Rugby is a contact sport built on respect. Players trust their opponents, team-mates and the referee to play fair, and that trust is what makes it safe to play. Foul play puts people at risk and spoils the game for everyone, so it should never be part of how we play. Win the right way, accept the referee’s decisions, and look after the people on the other side of the ball.
What counts as foul play
Obstruction
- Charging or pushing someone chasing the ball, other than shoulder to shoulder.
- Offside players blocking an opponent or interfering with play.
- Stopping an opponent from tackling, or from playing the ball when you’re not competing for it.
- A ball-carrier running into an offside team-mate to block defenders.
- Interfering with an opponent while the ball is dead.
Unfair play
- Deliberately breaking a law.
- Knocking, pushing or throwing the ball out of play with hand or arm.
- Doing something to trick the referee into thinking an opponent offended.
- Wasting time (the sanction is a free-kick).
Repeated offences
- Repeating the same offence, as a player or a team. The referee gives a team caution first, then a yellow card.
Dangerous play
- Reckless or dangerous actions, including leading with the elbow or forearm and jumping into or over a tackler.
- Physical or verbal abuse: biting, punching, contact with the eyes, striking, stamping, tripping, kicking.
- Early, late or dangerous tackles, including head contact and high tackles.
- Tackling a player who doesn’t have the ball.
- Holding, pushing, charging or blocking a player without the ball (outside scrums, rucks and mauls).
- Charging or knocking down a ball-carrier without trying to grasp them.
- Tackling or pulling a player whose feet are off the ground.
- Lifting a player and dropping or driving them so head or upper body hits the ground.
Scrums
- Rushing in from a distance, pulling an opponent, lifting someone or forcing them up, and deliberately collapsing the scrum.
Rucks and mauls
- Charging in without binding, contact above the shoulders, deliberately collapsing, rolling, pulling or twisting an opponent, dropping weight onto an opponent or targeting the legs.
Other offences
- Retaliation, the “flying wedge”, trying to kick the ball out of a carrier’s hands, and late-charging or obstructing a kicker.
- Hand-offs are allowed unless excessive force is used.
Misconduct
- Anything against the spirit of good sportsmanship.
- Disputing the referee’s decisions, or not stopping when the whistle goes.
Cards
- Yellow card: the player is cautioned and suspended for 10 minutes. A second yellow-card offence means a red card.
- Red card: the player is sent off for the rest of the match.
Most foul play is punished with a penalty. Summary only: the full Law 9 on World Rugby Passport is the official text.