Rugby League

About Rugby League

Rugby league is a team sport built around carrying the ball, creating space and defending together. In the standard running game, two teams of 13 try to outscore each other by grounding the ball for tries and kicking goals. Powerful carries, quick passing and tactical kicks can all turn field position into scoring chances.

How the game works

A team usually has a set of six tackles to advance towards the opposition’s goal line. After a completed tackle, a play-the-ball restarts the action. Players can run forward with the ball, but passes must not travel forward; kicking provides another way to gain ground or attack space.

A standard senior match is played over two 40-minute halves. A try is worth four points, with a successful conversion adding two. The tackle count, the space behind the defence and the score all influence whether a team runs, passes or kicks. Learn how to play or explore 40/20 and 20/40 kicks.

Where rugby league began

Rugby league traces its foundation to 29 August 1895 at the George Hotel in Huddersfield, England. Northern clubs formed the Northern Rugby Football Union, usually called the Northern Union, after breaking with the Rugby Football Union (RFU). The split began over how the sport was run and whether working players could be compensated; the distinctive playing rules developed afterwards.

Why “broken-time” payments mattered

Many players in the industrial towns of northern England earned their living outside sport. Taking time off for matches could mean losing wages. Clubs wanted to reimburse that lost income through “broken-time” payments, but the RFU’s amateur regulations opposed payments to players. A proposal to allow compensation was defeated in 1893, and suspensions and growing mistrust widened the divide.

The new Northern Union made compensation for genuine time away from work a founding principle. This was about whether a wage-earner could afford to play, rather than immediately creating the full-time professional system familiar today. The dispute helped shape rugby league’s enduring connection with working communities.

Becoming a different game

The two codes did not become today’s different sports overnight. Rule changes gradually separated Northern Union football from rugby union. In 1906, teams were reduced from 15 players to 13 and an early form of the play-the-ball was introduced. These changes helped create more space and a more continuous game. Modern league’s rules continued to evolve; the six-tackle system was not part of the original 1895 game.

Across the world: New Zealand and Australia

Albert Henry Baskerville organised the New Zealand “All Golds” tour of Britain and Australia in 1907–08. The tour helped establish the code beyond its English beginnings and linked its development in New Zealand with the emerging Australian game. New Zealand Rugby League was formed in 1910.

In Sydney, supporters including James J. Giltinan, Victor Trumper and Henry Hoyle helped establish the New South Wales Rugby Football League in 1907. Star player Dally Messenger’s switch from union gave the new competition a prominent figure. The first NSW premiership matches were played on 20 April 1908; South Sydney won the inaugural premiership.

Explore more rugby league history or meet the national teams.

Origins sources, checked 25 October 2026: RFL: the Huddersfield split; RFL: development of the rules; NZRL history; National Museum of Australia: the game begins; NRL historical chronology.

Clubs, states and countries

Club rugby league includes the National Rugby League (NRL) and Super League. Women’s club competitions include the NRLW Premiership. Representative football brings a different kind of rivalry: State of Origin pits Queensland against New South Wales, while international teams represent their nations.

The Rugby League World Cup includes men’s, women’s and wheelchair tournaments. National-team stories connect the game with places such as Australia, New Zealand, England, France, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific islands. Meet the national teams and explore the competitions.

More ways to play

The sport extends beyond the professional 13-a-side game. Junior and community competitions, wheelchair rugby league, physical disability rugby league, and touch or tag formats offer different ways to take part. Their rules and contact requirements vary, so this hub’s standard-game overview does not apply unchanged to every format.