A
Advantage – A law allowing play to continue after a minor infringement if the non-offending team has an opportunity to gain from it.
Assistant Referee (AR) - Assistant officials who are situated on each touchline, they focus on whether the ball goes out of play and offsides.
Attacking Line – The line of players advancing with the ball.
B
Back Row - Collective term for flankers and number 8.
Backs – The faster, more agile players (usually wearing numbers 9–15) who often handle more of the running, passing, and kicking.
Bench - Term often used for the players who are the replacements (not in the starting team) eg ‘she’s not starting but she is on the bench’.
Blindside – The narrow side of the pitch relative to a scrum, maul or ruck
Bomb Squad – a group of players all coming off the bench together to add a huge impact to the game (usually forwards).
Box Kick – A high, short-range kick made by the scrum-half from the back of a ruck or maul.
Breakdown – A less formal name for the ruck which happens immediately after a tackle when players from both sides compete for the ball.
C
Carry - Term used for when a player takes the ball into contact.
Cauliflower Ear - An injury, usually sustained by second rows, caused by the friction of scrummaging on their ears.
Centre - A rugby position in the backs. Inside centre wears number 12, outside centre wears number 13.
Charge Down – When a player blocks or deflects an opponent’s kick by charging at it immediately after it’s struck. A charge down can go forward and is not a knock on.
Chop Tackle - A low aggressive tackle made around the thighs or lower.
Clear Out – When a player drives opposition players out the ruck to secure possession for their team.
Conversion – A kick between the posts worth 2 points after a try is scored.
Counter-Ruck – When the defending team tries to push over the ruck to win the ball back.
Crash Ball – A short, hard carry, usually by a forward or centre, into the defensive line to gain ground.
Croc Roll – An illegal clear out move at the ruck where a player twists an opponent off the ruck. It’s banned because it puts the other player at risk of serious injury, especially to the knees and legs.
D
Dead Ball – When the ball is out of play.
Defensive Line – The line of players attempting to stop the attacking team.
Dominant Tackle – A strong tackle where the defender drives the attacker backwards.
Double Hit – Two players tackling the same ball carrier at the same time to stop their momentum.
Drop Goal – A goal scored via a drop kick (worth 3 points).
Drop Kick - A player dropping the ball and kicking it as soon as it has bounced.
Drop Out - Either a goal line or 22m drop out, the team kicking the ball must drop kick the ball from their goal line or 22m line.
Dummy Pass – When a player pretends to pass the ball but keeps it themselves to confuse the defender.
E
Engine Room - A slang term for the second row.
F
Fend / Hand-Off – When a ball carrier pushes away a defender using an extended arm.
Final Whistle - The whistle the referee blows at full timer.
Flanker - A position in the forwards, blindside flanker wears number 6, openside flanker wears number 7.
Fly Half - A position in the backs, wears number 10. Usually the attacking leader of the team.
Forwards – The typically stronger, heavier players (wearing 1–8) involved in scrums, lineouts, and close-contact play.
Forward Pass - A pass that goes forward, results in a scrum to the opposing team.
Fourth Official - The fourth member of the officiating team, responsible for all off field activities.
Free Kick – A less serious penalty that cannot be kicked for goal but can be used to tap and go.
Front Row - collective term for the props and hooker.
Full Back - A position in the backs, wears number 15.
Full Time - The end of the game.
G
Gainline – An imaginary line where the ball was last played. Crossing it means forward progress.
Go Forward – Making positive metres and getting over the gainline in attack, especially through strong carries.
Grubber / Grubber Kick – A low kick where the ball bounces along the ground, making it hard to collect.
Gumshield - aka mouthguard, a hugely important piece of protective equipment.
H
Hands in the Ruck – A penalty offence where players use their hands to grab the ball once a ruck has formed.
Half Time - The period at the halfway mark of the match, same as an interval.
Headguard - aka scrumcap, a piece of protective equipment to protect the head.
High Tackle – An illegal tackle made above the nipple line (grassroots) or shoulders (elite rugby).
Holding On – When a tackled player who is now on the ground doesn’t release the ball quickly enough. A penalty offence.
Hooker - Position in the forwards, wears number 2. Usually throws into the lineout.
I
Intercept – When a player from the defending team catches a pass between opposition players.
J
Jackal – When a defender wins possession by stealing the ball at the breakdown.
Jackler – The player attempting to jackal the ball.
K
Kick Battle – When teams exchange tactical kicks to gain territory.
Kick-Chase – When players follow a kicked ball in an attempt to regain possession.
Kick-Off – The restart at the beginning of each half and after points are scored.
Knock On – when the ball comes off a players hand and goes forward when they are trying to catch that ball, results in a scrum to the opposing team.
L
Line Break – When an attacking player breaks through the defensive line.
Lineout – A method of restarting play where players line up and the ball is thrown in from the sideline, usually by the hooker. Occurs after the ball has left the field.
Live - A term used normally in training sessions to signify this portion of the session will be full contact.
Loose Ball – A ball not securely held by any team, usually after a knock or spill.
Loosehead Prop – The prop (No. 1) who lines up on the left side of the scrum with their head outside the opposing tighthead (No. 3).
