Rugby Sevens (World Rugby) — Official Rules

Rugby sevens is the seven-a-side variation of rugby union, governed by World Rugby. The full Laws of the Game apply, subject to the official Sevens Law Variations. Two teams of seven (7) players carry, pass, kick and ground an oval ball, each aiming to score more points than the opponent within the playing time. The ball may be carried in any direction but may only be passed or knocked backwards or sideways, never forwards. The team scoring the greater number of points is the winner; if the scores are equal at full time the match is drawn, unless the competition requires a result, in which case extra time is played.

Points are scored as in fifteen-a-side rugby:

• Try — 5 points: grounding the ball in the opponents' in-goal area.
• Conversion goal — 2 points: a successful kick at goal awarded after a try (in sevens this must be a drop kick, see Article 1.3).
• Penalty goal — 3 points: a successful kick at goal from an awarded penalty.
• Dropped goal — 3 points: a drop kick at goal from open play.
• Penalty try — 7 points: awarded when foul play by the defending team prevents a probable try; no conversion is attempted and the 7 points stand.

The ball is grounded for a try by either pressing down on it with a hand, arm or the front of the body, or by exerting downward pressure with the body while it lies on the ground.

When a try is scored, the scoring team has the right to attempt a conversion, which in sevens must be a drop kick (a place kick is not permitted). The kicker must take the kick within 30 seconds of playing time from the moment the try was awarded; otherwise the kick is disallowed. All opposing players immediately assemble close to their own 10-metre line. If they infringe and the kick is successful, the goal stands; if it is unsuccessful, the kicker retakes the conversion and the opposing team is not allowed to charge the retake.

Sevens is played on a full-size rugby pitch, identical to the fifteen-a-side ground. The field of play (between the goal lines and the touchlines) does not exceed 100 metres in length and 70 metres in width. Beyond each goal line is an in-goal area which does not exceed 22 metres in length and 70 metres in width, bounded at the far end by the dead-ball line. A perimeter area clear of obstacles, where practicable 5 metres wide, surrounds the playing area.

The pitch is marked with a halfway line, two 10-metre lines (10 m either side of halfway), two 22-metre lines, 5-metre and 15-metre lines parallel to the touchlines, and goal lines and dead-ball lines. The goal posts stand on each goal line: the two posts are 5.6 metres apart, joined by a crossbar whose top edge is 3.0 metres above the ground, with the posts extending to a minimum height of 3.4 metres. Touch judges / assistant referees mark the line of touch.

Each team has no more than seven (7) players in the playing area during play. Sevens uses no fixed positional lineup of the kind defined for fifteens; the typical structure is three forwards (who contest the scrum) and four backs. A team that cannot field at least the minimum required by the match organiser may forfeit the match.

A team may nominate and use up to five (5) replacements. For matches other than internationals, the match organiser decides how many replacements may be nominated, up to a maximum of five. Replacements and interchanges follow the standard rules for entering and leaving the field. A player temporarily replaced for a blood injury or Head Injury Assessment may return; if the temporary replacement is shown a yellow card, the originally replaced player may not return until after the period of suspension has elapsed.

A sevens match lasts 14 minutes, split into two halves of not more than seven (7) minutes each, plus time lost. Half-time is an interval not exceeding two (2) minutes. A competition final may last no longer than 20 minutes (two halves of not more than 10 minutes each), plus lost time and any extra time. The referee keeps time and signals time-off for stoppages.

When a knock-out match is drawn and a result is required, extra time is played. After a one-minute break, play restarts in periods of not more than five (5) minutes; after each period the teams change ends without an interval. Extra time is sudden death: the team that scores points first is immediately declared the winner, with no further play. Before extra time starts the referee organises a new toss in the same way as before the match.

Each match is controlled by a referee, assisted by two assistant referees / touch judges and, where used, a Television Match Official (TMO). The referee is the sole judge of fact and of law during the match. Before kick-off the referee organises the toss: one captain tosses a coin and the other calls; the winner chooses either to kick off or to choose an end (and the opponents take the other option).

In sevens there are two in-goal judges, one in each in-goal area. They signal the result of conversions and penalty kicks at goal, signal when the ball or ball-carrier has gone into touch-in-goal, and assist the referee with decisions on touch-downs and tries. The referee has the same control over in-goal judges as over assistant referees. In-goal judges are not required when a TMO is present.

This is a defining sevens variation. After a team has scored, the same (scoring) team restarts play with a drop kick on or behind the centre of the halfway line — the opposite of fifteens, where the conceding team restarts. The restart kick must be taken within 30 seconds of the conversion being taken or declined, or of a penalty/dropped goal being kicked. Sanction: free-kick if not taken in time.

At a kick-off or restart, the kicker's team-mates must be behind the ball (sanction: free-kick); the ball must reach the opponents' 10-metre line (sanction: free-kick); and the ball must not go directly into touch (sanction: free-kick). If the ball is kicked into the opponents' in-goal without being touched and is grounded without delay, goes into touch-in-goal, or crosses the dead-ball line, the non-kicking team is awarded a free-kick.

