page_title: Laws of rugby union
section_title: Penalties and free kicks
hierarchical_section_title: Laws of rugby union / Penalties and free kicks
caption_attribution_description: English: Referee giving yellow card
context_page_description: The laws of Rugby Union are defined by World Rugby and dictate how the game should be played. They are enforced by a referee, generally with the help of two assistant referees.
  When playing a game of Rugby Union the overall objective is to score more points than the opposition through tries and goals. A try worth five points is scored when a team grounds the ball in the opposition's in-goal. A conversion is then attempted by either place- or drop-kicking the ball between the H-shaped goal posts and above the crossbar. If successful this is worth two extra points.
  Penalties are awarded for major infringements such as offside or foul play and the team that is awarded them can choose to take a shot at goal in an attempt to score three points. They can also use the penalty to kick for territory or tap the ball and continue running it. Three points are awarded if a team member drop kicks a goal during general play.
  The game of Rugby evolved from early association football, with the rules of play being agreed upon before the start of each match.
context_section_description: If a minor infringement occurs a scrum or free kick is awarded to the non-offending team. For more serious misdemeanors the referee awards a penalty. If the non-offending team gains an advantage the referee can allow play to continue. The referee has wide discretion on whether any advantage has occurred; with penalty advantages needing a greater gain than scrum advantages. If no advantage is gained play is taken back to where the infringement occurred. The penalty or free kick is taken where the infringement occurred, or moved out five metres if it is close to the goal line. The ball can be kicked in any direction and played at again by the person kicking it. The rest of the team must stay behind the kicker until the ball has been kicked. The opposition must retire ten metres or to their goal-line.
  Penalties are awarded if a player is caught offside, is involved in foul play, offends at the tackle, ruck or maul, or is involved in dangerous play at scrums and line-outs. Foul play includes intentionally or repeatedly offending, throwing the ball into touch, obstructing the opposition, or misconduct. Examples of misconduct are striking, stamping, kicking or tripping players, illegal tackles and contact with players after they have kicked the ball. Dangerous play at line-outs is pushing, charging, obstructing or levering on an opponent. Dangerous play at scrums is charging at opponents not correctly binding to opponents, the hooker swinging (using both feet to strike the ball), twisting, dipping or lifting an opponent collapsing. Other offences that result in penalties are if a team has too many players, wearing illegal clothing, throwing the ball deliberately into touch, intentionally knocking the ball on, not releasing the ball if taking into touch, incorrect numbers in a scrum, handling in the scrum and the scrum-half kicking the ball in the scrum.
  The referee may punish a player's misconduct by using penalty cards. A yellow card indicates caution, a red card indicates a player has been sent off. Players may be cautioned for foul or dangerous conduct, for persistent breaches of the same rule, or for deliberate infringement to prevent their opponents from gaining a decisive advantage. A player receiving a caution is temporarily suspended from play for ten minutes. This has become known as the sin-bin. If the same player subsequently commits a further cautionable offence, he is sent off for the rest of the game. A player can also be sent off permanently, without first being cautioned, for serious foul play.
  Free kicks are awarded for technical infringements that do not warrant a penalty. This includes indiscretions like players time wasting, charging over the 22-metre line during the oppositions drop-out, pushing in a ruck with their head lower than their hips, returning the ball to a ruck or maul, pretending to clear the ball from a ruck or maul and preventing the ball being thrown in at a quick line-out. Many infringements are penalised by free kicks during line-outs, including delaying or pretending to throw the ball in (balking), having less than two or more numbers than the opposition, leaving once the line-out has formed, failure to form a line-out, standing closer than five metres or over fifteen metres from the sideline, the receiver or opposition hooker (or equivalent player) standing in the incorrect position, not forming a straight line, not keeping a metre gap between the two lines, lifting a player below the shorts from behind or below the thighs from in front, jumping before the ball is thrown in, not lowering any lifted player, using only the outside arm to catch or deflect the ball or leaving the line-out before the ball is thrown, Free kicks awarded at scrums are for delay in forming a scrum, incorrect or early binding of the front rows, pushing before the ball is fed, front rows feet off the ground before the ball is fed, the scrumhalf not feeding the ball in correctly or straight, intentionally kicking the ball out of the tunnel, bringing the ball back into the scrum after it has emerged, a non-front row 
caption: A yellow card indicates the player has committed a cautionable offence and must spend ten minutes out of the game. The player can not be replaced during this time.
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