Rugby Vocabulary Worksheet

Press Print worksheet to match twelve rugby terms, from scrum and try to conversion, to their meanings.

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NameDateMade at homeroomtools.comDraw a line from each one on the left to its partner on the right.Rugby vocabularyrugbytryconversionscrumlineoutruckmaultackleknock-ondrop goalpitchoffsidea throw from the sideline to tworows of jumping playersto wrap up the runner who hasthe ball and pull them downrival packs locked together,pushing to win the ballplayers bound around a ballcarrier who is still standingin front of play, where the rulessay you may not bethe marked grass field where amatch is playeda team sport of running with andkicking an oval balla score won by planting the balldown in the end areaa score kicked just as the ballbounces off the grounda kick at the posts after a score,for two more pointsthe error of dropping or tappingthe ball forwarda contest for a ball on theground, fought standing up
NameDateMade at homeroomtools.comDraw a line from each one on the left to its partner on the right.Rugby vocabularyAnswer keyrugbytryconversionscrumlineoutruckmaultackleknock-ondrop goalpitchoffsidea throw from the sideline to tworows of jumping playersto wrap up the runner who hasthe ball and pull them downrival packs locked together,pushing to win the ballplayers bound around a ballcarrier who is still standingin front of play, where the rulessay you may not bethe marked grass field where amatch is playeda team sport of running with andkicking an oval balla score won by planting the balldown in the end areaa score kicked just as the ballbounces off the grounda kick at the posts after a score,for two more pointsthe error of dropping or tappingthe ball forwarda contest for a ball on theground, fought standing up
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All 36 terms

Key rugby words 12

  • conversion A kick at the posts after a score, for two more points. "The conversion bounced off the left post."
  • drop goal A score kicked just as the ball bounces off the ground. "His drop goal sailed between the posts."
  • knock-on The error of dropping or tapping the ball forward. "A knock-on ended the attack."
  • lineout A throw from the sideline to two rows of jumping players. "Their tallest player won every lineout."
  • maul Players bound around a ball carrier who is still standing. "The maul rumbled slowly upfield."
  • offside In front of play, where the rules say you may not be. "The flag went up: he was offside."
  • pitch The marked grass field where a match is played. "The pitch was muddy after a week of rain."
  • ruck A contest for a ball on the ground, fought standing up. "The ball came out of the ruck quickly."
  • rugby A team sport of running with and kicking an oval ball. "Rugby is played here in every kind of weather."
  • scrum Rival packs locked together, pushing to win the ball. "The scrum collapsed and had to be set again."
  • tackle To wrap up the runner who has the ball and pull them down. "Nobody managed to tackle her before the line."
  • try A score won by planting the ball down in the end area. "She dived over in the corner for a try."
Show all 36 terms (24 more)

Players, coach and officials 12

  • assistant referee A flag-carrying official who patrols one sideline. "The assistant referee raised her flag."
  • backs The quicker players spread out behind, who run and pass. "The backs lined up across the field."
  • coach The person who leads practice and chooses the game plan. "The coach drew the move on a whiteboard."
  • fly-half The player in jersey 10, first to receive in most attacks. "The fly-half called the move with a hand signal."
  • forwards The bigger players whose main job is winning the ball. "The forwards practiced pushing as one."
  • goalkicker The team's specialist at kicking for points. "The goalkicker stepped back and breathed out."
  • jackal A player who snatches the ball just after a tackle. "The jackal was over the ball in a flash."
  • playmaker In any team sport, the one who sets up others to score. "Every pass seemed to go through the playmaker."
  • scrum-half The player who feeds a scrum and passes away from it. "The scrum-half whipped the ball away."
  • substitute A reserve sent on to take a teammate's place. "A substitute came on for the last ten minutes."
  • television match official The video judge who reviews key moments on a screen. "The television match official watched the replay twice."
  • winger A fast runner stationed out by the sideline. "The winger raced down the sideline."

Kinds of rugby and match words 12

  • box kick A steep, hanging ball booted from behind a ruck or scrum. "A box kick sent the ball spinning high."
  • cap One appearance for a national team. "She earned her first cap at nineteen."
  • dummy A pretend pass that sends a defender the wrong way. "He sold a dummy and slipped through the gap."
  • injury time Minutes added on for stoppages when players were hurt. "The winning score came in injury time."
  • mini rugby A simpler version for children on a smaller field. "The six-year-olds started with mini rugby."
  • penalty try A score awarded because foul play stopped a likely one. "The referee ran to the posts and signaled a penalty try."
  • rugby league The code played by teams of thirteen. "He switched to rugby league at sixteen."
  • rugby sevens A fast version with small teams and very short halves. "We watched rugby sevens all afternoon."
  • rugby union The fifteen-a-side form of the game. "Her school plays rugby union in the fall."
  • tag rugby A no-contact version: pull a strip from a rival's belt. "In tag rugby she lost a ribbon but kept the ball."
  • test match A full international game between two countries' sides. "Thousands traveled to watch the test match."
  • touch rugby A version where a tap with the hand stands in for a tackle. "Touch rugby was the warm-up game."

How this list was compiled: Term list chosen for this site on 2026-10-12. Each meaning is written in our own words and was checked that day in two references: the entry for the term in Wiktionary, the free dictionary (https://en.wiktionary.org/), whose text is under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license, and the entry in the Cambridge Dictionary (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/). Forwards and backs were read under forward and back, and lineout also under line-out. Where a dictionary has no entry or no sense of the game, the reference is an article of English Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/), whose text is under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license: Glossary of rugby union terms for box kick, television match official (TMO) and penalty try; Rugby union positions for forwards, backs, winger and the fly-half's number; Rugby union gameplay for goalkicker; Rugby union match officials for assistant referee; Cap (sport) for cap; and Rugby sevens, Touch rugby, Tag rugby and Mini rugby for the games they are named after. Jackal rests on its Wiktionary entry alone, and touch rugby, which has no dictionary entry, on its article alone. The answers under the list rest on the articles Rugby union positions, Try (rugby), Rugby league, Rugby sevens and Tag rugby. The sentence in quotation marks after each meaning is our own. Licence: own work

How it works

This rugby vocabulary worksheet prints twelve terms down the left and their meanings, mixed up, down the right. It opens on key words such as scrum, try and tackle. Two more sets cover players and officials, then kinds of rugby.

Read the full guide

Key rugby words, from try to offside

Set opens on Key rugby words: rugby, try, conversion, scrum, lineout, ruck, maul, tackle, knock-on, drop goal, pitch and offside. Players, coach and officials runs from forwards, backs and scrum-half to assistant referee and television match official.

Kinds of rugby, from sevens to tag

The third set prints rugby union, rugby league, rugby sevens, touch rugby, tag rugby, mini rugby, test match, cap, penalty try, dummy, box kick and injury time. Under the tool each term has a sentence from a match, such as "She dived over in the corner for a try."

Questions and answers

How many players are on a rugby team?

Fifteen in rugby union: eight forwards and seven backs. A rugby league team has thirteen players on the field and a rugby sevens team has seven.

How many points is a try worth in rugby?

Five in rugby union and four in rugby league. The scoring team then takes a kick at goal, the conversion, for two more points.

How long is a rugby match?

A rugby union match lasts 80 minutes, in two halves of 40. Rugby league is played over 80 minutes too. A normal sevens match is much shorter: two halves of seven minutes.

What is tag rugby?

A non-contact game based on rugby league. Every player wears a belt with two tags stuck to it, and a defender stops the ball carrier by pulling a tag off, where the full game would have a tackle.

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