Fundamentally Rugby Union and Rugby League are similar in the sense of being invasion sports played on a rectangular field, with an 'in-goal' area and rugby posts. The aim is to score points through tries and goals. However significance differences have emerged in both rules and playing 'philosophy'.
Top Nine Rules Compared
- Rugby League has thirteen players per side whilst Rugby Union has fifteen
- League awards four points for a try, two for a conversion, two for a penalty and one for a drop goal; union has five for a try, two for a conversion, three for a penalty and three for a drop goal respectively.
- When a tackle is completed in League, the tackled player rises to his feet and 'plays the ball' to restart play; in Union a ruck is formed where the opposing players compete within complex rules to gain possession of the ball.
- At the 'Play the Ball' the defensive team, except for two markers, must retreat ten metres. In Union the teams must remain behind the hindmost foot of the players in the ruck.
- In League if a team in possession has been tackled six times they must handover the ball to the opposition; in Union tackles are limitless.
- When the ball is kicked over the sidelines on the bounce then a defensive scrum (except for a 40-20) is used to re-start parallel to where the ball has left the field of play; whilst in union a line-out is awarded to the defensive team.
- When the ball is kicked into touch from a penalty in League, the game is restarted by the attacking side with a 'tap and go', in field, parallel to where the ball left the field of play; in Union a line out is rewarded to the attacking side at the point the ball left the field.
- In League six players from each team must 'form up' to create a scrum. The ball must be put in to the scrum but does not have to be put in straight; in Union eight players from each side form up and the ball must be put in straight.
- In League if the ball is kicked along the ground into the in-goal area and the defensive team is forced to touchdown or knock the ball dead, then the game is re-started with a Goal Line Drop Out; in Union it is a 22 metre drop out, unless the defensive team carry or throw the ball into their own in-goal area. In that case its an attacking scrum on the 5-metre line.
Sporting Philosophies Compared
There are a host of more complex and minor rules that take years to fully understand. The top nine give a basic grasp of the differences for the casual observer. Underlying these rules is a fundamentally different approach to playing the game of rugby football.
Possession Versus Quickly Restarting Play
Players are capable, and many do, of playing both codes and the sports have not diverged as much as say rugby and American Football. However a key difference in attitude is revealed in what happens when the player is tackled or the ball is out of play. In League the emphasis is very much on starting play again as soon as possible, whilst in Union competing for possession of the ball is paramount. The rules for both have evolved over the years but this point remains consistent.
However both games are fine examples of the sporting combination of strength, speed, skill and legal brutality played by highly trained and courageous athletes.
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