Foul play (Law 9) is anything contrary to the letter and spirit of the Laws. It includes obstruction, unfair play and repeated offending, dangerous play and misconduct — such as high tackles (contact with the head or neck), tackling early/late or in the air, dangerous charging, tripping, stamping, striking, and dangerous play in the scrum, ruck or maul. The referee penalises foul play and may caution (yellow card) or send off (red card) the offender. Repeated team infringement may be sanctioned with a card.

When a player is cautioned and temporarily suspended, the referee shows a yellow card. In sevens the suspension period is two (2) minutes (compared with 10 minutes in fifteens), reflecting the short match length. The team plays with one fewer player for that period. If the same player later commits another yellow-card offence, the player must be sent off.

A red card sends the player off for the remainder of the match. Under the standard (full) red card the team plays a player short for the rest of the game. Under the 20-minute red card replacement — an approved global law trial in elite competitions as of 2025–2026 — a player sent off for an act not deemed deliberate and highly dangerous may be replaced after 20 minutes of playing time. Foul play meeting at least the yellow-card threshold may be referred for off-field (TMO / "bunker") review during the sin-bin period, where the sanction is confirmed as yellow or upgraded to a 20-minute red. The referee retains the power to issue a permanent red card on the field for deliberate, highly dangerous foul play; the TMO cannot upgrade to a permanent red.

A tackle occurs when the ball-carrier is held by one or more opponents and brought to ground. The tackled player must immediately release the ball (play it, pass it or release it) and the tackler must release the player and roll away. Arriving players must stay on their feet and enter through the gate (from behind the back foot of the rearmost team-mate at the tackle). Offside lines apply at the tackle. Failure to release or entering from the side is penalised with a penalty.

A ruck forms when at least one player from each team is in contact, on their feet, over the ball on the ground. Players must join from behind the hindmost foot (the offside line) and may not handle the ball in the ruck. A maul forms when the ball-carrier is held by an opponent and one or more team-mates bind on, with the ball off the ground. A maul that stops moving and does not restart, or whose ball-carrier goes to ground, ends the maul; if the team in possession does not play the ball, a scrum is awarded to the opponents.

A scrum restarts play after a minor infringement (e.g. a knock-on or forward pass). In sevens a scrum must have exactly three (3) players from each team, all of whom must stay bound until the scrum ends (sanction: penalty). Teams must be ready to form the scrum within 15 seconds of the mark being made (sanction: free-kick). The ball is thrown in straight; the scrum ends when the ball is played by that team's scrum-half. A front-row player must not intentionally kick the ball out of the tunnel or scrum towards the opponents' try line (sanction: penalty).

When the ball or ball-carrier goes into touch, play restarts with a lineout at the mark of touch. Teams must form the lineout within 15 seconds of the assistant referee or touch judge indicating the mark (sanction: free-kick). The team that did not take the ball into touch normally throws in; a quick throw-in may be taken before the lineout forms. Lineout numbers are not fixed at the fifteens minimum, reflecting the seven-player game.

When a ball-carrier is held up in the in-goal so the ball cannot be grounded or played, the ball is dead; in sevens play restarts with a five-metre scrum in line with where the player was held, with the attacking team throwing in. Apart from at a kick-off or restart, if the ball is taken into in-goal by an attacker and made dead by an opponent, play restarts with a 22-metre drop-out. Any drop-out or restart following an unsuccessful kick at goal made dead in-goal must be taken within 30 seconds.

A penalty is awarded for serious infringements; the non-offending team may kick at goal (3 points if successful), kick to touch (and throw in to the resulting lineout), tap and run, or form a scrum. A free-kick is awarded for lesser infringements and cannot be kicked directly at goal for points. At a penalty or free-kick the kicker may punt or drop-kick the ball but may not place-kick it (in sevens). Opponents must retreat 10 metres or to their goal line.

A penalty goal attempt must be taken within 30 seconds (playing time) from the time the team indicated their intention to kick at goal; otherwise the kick is disallowed and a scrum is awarded to the opponents. As with conversions, kicks at goal in sevens follow the shortened 30-second window (reduced from 60 seconds in fifteens) to keep the fast pace of the game.

The Laws of the Game 2025 came into effect on 1 January 2025 and incorporate a set of Global Law Trials aimed at speeding up the game and improving player welfare. These include emphasis on the 60-second window for scrums/lineouts and 30 seconds for kicks at goal in the elite game, protections for the scrum-half, and clearer offside and breakdown management. Sevens applies these laws through its dedicated Sevens Law Variations. As of 2026 this 2025 edition remains the current published law book.

The most significant recent change is the elevation of the 20-minute red card replacement to an approved global law trial in elite competitions (confirmed 2025, in force through the 2025–2026 season). It allows a team whose player is sent off for a non-deliberate dangerous act to bring on a replacement after 20 minutes, paired with off-field "bunker" review of yellow cards. Adoption remains debated between unions, and a final decision on permanent inclusion is expected after the trial period; full deliberate red cards continue to carry no replacement.