Have you ever wondered about the difference between rugby league and rugby union? Well, you are not alone. To make it easier for you to understand the difference between the two, let’s go down in a quick memory lane and talk about the origin of rugby.
Let’s start with the rumoured myth about William Webb Ellis picking up a ball during a football game. Ellis did not actually invent the sport, the sport is already introduced in the 19th century wherein Ellis is already attending a rugby school.
Since then, the game is played by several schools and clubs in the United Kingdom. In 1871, the governing body of football was established as well as the Rugby Football Union (RFU).
In 1892, Yorkshire started to pay their player who missed a day of work in order to play in games. However, Yorkshire permanently broke away from RFU together with Lancashire club because of continuous conflicts.
These two clubs formed the Northern Rugby Football Union as the RFU continued to govern over to what we call now as rugby union.
The Northern Rugby Football Union clubs continued to play the game with the same rules made by the RFU. However, they began to create a new and different kind of rugby which everybody loves to play up until to this day.
It is then known as the rugby league. It might seem closely similar but there are notable differences between the two.
In rugby league, the teams should be composed of 13 players, while rugby union must have 15 players on each side. Ten substitutes are allowed in rugby league while there are only seven substitutes allowed in rugby union.
Rugby league is played internationally and is governed by the International Rugby League (IRL) while the rugby union is governed by the World Rugby.
In terms of scoring, tries, penalties, and drop goals are all present in both. However, what makes it different is the worth of each score given.
| RUGBY LEAGUE | RUGBY UNION |
| TRY- 4 points | TRY- 5 points |
| DROP GOAL- 1 point | DROP GOAL- 3 points |
| PENALTY- 2 points | PENALTY- 3 points |
| CONVERSION- 2 points | CONVERSION- 2 points |
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In rugby league, the player must place the ball between their legs after being tackled and pass it to their teammate. This move is mostly known as ‘chicken scratch’. Both of the teams are only allowed up to six tackles. If they failed to score a try, they must kick the ball towards the opposing team.
If the ball goes out of the play, the game will restart through a scrum which requires up to six players.
In rugby union, when the player is tackled, the ball must also be released but it is also allowed for any teammate to pick up the ball. You call it rucks when the union players are on the ground trying to get the ball.
Rugby union is also restarted through a ‘lineout’. The lineout is usually made up of eight players coming from both teams.
What’s amazing is that the players are not restricted to play in league or union only. In fact, there is a lot of amateur and professional players who have played in both games. It also considered an advantage if the player played in rugby union and league.
Now that you know some of the basic differences between rugby league and rugby union, don’t forget to share it with your friends and enjoy watching your favourite teams!