When people talk about rugby, a full-contact team sport with origins in 19th-century England. Also known as rugby football, it split into two distinct versions over a century ago—rugby league and rugby union. They look similar at first glance, but the rules, pace, and even the way points are scored are completely different.
The biggest split happened in 1895, when northern English clubs broke away from the Rugby Football Union over payments to players. That split created rugby league, which streamlined the game for faster play. Rugby union stayed more traditional, with complex rules around rucks, mauls, and scrums. Today, rugby league has 13 players per side and six tackles to score. Once the sixth tackle ends, possession switches. rugby union has 15 players and endless phases of play, with contested breakdowns where players fight for the ball on the ground. If you’ve ever wondered why one game feels like a sprint and the other like a chess match, that’s why.
Scoring is another major divider. In rugby league, a try is worth four points and conversions are two. In rugby union, tries are five points, conversions are two, and penalty kicks and drop goals are three. That’s why you’ll see more drop goals in union—they’re worth the same as a penalty, but harder to pull off. You’ll also find jackal—a move where a player steals the ball right after a tackle—is common in union but banned in league. League focuses on speed and structure; union rewards chaos and contest. And if you’ve heard someone call a rugby player a "boilermaker" or "ferret," that’s slang rooted in union culture, especially in Australia and New Zealand.
What you’ll find in this collection isn’t just theory. We’ve pulled together real breakdowns of how the games are played, what terms like "try" and "jackal" actually mean, and how equipment, training, and even shoe choice can differ between the two. Whether you’re trying to understand why your friend cheers for one version over the other, or you’re stepping onto a pitch for the first time, this isn’t about picking sides—it’s about knowing what you’re watching.
