Rugby league playing field
Encyclopedia
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
and is surfaced exclusively with grass.
The dimensions and markings of a full-sized playing area are defined in Section 1 of the Laws of the Game
Laws of rugby league
The laws of rugby league, officially the Laws of the Game, are the laws governing the game of rugby league football. The Laws apply to the play, officiating, equipment and procedures of the sport. The Laws are the responsibility of the Rugby League International Federation.Rugby league governing...
. These Laws are the agreed upon and maintained by the Rugby League International Federation
Rugby League International Federation
The Rugby League International Federation is the world governing body of rugby league football. It was formed in 1998 in Sydney, Australia. Its purpose is to, "foster, develop, extend, govern and administer the game of Rugby League throughout the world". Its headquarters are in Sydney, Australia,...
. The playing field is defined as "the area bounded by, but not including, the touch lines and dead ball lines" by Section 2. If the ball or any player in possession of it makes contact with the touch lines or dead ball lines or the ground beyond them it is deemed to be out of play.
The rugby league field also has markings to denote where re-starts, such as scrums, should be placed.
Dimensions
Rugby league is played on a field 112-122 by 68 metres (122.5-133.4 × 74.3 yards). The longer boundary lines are touch lines, while the shorter boundary lines are dead ball lines. The touch lines and dead ball lines are out of play.Field
Near each end of the field is a goal line, or try-line; they are 100 metres (109.4 yards) apart. A scoring area called the in-goal area extends 6–11 metres (6.6-12 yards) from each try-line to each dead ball line.Most play will occur within the field of play, this "is the area bounded by, but not including, the touch lines and goal lines".
When the team in possession of the ball is attempting to score a try
Try
A try is the major way of scoring points in rugby league and rugby union football. A try is scored by grounding the ball in the opposition's in-goal area...
, the goal line is included in the in-goal area, grounding the ball correctly on either is a try.
When the team in possession is attempting to return the ball to the field of play from their own in-goal area the goal line is part of the field of play. A team caught with the ball in their own in-goal must re-start play with a drop kick
Drop kick
A drop kick is a type of kick in various codes of football. It involves a player dropping the ball and then kicking it when it bounces off the ground. It contrasts to a punt, wherein the player kicks the ball without letting it hit the ground first....
of the ball from between their posts, this usually results in the other team gaining possession.
Between the goal lines, broken lines run parallel to each touch line at 10 and 20 metres from touch. Free kicks are taken 10 metres in from the point where the ball entered touch after being kicked out to gain ground from a penalty. If a scrum is required to re-start play and the event that caused it occurred "within 20 metres of a touch line or ten metres of a goal line the scrum shall be brought in twenty metres from the touch line and ten metres from the goal line".
Markings
Lines with distance markers transverse the field every 10 metres perpendicular to the touch lines. The distances ascend from each goal line towards the halfway line, which is marked "50" (similar to a typical American footballAmerican football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
field). These lines, as well as the goal lines, dead ball lines and touch lines are 15 centimetres wide and white in colour, the only exception being the 40-metre lines, which are usually coloured red to distinguish them for the determination of 40-20 kicks in play.
The broken lines 10 metres and 20 metres in from the touch lines are 10 centimetres wide and white in colour.
The distance markers on the playing field are white with a red outline. These numbers are 2 metres high.
Objects
On each goal line are two goal posts 5.5 metres apart connected by a cross bar 3 metres from the ground. Each goal post is 16 metres in height (however they can be built higher) and for the purpose of judging a goal are considered to extend upwards indefinitely. The posts and crossbar form an "H" shape. Goal posts supported by only one post below the crossbar are permissible. The bottom two metres of a goal post is recommended to be padded to protect players from injury. At professional level, these pads are usually cuboids that encase each post.A corner post is placed at the points where each touch line meets each goal line. The post must consist of non-rigid material and should be at least 1.25 metres in height. The corner posts are in touch in-goal, that is to say they act in the same way as sidelines and the ball-carrier touching them immediately halts play.
Rule variation
During the 2010 NRL season2010 NRL season
The 2010 NRL season was the 103rd season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the thirteenth run by the National Rugby League. The season commenced on 12 March and ended with the Grand Final, played on 3 October at ANZ Stadium...
, a rule change to the playing field was implemented so that if a player in possession of the ball made contact with the corner post that player would no longer be considered to be touch in-goal. Proponents of the move argued a series a possible future scenarios made this preventative measure necessary, with ARL
Australian Rugby League
The Australian Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in Australia. It is made up of state bodies, including the New South Wales Rugby League and the Queensland Rugby League...
chief executive Geoff Carr
Geoff Carr
Geoff Carr is the CEO of the Australian Rugby League as well as the New South Wales Rugby League. He is also a retired rugby league footballer, having played first grade in the NSWRL premiership with the St. George Dragons during the 1970s and reached the 1971 grand final with them.Carr was...
stating, "no one has thought of the possibility of using the corner post as a weapon to defuse a try and we want to stop it before they do". One scenario was that a defending player might manipulate the corner post to put an attacker out of play. Another concern cited was that the corner post might be made to make contact with a rolling ball to ensure the defending team gains possession with a 20 metre restart. Corner posts, which sometimes lean to one side, have no upper height limit set and this led to a fear that corner posts might become "long rubber snakes, biting attackers and sending them into touch", in the words of Roy Masters. Other laws concerning the corner posts remained unchanged. A ball that makes contact with the corner post while not in the possession of a player will be deemed to be touch in-goal as before. There was no attempt to remove the corner posts from the playing field as they are used to promote sponsors and are also a useful aid for players to judge their kicks. The change was agreed by the NRL Board and approved by the RLIF
Rugby League International Federation
The Rugby League International Federation is the world governing body of rugby league football. It was formed in 1998 in Sydney, Australia. Its purpose is to, "foster, develop, extend, govern and administer the game of Rugby League throughout the world". Its headquarters are in Sydney, Australia,...
as an experimental rule. Implementation occurred mid-season following feedback from clubs.
Scoring
- A try can be scored by grounding the ball on the try-line or in the in-goal area between it and the dead ball line.
- A goal (conversion, penalty or drop goal) is scored when the ball travels above the crossbar and between the posts of the goal which is situated in the middle of the try-line.