How Many Points is a Conversion in Rugby?
There are five ways to score points in rugby union: tries, conversions, penalties, drop kicks, and penalty tries, but how many points is a conversion in rugby? Find out here!
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Table of Contents
Rugby union has a unique scoring system. There are five different ways to score points. A try is five points. Penalties and drop goals are worth three each. A penalty try is an automatic seven points, the most a team can earn in one score. After a try is scored, a kicker attempts a conversion to increase the score and maximise the try.
A conversion is worth two points in rugby. Rugby league and Sevens have tries, conversions, penalties, drop kicks, and penalty tries. Some of rugby league’s scoring systems have different values. SportsBoom breaks down rugby football’s intricate scoring systems, including the various scoring methods in rugby league and Sevens rugby.
What is a Conversion in Rugby?
A conversion is attempted after a try. A try is worth five points, and a successful conversion worth is two points. The conversion is a free attempt to add more points to the scoreboard. A converted try is seven points, commonly referred to as a “goal” but rarely used in the modern vernacular.
There are many differences between rugby union and rugby league. Conversions are worth two points in rugby league and rugby sevens. Penalties and drop goals are three points in rugby union and Sevens, but less in rugby league. A penalty is two points, and a field goal is one point in rugby league. A try is worth four in rugby league, one less than rugby union and sevens.
There are fifteen players in rugby union and sevens, thirteen in rugby league. The points systems vary, too, with different units of points in four of the five scoring systems in rugby football. A penalty try is six points in rugby league, one less than a penalty try in rugby union and sevens.
Most penalty tries are from set pieces, especially the scrums and driving mauls. World Rugby (WR), the governing body for the sport of international rugby union, explains that after a try is scored, “the attacking team can attempt to add two further points by kicking the ball over the crossbar and between the posts from a place in line with where the try was scored.”
Points-Scoring Systems in Rugby
| Types of Scores | Points Awarded in Rugby Union | Points Awarded in Rugby League | Points Awarded in Sevens Rugby |
| Try | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| Conversion | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Penalty | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| Drop Goal | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| Penalty Try | 7 | 6 | 7 |
The governing body’s website states: “The conversion kick can be taken either as a place kick (from the ground) or a drop kick.” Due to the limited time available for the conversion in sevens because of the short game length, players take drop kicks instead of kicking from the tee. Conversions can also be charged down by the defending team in sevens.
“When the kicker begins his run-up to kick the ball, the defending players can advance from the try line and attempt to block the conversion,” adds WR. “If the defenders charge the kicker before he moves, and the kick is missed, the conversion is retaken. The defenders cannot advance a second time.”
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The Most Famous and Controversial Conversion in Rugby History
The most famous charged-down conversion happened during the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-final between France and South Africa at Stade de France in Paris. The quarter-final contest is rated one of the greatest Test matches ever played. South Africa edged France 29-28 in a thrilling match.
The game is memorable for Damian Willemse’s incredible call for a scrum after a mark. The move saw the Springboks win a scrum penalty and assert their forward dominance. The Boks implemented the same strategy against England in the semi-final. World Rugby has since banned the move to negate the World Champions’ forward strengths.
A stunning start to the game saw the two teams score six tries after half an hour. Cyril Baille scored twice, opening the scoring in the fourth minute before two quick-fire Kurt-Lee Arendse and Damian de Allende scores edged the Springboks ahead 12-7. Peato Mauvaka crashed over from close range to level the scores at 12-all.
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Thomas Ramos lined up the touchline conversion, and as he flinched, Cheslin Kolbe sprinted off his goal line and charged down the kick. Wales Online described the Kolbe’s brilliance as “a stunning moment rarely seen before on the international stage.” Players always attempt to charge down the kickers, but it seldom comes off.
Kolbe scored three minutes later and put South Africa back ahead. The defending World Champions won the match by one point. Kolbe’s genius saved his team two points because Ramos had not missed many kicks at the tournament, and he had already landed his first touchline conversion.
The Bok winger’s charge down proved pivotal. He told the media that his six years playing with Ramos at Toulouse helped him prepare for his audacious moment of magic. In Chasing the Sun 2, the Springboks’ World Cup-winning documentary, Kolbe said: “I know his [Ramos’s] routine out of my head by now, because I analysed it too much.”
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The French media and supporters said the conversion should have been retaken. They believed Kolbe began his run-up before Ramos moved to kick. However, after the game, Kolbe told the press he “did everything by the book and within the rules.” Many replays show he is correct; however, some dubious images still show the wing off his line before the kick.
“I was behind the line before [Ramos] started his run,” Kolbe insisted. “I tried to run as fast as possible to charge it down. I wanted to make him feel a bit of pressure.” The Boks advanced to the semi-final, where they edged England by one point before beating their greatest rivals, New Zealand, 12-11 in the final.
The third one-point victory in the knockout stages meant the Springboks became the first team to lift the William Webb Ellis Trophy four times and the second country to win back-to-back World Cup titles. It was also sweet payback for the Boks, who were supposed to host the showpiece event.
The Rugby World Cup Limited (RWCL) unanimously recommended that South Africa host the 2023 event. South Africa lost the vote. Moreover, Bernard Laporte, the then-president of the French Rugby Federation (FRF), was found guilty of corruption. In December 2022, a French court sentenced Laporte to a two-year suspended prison term.
He was convicted of showing favouritism in awarding a jersey sponsorship contract for the national team to Mohed Altrad, the billionaire owner of Top 14 champions Montpellier. Laporte was involved in the bidding process that saw France win the right to host the 2023 RWC instead of South Africa, the RWCL’s recommended candidate.
Laporte was also vice-president of World Rugby when France was mysteriously awarded the tournament again after previously hosting the 2007 RWC. SA
Rugby was indignant. Fast-forward to the 2023 RWC. They issued France a heartbreaking home tournament defeat. Laporte sentencing proved corruption was behind The Rainbow Nation not hosting the 2023 event. It did not matter; the Boks had their revenge.
The French public’s anger and antics following their World Cup disaster were bitter. They booed the Boks throughout the rest of the playoffs. Jacques Nienaber’s men kept their nerve … and the Webb Ellis Trophy.
Kaylan Geekie is a sports fanatic. He attended Durban High School before moving to Scotland, where he lived for 15 years. During his time in the United Kingdom, Kaylan graduated with a first-class BA Honours Degree in Sports Journalism at the University of the West of Scotland. Kaylan worked for nine years as the Match-Day Editor of SuperXV.com, reporting on Super Rugby, The Rugby Championship, the 2015 Men's Rugby World Cup and the 2017 British & Irish Lions series for the website.