Rugby Union v Rugby League: As the Rugby League World Cup kicks off, we outline the differences – and similarities – between the two codes

Rugby union v rugby league. The two sports started the same and still share similarities but they have evolved to become to separate codes.

They are now completely different sports in their own right.

Related: What is a 50:22 kick?

And while for some those differences may be obvious, newcomers to the sport may need a helping hand in identifying where the nuances lie. So to help, here is our explainer guide to the sport’s two codes: rugby union and rugby league.

Rugby Union v Rugby League: The Game Itself

As both games have progressed over the years, there are now some key differences:

• In both sports you play for 80 minutes and must pass the ball backwards, but that is just about where the similarities end.
• In rugby union, there are 15 players on each team and in rugby league you have 13.
• The scrum is not utilised in the same way. The rugby union scrum is a full-blooded eight-player affair with two packs going at it, regular resets and the ability to drive your opposition back and win penalties. Conversely, in rugby league, competing in the scrum is only a surprise tactic. Six players make-up a rugby league scrum and teams tend to just fold their heads in the ball getting rolled in and out quickly as a way to restart the game. Like in rugby union the scrum is used when there is a knock-on or forward pass among other instances.
• After the ball goes out of play in rugby league, a tap-and-go kick is used to restart play as there are no lineouts and also, therefore, no mauls
• Instead of rugby union’s competitive ruck scenario that follows a tackle, rugby league has adopted the ‘play-the-ball’. Confusingly, the term ‘ruck’ is still used e.g. there is often space behind the ruck or play-the-ball in rugby league. Once a tackle is completed, the tackled player gets back onto their feet, places the ball on the ground, steps over it and rolls it backwards using one of their feet.

Many of these changes have seen rugby league maintain a longer ball-in-play time than rugby union and develop a reputation as what many see as a more exciting sport.

Even the pitch is different. Rugby union pitches can have a maximum size of 144mx70m and rugby league pitches can have a maximum side of 122.68m.

Both pitches have two try-lines, a halfway line, touchlines and dead ball line, but that’s about all they share.

In rugby union there are also ten-metre lines either side of the halfway line, a 22-metre line and five-metre line on the way to the try line. Rugby league pitches are marked out in ten-metre intervals (to help referees with offsides as in rugby league the defending team must get back ten metres after every tackle, not just after a penalty is awarded like in rugby union) and an unbroken red line marks the 40-metre point on either side of halfway – that helps with 40:20 kicks, where rugby union developed the 50:22 idea from.

There are also differences in the laws. Rugby union and rugby league have exactly the same method of try-scoring (you have to ground the ball over the line) but there is a difference in the value of those scores:

	Rugby union	Rugby league
Try	5	4
Conversion	2	2
Penalty goal	3	2
Drop goal	3	1

Since 1972 rugby league has implemented the ‘set of six’ rule.

This rule means that the attacking team have six chances to make their way downfield and score a try. If the attacking team does not score within that set of six tackles, the attacking team must hand over possession to their opposition which is why you regularly see teams choosing to kick on the fifth tackle in a similar way to NFL teams punting on the fourth down.

Yellow cards in both sports result in a player spending ten minutes in the sin bin. Players receive a yellow card for foul play or indiscipline.  The use of the sin bin in rugby was inspired by rugby league, which introduced the concept in the 1980s. In 2000, the sin bin was used as an experiment in the Six Nations and written into the law book a year later.

That tendency for rugby union to learn from and adapt laws from rugby league has developed into a trend.

World Rugby introduced the 50:22 kick as a law trial in 2021 before it was fully adopted 12 months later.  This law allows the kicking team to retain possession when the ball exits play in the 22-metre of their opponents if they have kicked the ball from inside their own half (without carrying the ball back in themselves). This is derived from rugby league’s 40:20 kick, which occurs when an attacking player kicks the ball out of play in their opponent’s 20-metre line from behind their 40-metre line.