M
Maul – In open play this is when the ball carrier is tackled by opponents but stays on her feet and doesn’t go to ground, allowing play to continue. It frequently happens after a line out and is used by the forwards to try and drive towards the try line.
Mismatch - When an attacking player feels they have an advantage over the player defending them, e.g. they are faster or stronger and feel they can use that to their advantage.
Miss Pass – A long pass that skips one or more teammates to reach a player wider out.
Momentum Shift – A noticeable change in which team has the upper hand.
Mouthguard - aka gumshield, a hugely important piece of protective equipment.
N
Neck Roll – When a player clears an opposition player out of a breakdown by their neck, this is illegal and will result in a penalty against the player.
Not Straight – When a lineout throw doesn’t go down the middle. Results in a scrum or lineout to the opposing team (their choice).
No Arms Tackle – An illegal tackle where there is no attempt by the tackler to wrap their arms around the ball carrier.
Number Eight - A position in the forwards, unsurprisingly wears number 8.
O
Offload – Passing the ball while being tackled to keep play moving.
Offside – Being on the wrong side of the ball in open play or during a ruck, maul, scrum or lineout. A penalty offence.
Onside - The opposite of offside, means you are on the correct side of play and in a legal position.
One-Up Runner – A single player taking the ball into contact, usually a forward.
Overlap – When the attacking team has more players than the defenders on one side.
P
Pack – Another term used to refer to the forwards (numbers 1-8).
Penalty – Given for a serious infringement. The non-offending team can kick for touch, kick at goal, take a scrum, or tap and go.
Penalty Advantage – When the referee allows play to continue temporarily after a penalty to see if the attacking team can gain from it.
Phase – A period of play without a stoppage.
Pick and Go – A short, powerful carry made by a forward directly from the ruck.
Pinged – Slang for being penalised by the referee.
Pilfer – Another word for jackal; commonly used in Australia.
Poach – Another term for stealing the ball at the breakdown.
Pod – A group of forwards (usually 3) working together in an attacking shape.
Pop Pass - A short pass from one player to another.
Prop - A position in the forwards, usually bigger and stronger players whose main job is to scrummage, loosehead prop wears number 1, tighthead prop wears number 3.
Punt - A type of kick where the ball is dropped and doesn’t hit the floor before being kicked through the air.
Push Pass - A type of pass, normally used for shorter passes but not as short as a pop, the ball doesn’t spin through the air like on a longer spin pass.
R
Recycling – The process of reusing the ball quickly after a ruck to keep attacking.
Red Zone – The area within 5–10 metres of the try line.
Referee - The person in charge of the game and enforcing all the laws.
Rolling Maul – Another term for a maul, usually used when a maul is moving forward quickly.
Rolling Sub – A substitution system where players can come off and return later (used in some community formats).
Ruck – Formed after a tackle when players compete for the ball on the ground.
RFC – ‘Rugby Football Club’.
S
Scrappy Ball – Often used to refer to a series of poor passes, handling errors, messy breakdowns or frequent changes in possession.
Scrimmage – A term used in North America for a live practice/training session.
Scrum/Scrummage – A set piece where 8 forwards push against the opposing pack to restart play.
Scrumcap - aka headguard, a piece of protective equipment to protect the head.
Scrum Half - A position in the backs, wears number 9. Main job is to pass the ball from every breakdown, usually the smallest and chirpiest player in a team!
Seatbelt Tackle – A high tackle made by a player from behind the attacker usually with their arm coming across the shoulder.
Second Row - A position in the forwards, wearing number 4 and 5. Usually the tallest players in the team, their main job is to be jumpers in the lineout.
Set Piece – A planned restart of play from a lineout or scrum.
Skipper – The Captain
Soft Hands – A compliment for skilful, well-timed, and accurate catching and passing.
Spin Pass - A passing technique where the ball spins through the air, usually used for longer passes.
Spiral Bomb - A type of high kick that spins in the air, a very hard kick to execute and even harder to catch.
Strip – Taking the ball off a player in contact before they are on the floor, e.g. she stripped that from her in the tackle.
Support Line – The line an attacking player without the ball runs, to position themselves to receive a pass or offload from the ball carrier.
Switch – When two attacking players cross behind each other, changing their running lines to confuse the defence.
T
Tackle – Bringing a ball carrier to the ground below the shoulders.
Tap and Go – A quick restart after a penalty or free kick where the player taps the ball with their foot and runs. Most frequently done by the scrum half.
Television Match Official (TMO) - When games are televised there will often be a TMO who can help the referee with the advantage of television replays.
Tighthead Prop - Position in the forwards, wears number 3.
Touch – The area of play that is outside of the pitch eg ‘she was out of play, she was in touch’.
Touchline – The edge of the pitch; out of bounds.
Traffic – The congested part of the field with lots of defenders, typically near the ruck.
Try – Worth 5 points. Scored by grounding the ball over the opposition's try line.
Turnover – When the defending team legally wins back possession, usually through a tackle, ruck, or jackal.
W
Wheels – Slang for speed. “She’s got wheels” = “She’s fast.”
White Line Fever – When a player becomes overly eager to score near the try line and makes an error.
Wing – A fast backline player (shirt No. 11 or 14) often positioned by the touchline.
Work Rate – The amount of effort a player puts in, especially their involvement off the ball.
Think we’re missing any?
Add them to the dictionary using the form below