Rugby Scoring Explained: How Many Points for a Try & Conversion?

There are essentially four different ways to score points in rugby union. You can score from a try, a penalty, a conversion or a drop goal. These methods of scoring hold differing values and, much like in football, games can be perceived as being high scoring or low scoring depending on the pattern of play.

Try: 5 Points

In rugby union, a try is worth 5 points. Tries are scored when the ball has been grounded over an opponents’ goal-line within the in-goal area. Tries, not just because of their value, are considered the favoured way of scoring points. All other points are scored in rugby via kicks, while tries are scored using the hands and body.

As well as a standard try, teams can score via a penalty try. A penalty try can be awarded by the referee when it is deemed that a player would have scored a try anyway, but for a foul by the opposition. A penalty try is worth seven points, with no 2-point conversion attempt needed (see below). A player guilty of stopping a try via foul will be cautioned.

Rugby’s scoring system has changed over time, not just in terms of the number of points awarded. In rugby’s earliest games, a “touch down” allowed the scoring team to “try” a kick at goal. This is how we now use the word “try” in rugby, and where “touchdown” comes from in American football.

Penalty: 3 Points

When an infringement is called by the referee against a team, their opposition may well choose to kick at goal. This is a penalty and when the kick is successful between the posts, 3 points are awarded. Penalties occur plenty of times during games, organically. In wet conditions, however, it has been known for teams to use kicking tactics to get the ball high, expecting handling errors from the opposition when attempting to catch the ball. This can lead to a penalty and a 3-point attempt.

Conversion: 2 Points

When a team scores a try (5 points), that team is allowed to attempt to add two more points to their total by “converting” the try. The conversion attempt is a kick, which if going over the crossbar and between the posts completes the point scoring. The conversion attempt must be taken from a position in line with where the try was scored. This is why, when running clear and scoring easily, some players will touch the ball down as close to the centre as possible when scoring a try.

Drop Goal: 3 Points

Drop goals are rarely seen in rugby, but there have been some famous ones. A drop goal is scored, valued at 3 points, when a player kicks for goal during open play. They do this by taking the ball in hand, the dropping the ball into the ground and striking it by foot, essentially as a “half-volley” much like in football. Again, if the ball goes between the posts and over the crossbar, 3 points is awarded.

One of the most famous drop goals of all time, if not the most notorious, was that of Jonny Wilkinson’s in the 2003 World Cup Final. England and hosts Australia could not be separated and, unusually, had gone to extra-time. With the score at 17-17 and only a minute left on the clock, England won a line-out and got to within range. Matt Dawson passed the ball to Wilkinson who completed a successful drop goal with his right foot from 30 metres, only 28 seconds before the end to win England the World Cup.

How Many Points Are Usually Scored?

Given that we’re dealing with points and not goals, as in football, the spread of how many to expect can change dramatically from game to game. In a typical Premiership season in England, home teams register approximately 27 points per game and away sides 23. That’s a total of roughly 50 points per game in total. There have been some incredibly high scores, right up to 194-0 in a total international mismatch. In truth, it’s usually nothing like that in major competitive professional rugby.

In the 2025 Six Nations, for example, there were some high scores. France beat Wales 43-0 and also beat Italy 73-24. That in part is down to the losing sides’ weaknesses at that point in time, hence England’s 68-14 win at Wales. Conversely, England 16-15 Scotland is indicative of a lower-scoring, competitive international test.

Record Point Scorers

In test matches, i.e., competitive international rugby matches, the fly-half/kicker will get the majority of the points in a team. The following table shows the highest-scoring individual players in international rugby as of April 2025.

History of Point Scoring in Rugby Union

We’ve been settled for some time now with 5 points for a try, 2 for a conversion and 3 for a penalty or drop goal. Things have changed over time, however. The following table demonstrates how point-scoring has changed in rugby over time.

• In 1871-1875, matches were decided by a majority of goals rather than by total points as the game developed.
• In 1876-1885, a majority of goals was still the decider and, if the teams were equal, by a majority of tries.