In both instances, the law is designed to reward teams for good kicking and allows them to regain possession with good field position.

Rugby Union v Rugby League: Positions and replacements

Elite rugby union squads are now made up of 23 players with 15 starters and eight replacements. All eight are allowed to be used and replacements can come on and off for Head Injury Assessments (HIA) and blood replacements as they are not necessarily permanent substitutions.

Whereas in rugby league, squads are made up of 17 players with 13 starters and four interchange players on the bench. It is most common for sides to be allowed eight interchanges per game, although in recent times there have been situations where more are permitted, for example in the case of a concussion. 

In rugby union, the positions from shirts No 1 to No 15 are most commonly as follows: 1. Loosehead prop, 2. Hooker, 3. Tighthead prop, 4. Lock/second-row, 5. Lock/second-row, 6. Blindside flanker, 7. Openside flanker, 8. Number eight; 9. Scrum-half, 10. Fly-half, 11, Left wing, 12. Inside centre, 13. Outside centre, 14. Right wing, 15. Full-back.

In simple terms, rugby league effectively has no flankers which constitutes the two fewer players. The positions are as follows: 8. Prop, 9. hooker/dummy-half, 10. Prop, 11. Second-row, 12 Second-row, 13. Loose forward/lock; 7. Scrum-half/half-back, 6. Stand-off/five-eighth, 5. Left wing, 4. Left centre, 3. Right centre, 2. Right wing, 1. Full-back.

Because the dummy-half acts more like a union nine, by passing the ball out from the play-the-ball, the scrum-half and stand-off operate more like two union fly-halves or ball-players and often combine together while they also may play more with one on the left and one on the right.

Rugby Union v Rugby League: History

After William Webb Ellis is said to have picked up a football at Rugby School in 1823, the game he invented became quite popular.

Rugby football clubs popped up around the world, but it was in England that the game began to become more codified when the Rugby Football Union was formed in 1871. In the north, rugby developed a reputation as a working-class sport, while in the south east, where the game was governed, it was for the middle classes.

As the game continued to grow it became apparent that people would pay to watch the best players in the country battle it out. But with the RFU not allowing players to be paid and insisting they remained wholly amateur, the strain of that edict began to bite.

In 1892 a number of clubs in Bradford and Leeds were charged with professionalism after compensating their players for missing work. This was in some ways hypocritical as the RFU had compensated players who took part in the 1888 British & Irish Lions tour of New Zealand and Australia. What followed is now known as “the schism”.

For the next three years there were countless arguments and attempts of compromise, until 1895 when prominent clubs in Lancashire and Yorkshire banded together (which is rare) to form the Northern Rugby Football Union. This was, effectively, the birth of rugby league as its own entity.

There were 22 clubs that initially broke away from the RFU and just nine years later the Northern Union had more affiliate clubs. In the years that followed the codes developed into their own sports, with union opting to have 15 players per team and league landing on 13.

As wages gradually increased in rugby league it began to pull across rugby union’s best players. With rugby union dragging its heels it was inevitable that the game at one point was going to become professional.

The real turning point came in 1995. Australian media tycoon, Kerry Packer, funded the World Rugby Corporation and signed the majority of All Blacks and Wallaby players to play in this breakaway from The International Rugby Board (now World Rugby). After the 1995 Rugby World Cup and the herculean efforts of Jonah Lomu in South Africa the IRB finally declared itself as an “open game” and opened the floodgates.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Have rugby union and rugby league sides played each other?

Over the years there have been a number of occasions where rugby union has taken on rugby league. Perhaps the most famous example of this is the Clash of the Codes which took place between union’s Bath Rugby and league’s Wigan RLFC in May 1996.

The two titans of English rugby went toe-to-toe over a pair of games, firstly playing rugby league at Maine Road and then at Twickenham a fortnight later. Rugby league was the overwhelming winner thanks to an aggregate score of 101-50.

