Rugby League Scoring Explained: Try, Conversion, Penalty Goal and Field Goal
Rugby league has four ways to score. A try is worth four points, a conversion two, a penalty goal two, and a field goal one. Those four values explain every scoreline in the sport, and they are the main thing that separates rugby league from rugby union.
If you have arrived here from rugby union, almost every number is different. A try is four points in league and five in union. A penalty goal is two in league and three in union. A drop goal, called a field goal in league, is one point rather than three. This page sets out each scoring play, what it is worth, how the two codes compare, how golden point works, and how to read a rugby league scoreline. It sits alongside the master scoreboard guide.
The rugby league point system
| Scoring play | Points | How it is scored |
|---|---|---|
| Try | 4 | Grounding the ball with downward pressure in the opponent's in-goal area |
| Conversion | 2 | A kick at goal after a try, taken in line with where the ball was grounded |
| Penalty goal | 2 | A place kick at goal awarded from a penalty |
| Field goal, also called a drop goal | 1 | A drop kick over the crossbar from open play |
| Long range field goal | 2 | In the NRL, a field goal kicked from outside the 40 metre line |
| Penalty try | 4 | Awarded when foul play prevents a probable try. The conversion is taken from in front of the posts |
How many points is a try in rugby league?
Four points. A try is scored by grounding the ball in the opposition in-goal area with downward pressure, which means holding the ball to the ground or falling on it, not simply carrying it over the line. It is the highest single score in the sport and the reason attacking teams push through six tackles rather than settle for a kick.
Where the try is scored matters even though the value does not. A try under the posts leaves an easy conversion; a try in the corner leaves a kick from the touchline. That is why players run infield before grounding when they have the chance: the difference between a converted and an unconverted try is two points.
How many points is a conversion?
Two. After a try, the scoring team kicks at goal from a spot in line with where the ball was grounded, at any distance back from the try line they choose. The kick can be a place kick or a drop kick. If it goes over the crossbar and between the posts, the try becomes six points in total. A missed conversion leaves the try at four, which is why rugby league scores are not always even numbers.
How many points is a penalty goal?
Two, the same as a conversion but from a different situation. When a team is awarded a penalty within kicking range, it can take a shot at goal instead of tapping the ball or kicking for touch. It is the most common way a team scores without ever entering the opposition in-goal area, and it is a common late tactic when two points level the scores.
How many points is a field goal in rugby league?
One point. A field goal, known as a drop goal in rugby union and in British commentary, is a drop kick taken from open play that goes over the crossbar. The ball must bounce off the ground before it is kicked. It is worth one point in every rugby league competition, with one modern exception: the NRL awards two points for a field goal kicked from outside the 40 metre line, a rule introduced to make long range attempts worth trying. Not every competition has adopted it, so check the rules of the league you are watching.
The one point field goal is why rugby league produces scorelines that no other football code does. A one point margin in the last minute is a normal way for a rugby league match to end, and it is what makes golden point extra time work.
Rugby league versus rugby union scoring
The two codes share ancestry and almost no numbers. This is the comparison most people arrive looking for.
| Scoring play | Rugby league | Rugby union |
|---|---|---|
| Try | 4 points | 5 points |
| Conversion | 2 points | 2 points |
| Penalty goal | 2 points | 3 points |
| Drop goal or field goal | 1 point | 3 points |
| Converted try total | 6 points | 7 points |
| Players a side | 13 | 15 |
The consequence is a different style of game. In union, three penalty goals are worth more than an unconverted try, so a side can win by kicking. In league, a penalty goal is worth half a try, so kicking for goal is a tactical choice rather than a strategy.
Reading a rugby league scoreline
Because every score is four, two or one, you can usually work out how a scoreline was built.
| Score | Most likely combination |
|---|---|
| 4 | An unconverted try |
| 6 | A converted try |
| 10 | A converted try plus an unconverted try |
| 13 | Two converted tries plus a field goal |
| An odd number | A field goal has been kicked, since every other score is even |
A player's scoring line is written the same way. A player credited with 2 tries and 4 goals has scored 16 points: eight from the tries, eight from the kicks. Goals in that column include both conversions and penalty goals, which are worth two points each.
How a rugby league match is structured
Two halves of forty minutes, thirteen players a side, and a clock that counts up and runs through nearly everything. Unlike most sports, the rugby league clock keeps going through play the balls, scrums, tries and conversions. It is stopped for injuries, and in most competitions for a video referee review, which in the NRL is called the Bunker.
