The Field

The field of play is shown below, the width of the field cannot exceed 70m.

The lines which form the side of the field are called touch lines and the top and bottom lines of the field, the goal lines. None of these lines are considered to be part of the field i.e. if a player carrying the ball treads on a touch line the ball is said to be out-of-touch i.e. out of play. The goal-line is part of the goal area not the field and hence an offense player grounding the ball on or over the goal-line is awarded a try.

Flags are used to mark where the goal, 5m, 10m and half-way lines meet the touch lines. Flags are set back from the touch-line approx. 1m.

The dotted 5m line is used to indicate the distance from the touch line a line out is formed.
The dotted 10m line is used to indicate where the ball must reach on a kick-off.
The dotted 22m line is used to indicate where a player can catch the ball from an opponent's kick, knock-on or tap-kick and make a 'mark'. i.e. to stop play and opt to take a free-kick (place, drop or tap). The defensive player must be behind his/her own 22m to make a mark.

The Posts

The goal posts form a 'H' and can be any height providing they are a minimum of 3.4m and the distance between the two uprights is 5.6m. The cross bar must be 3m above the ground. The lower part of the uprights are padded to prevent injury to a player striking them.

The Ball

A rugby ball is usually made up of four panels forming the outer casing which surrounds an air inflated bladder. Some rugby balls are made from 6 or 8 panels but these are rare today.

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