Rugby World Magazine ahead of the Wigan V Bath Cross code Challenge match 1996 pic.twitter.com/XlOeHNpkkc

— NRDCollectables (@NRDCollectables) November 20, 2021

Winning the rugby league match 82-6, Martin “Chariots” Offiah scored six tries in Manchester, as Jason Robinson dotted down twice and Scott Quinnell also crossed the try line. Wigan were captained by Shaun Edwards in the first game in the north west and Andy Farrell at Twickenham. Whatever happened to them?

Gallagher Premiership side Sale Sharks have tried their hand at crossing codes too. In 2003, the Cheshire club took on St Helens at Knowsley Road, playing rugby union for the first half and rugby league in the second – quite literally a game of two halves.

Read more: What is a 50:22 in rugby union?

While playing rugby union, the Sharks built up a 41-0 lead at the break, with tries from Mark Cueto, Steven Hanley, Ross Davies, Stuart Turner and Dean Schofield, along with the place-kicking of now England men’s senior assistant coach Richard Wigglesworth, helping propel the side ahead. In the second half, Sale did not fire a shot as St Helens scored 39 unanswered points, but they were unable to get the win.

On this day in 2008, Richard Wigglesworth earned his first cap for @EnglandRugby 🧢

The rest is history 🌟 pic.twitter.com/VFiTz7xfAF

— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) February 10, 2025

More recently, Leeds Rhinos’ Headingley Rugby Stadium hosted the 745 Game in honour of the late Rob Burrow and all proceeds were donated to a number of different charities researching and supporting those affected by Motor Neurone Disease.

Developed by rugby league legend Burrow, former Gloucester captain Ed Slater and in recognition of Scotland and Lions legend Doddie Weir’s own battle with MND, it was a hybrid of rugby league and rugby union rules.

Former rugby union players Danny Cipriani, Billy Twelvetrees, Matt Banahan, Tom Youngs and Tom Wood pulled on their boots again alongside rugby league greats Danny McGuire, Gareth Ellis, Paul McShane, Luke Gale and Keith Senior.

At full-time, Rugby League Legends won 33-21 as Team Burrow edged Team Slater on an emotional day in West Yorkshire.

Top ten cross-code players

A list dedicated to ten stars to have played rugby union and rugby league.

1. Jason Robinson
Jason Robinson is considered to be the greatest cross-code player of all time. Spending nine years with Wigan the flyer won everything. After rugby union went professional he was tempted to Bath Rugby for a brief stint, but it was his arrival at Sale Sharks in 2000 that saw him take on the world. Robinson was a  key member of the England team that won the Rugby World Cup in 2003 and toured with the British & Irish Lions twice.

2. Andy Farrell
Andy Farrell was just 16 when he made his Wigan debut in November 1991. In the 14 years afterwards Farrell helped Wigan win six Super League titles, six Challenge Cups and the World Club Challenge in 1994. Named Man of Steel on two separate occasions, he saw out his playing days with Saracens in rugby union and represented England at the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France. Since his 2009 retirement Farrell has forged a reputation as one of the world’s best coaches. After eight years as an assistant with England and Ireland the 49-year-old has coached Ireland since 2019 and led the team to Six Nations Championship titles in 2023 and 2024. He is also head coach for the British and Irish Lions in their tour of Australia in 2025.

3. Michael Cleary
Perhaps the least-heralded name on this list, Michael Cleary did not only excel at rugby, but in athletics too. A wing for Randwick in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Clearly represented the Wallabies in 1961 and impressed in Tests against Fiji. After signing for the South Sydney Rabbitohs he maintained amateur status and competed for Australia at the Commonwealth Games in Perth and placed third in the 100 yards. Spending the next decade of his career with the Rabbitohs, Cleary turned out for both the Kangaroos and New South Wales. He is one of only four Australian sportsmen to represent their country in three different sports at a senior level.