The attacking team gets six tackles to score before handing possession over, which is the rule that shapes everything else. On the fifth or sixth tackle a side will usually kick, either for territory or at the posts, because a seventh tackle gives the ball to the opposition. A set restart, called six again, returns the count to one without stopping play.
What is golden point in rugby league?
Golden point is sudden death extra time. If scores are level at full time, the teams play extra time and the next score of any kind wins the match immediately, including a one point field goal. That is why the field goal, the smallest score in the sport, is the one that most often decides matches.
In the NRL, regular season matches level after eighty minutes go to ten minutes of golden point, played as two halves of five minutes. If nobody scores in that time, the match is a draw. In finals, extra time continues until somebody scores, because a result is required. Other competitions set their own rules, and some allow a draw with no extra time at all.
League standings: how competition points work
The points on the scoreboard are not the points in the ladder. In the NRL a win is worth two competition points, a draw one, and a loss none, with a bye also worth two. Teams level on competition points are separated on points differential, meaning points scored minus points conceded across the season. The Super League and other competitions use their own variations, so the ladder rules are competition specific even though the scoring rules are not.
Cards, the sin bin and player counts
Discipline does not score points but it decides games. A yellow card in rugby league is ten minutes in the sin bin, with the team playing with twelve players until it expires. A red card is a send-off for the rest of the match. Ten minutes a player short in a sport where a converted try is six points is frequently the whole margin, which is why broadcast graphics carry a sin bin countdown and a player count.
How to read a rugby league scoreboard
Alongside the score and the match clock, a rugby league scoreboard carries the tackle count from one to six and an indicator of which team is in possession. That number is the most read element on the graphic, because it tells you whether the next play is an attacking option or a kick. Any active sin bin countdown sits alongside it. Our guide to what a rugby league scoreboard must show covers each element and where its data comes from.
Where this fits at LIGR
LIGR is the official graphics provider to Queensland Rugby League, and builds the overlays that carry the score, clock, tackle count and sin bin countdowns live. No official data feed exists for most rugby league played anywhere, and the tackle count in particular is in no external database, so the LiveScore app is the feed: an operator taps tries, conversions, penalty goals, field goals, tackles and cards, and the graphics follow. The design is bound to that data in Fuse and renders in a browser, with no graphics hardware at the ground. More on rugby at LIGR.
Frequently asked questions
How many points is a try in rugby league?
Four points. A try is scored by grounding the ball with downward pressure in the opposition in-goal area. It is worth five points in rugby union, which is the most common source of confusion between the two codes. A converted try in rugby league is six points in total, compared with seven in union.
How many points is a conversion in rugby league?
Two points. The kick is taken in line with where the ball was grounded, at whatever distance from the try line the kicker chooses, and can be a place kick or a drop kick. A converted try is therefore worth six points in total, and a missed conversion leaves the try at four.
How many points is a field goal in rugby league?
One point. A field goal, called a drop goal in rugby union, is a drop kick from open play that goes over the crossbar, and the ball must touch the ground before being kicked. The NRL awards two points for a field goal kicked from outside the 40 metre line, but the standard value everywhere else is one.
How many points is a penalty goal in rugby league?
Two points, the same value as a conversion. A team awarded a penalty within kicking range can choose a shot at goal rather than tapping or kicking for touch. In rugby union the same kick is worth three points, which is why union teams can win on penalties alone and league teams generally cannot.
What is golden point in rugby league?
Golden point is sudden death extra time played when scores are level at full time. The next score of any kind wins immediately, including a one point field goal. In the NRL regular season it is ten minutes, played as two halves of five, and the match is a draw if nobody scores. In finals it continues until there is a score.
What is the difference between rugby league and rugby union scoring?
Every value except the conversion is different. A try is four points in league and five in union. A penalty goal is two in league and three in union. A drop goal is one point in league and three in union. Only the conversion is the same at two points. League is played with thirteen players a side, union with fifteen.
Why do rugby league scores sometimes end in an odd number?
Because of the field goal. Tries, conversions and penalty goals are all worth even numbers of points, so any odd total means at least one field goal has been kicked, or in the NRL a long range field goal has added two. It is a quick way to read how a scoreline was built without seeing the scoring sequence.
How many points is a win worth in the NRL ladder?
Two competition points for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss, with a bye also worth two. Teams level on competition points are separated by points differential, which is points scored minus points conceded across the season. Those ladder points are separate from the match scoring values of four, two and one.
Rugby league graphics without a truck at the ground
Score, count-up clock, tackle count, possession and sin bin countdowns, driven by real match events. Cloud rendered broadcast graphics, one operator or none.