Rugby union bonus points system

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Bonus points are extra league points awarded in rugby union competitions, in addition to the points for winning or drawing a match.

Contents

Systems

The most common point system is:[ citation needed ]

In this system, winning teams get 4 or 5 points; drawing teams 2 or 3 points; and losing teams between 0 and 2 points.

This format was created for New Zealand's National Provincial Championship, in 1995 and subsequently adopted in the inaugural Super 12 in 1996. [1] It was first used at the Rugby World Cup in 2003, and has been the staple for international and club competition since.[ citation needed ]

France

The French professional league, Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR), uses a similar system in its two competitions, the Top 14 and Rugby Pro D2. After trialling the system in 2007–08, LNR adopted the new system permanently. [2]

The French system awards points:

This system prevents a losing team from picking up two bonus points in the same match, as is possible under the normal system. [4]

SANZAAR

In 2016, Super Rugby switched from the standard system to the original French system, i.e.

SANZAAR extended this change to The Rugby Championship in 2017. [5]

Six Nations

The 2017 Six Nations Championship used the standard bonus points system on a trial basis, with the added feature that a team winning the Grand Slam would earn three extra bonus points to ensure that a grand slam winning team is guaranteed to win the tournament. [6] Six Nations tournaments also award a bonus point to any team that scores four tries or more, regardless of the outcome, meaning that a losing team can score two points if they score four tries and lose by seven points or fewer. [7]

Rugby league

From 2007 season through to 2014, the Championship and League 1 (the two levels below Super League), primarily in England but also featuring teams in France and Wales during this time frame, gave 3 points for a win, 2 for a draw, and 1 for a loss by 12 points or fewer (this amounts to two converted tries in rugby league, which gives four points for a try instead of the five points awarded in union). This changed in the 2015 season when the points system was brought into line with that of Super League, thereby standardising the system across Britain's three professional Rugby League divisions, abandoning the bonus points system. [8]

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Kavanagh, Peter (2013-01-29). "Points of Contention". Action 81. Archived from the original on 2015-01-20.
  2. ↑ "Article 330, Section 3.2. Points "terrain"" (PDF). Reglements de la Ligue Nationale de Rugby 2008/2009, Chapitre 2 : Règlement sportif du Championnat de France Professionnel (in French). Ligue Nationale de Rugby. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-17. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
  3. ↑ "Article 330, Section 3.2. Points "terrain" et points de bonus" (PDF). Statuts et Reglements de la Ligue Nationale de Rugby 2014/2015, Chapitre 2 : Règlement sportif des championnats profesionnels (in French). Ligue Nationale de Rugby. p. 166. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
  4. ↑ "French try out new bonus point system". Planet-Rugby.com. 2007-06-27. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-07-15.
  5. ↑ "Rugby Championship to adopt bonus-point system used by Super Rugby". Sky Sports. Reuters. 23 June 2016. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  6. ↑ "Bonus points system to be trialled in Six Nations". BreakingNews.ie. 30 November 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  7. ↑ "Six Nations Rugby Rules", Six Nations Rugby, retrieved 13 February 2022
  8. ↑ "RFL scraps championship bonus points system". Sky Sports.
  9. McKay, Brett (28 August 2017). "What to expect from the NRC in 2017". Australian Rugby. Archived from the original on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
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