4. Sonny Bill Williams
Over the course of his career Sonny Bill Williams crossed codes a whopping three times. Starting his career with the Canterbury Bulldogs at just 18, the hard-carrying second-row forged a formidable reputation. In 2008 he first moved to rugby union when signing for Toulon and made his All Blacks debut in 2010 and won the Rugby World Cup on home soil in 2011. After returning to league for two years, Williams signed for the Chiefs in Super Rugby and then helped the All Blacks to another World Cup in the process. In 2016 he turned his hand to rugby sevens and played at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Four years later Williams returned to rugby league to sign for the now-defunct Toronto Wolfpack and retired with the Sydney Roosters.

5. John Bentley
John Bentley made his England debut in rugby union at 21. Later that year he signed for rugby league outfit Leeds and was a professional. His time in West Yorkshire was a fruitful one. He scored over 150 tries for Leeds and Halifax before rugby union’s turn to professionalism lured him back. It is on the 1997 British & Irish Lions tour of South Africa that ‘Bentos’ is most fondly remembered.  His energetic personality was showcased on Living With Lions and he played a key part in the stunning Test series win over the Springboks.

6. Jonathan Davies
There was outrage when Wales’ Jonathan “Jiffy” Davies embarked on his rugby league career. In 1989 he was signed for a record fee of £230,000 by Widnes amid talk of being the British & Irish Lions’ starting fly-half that season. The reason he chose to leave was in the best interests of his family. Quickly Davies became a crowd favourite. A first division champion in 1989, he later represented Great Britain and Wales. Davies did return to rugby union at the conclusion of his career, spending two years with Cardiff before hanging up his boots.

7. Dai Young
When Dai Young left rugby union behind he was already a British & Irish Lion. The Welsh tighthead prop was tempted across codes in 1990 by Leeds for a fee of £150,000. Eventually leaving Yorkshire to play for Salford, he made over 150 appearances in Greater Manchester and captained Wales at the 1995 Rugby League World Cup. In 1996 the front-row returned to Cardiff, saw out the final six years of his career and was picked for two more Lions tours. Young is one of two players, along with Alun Wyn Jones, to represent the Lions in three separate decades.

8. Va’aiga Tuigamala
Along with Jason Robinson, Va’aiga Tuigamala is one of the best cross-code players ever. While playing rugby union for Auckland the rampaging back became an All Black, won 19 caps and played at the 1991 Rugby World Cup. In 1993 he crossed codes to play rugby league for Wigan where he won numerous trophies and played internationally for Samoa. After rugby union went professional in 1995 he returned to his first love, rugby union.  Winning the Premiership with London Wasps in 1997, Tuigamala was signed for a then-world record £1,000,000 by Newcastle Falcons and helped the north east club win the Premiership in 1998 before seeing out his career at Kingston Park.

9. Brad Thorn
Brad Thorn is possibly best remembered as the hulking second row forward that helped New Zealand to Rugby World Cup glory in 2011. But it was in rugby league he made his name. Making 14 State of Origin appearances for Queensland, Thorn won the NRL three times over two stints in the 13-a-side game. First moving to rugby union in 2000, Thorn made his All Blacks debut in 2003, earned just shy of 60 caps for the country of his birth and finished his international career as a world champion.

10. Marika Koroibete
In his debut NRL season with Wests Tigers in 2012, Marika Koroibete scored seven tries in six games. His raw pace and power picked up plenty of admirers. Two years later he moved to the Melbourne Storm and was widely considered one of the competition’s most exciting players. At the end of the 2015 season the wing scored 16 tries in 23 games. Tempted to rugby union by then Wallabies coach Michael Cheika, after playing for the Storm in the 2016 NRL Grand Final, Koroibete toured Europe with Australia. Making his Wallabies debut almost a year later against Argentina, his consistent performances in gold and green saw him become the first wing to win the John Eales Medal in 2019 and won it again 2022. Since 2021 Korobiete has played his club rugby in Japan with the Panasonic White Knights.

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