Penalty and free-kick

Infringements of the Laws which have a material and significant impact on the opposition are punished with the award of a penalty kick.

Penalty signal

If the place where the penalty is awarded is within range of the posts, the team will usually choose to kick for a goal from a place kick. The ball is placed on a kicking tee and the kicker attempts to kick it between the posts and over the crossbar. Three points are awarded for a successful kick.

A team may choose not to kick for goal. Other options include a scrum, a ‘quick penalty’ to bring the ball into open play, or kicking for touch (where the kicking team has the throw in to the resulting lineout).

A free-kick is awarded for less significant offences. A team may not score points directly from a free-kick.

A team may opt for a scrum instead of a free-kick.