five-eighths in New Zealand.

Charge-down When a player makes a defensive clearance kick, but it hits an opponent who has run towards him in an attempt to block it, it is known as a charge-down. These can be good try-scoring opportunities.

Choke tackle Tackle in which the tackler tries to keep the ball carrier on their feet and push them backwards before taking them to the ground. This is harder to execute but gives the tackler's side a gain in territory.

Cibi The cibi is a Fijian war dance performed by the Fiji national team before each of their international matches.

Colts Men's youth rugby players, generally with an upper age limit of 21 years, may be referred to as colts. In some instances the age limit may be as high as 23, but this is uncommon.

A competition for players below the age of 19, for example, may be known as Under-19 Colts. The term is usually not applied to secondary school teams; most colts players have completed their high school years.

Conversion If a team scores a try, they have an opportunity to "convert" it for two further points by kicking the ball through the goal - that is, between the posts and above the crossbar. The kick is taken at any point on the field of play in line with the point that the ball was grounded for the try, parallel to the touch-lines. So it is advantageous to score a try nearer to the posts as it is easier to convert it.

In the 15-player game, the kick can be either a drop kick or a place kick. However, in sevens, all conversions must be drop kicks.

Counter rucking If a team (usually the team that took the ball into contact) has secured the ball at a ruck, and the other team manage to force them off the ball and secure possession themselves, the defending team are said to have "counter-rucked"

Crash ball It is an attacking tactic where a player receives a pass at pace and runs directly at the opposition's defensive line. The crash ball runner attempts to commit two or more opposing players to the tackle, then attempts to make the ball available to teammates by off-loading in the tackle or recycling the ball quickly from the ruck.

By committing players to the tackle, the crash ball runner creates holes in the opposition's defense, thereby creating attacking opportunities for teammates.

Crash tackle Another name for the crash ball as mentioned above.

Cross-Field Kick A kick which goes from one side of the field to the other and is kicked very high, usually resulting in an aerial battle between an attacker and defender to catch it. This is usually used near the defending team's try-line, often with the catch happening in the in-goal area itself. Most often used when the kicker knows the referee is playing advantage and his team will get a penalty if the kick fails - this is because the kick itself is very risky and likely to result in an interception.

D

Drift defence