Rugby Word Search Printable

Fifteen rugby words hidden in one grid, from Scrum to Conversion, with the answer key on a second page.

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Rugby Word Search

Find every word hidden in the grid. Words go across and down.

0 of 15 words found

DGRTOUCHLINEHBT

DINLKTOEIHLCXOD

OSNWUANRNPOWROG

TRYYBBVUEROBTTC

HSEPIAECOBISESX

OLVUFIRKURBXPGG

EMRNOASCTBTESNE

RAFTRWINGSWONGI

OPAHWBONOVALPEW

KATSATNDERDVIBE

HVSCRUMGYNNMTOB

UYDRDAIAFDKICKF

PITTOGKEPZAQHXL

AJTRHTACKLEAWER

AGFULLBACKSWWRK

This grid is wider and taller than its box. Slide it to see every letter.To drag, hold the first letter for a moment, then slide.Keyboard: Tab to the grid, arrow keys to move, Enter on the first and last letter.

PitchPITCH
TouchlineTOUCHLINE
WingWING
FullbackFULLBACK
ForwardFORWARD
OvalOVAL
BootsBOOTS
ScrumSCRUM
LineoutLINEOUT
RuckRUCK
TackleTACKLE
KickKICK
PuntPUNT
TryTRY
ConversionCONVERSION

15 of 24 words from the Rugby list.

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Answer key: Rugby Word Search

DGRTOUCHLINEHBT

DINLKTOEIHLCXOD

OSNWUANRNPOWROG

TRYYBBVUEROBTTC

HSEPIAECOBISESX

OLVUFIRKURBXPGG

EMRNOASCTBTESNE

RAFTRWINGSWONGI

OPAHWBONOVALPEW

KATSATNDERDVIBE

HVSCRUMGYNNMTOB

UYDRDAIAFDKICKF

PITTOGKEPZAQHXL

AJTRHTACKLEAWER

AGFULLBACKSWWRK

PITCH, TOUCHLINE, WING, FULLBACK, FORWARD, OVAL, BOOTS, SCRUM, LINEOUT, RUCK, TACKLE, KICK, PUNT, TRY, CONVERSION

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All 227 words

The Pitch 23

Crossbar The bar that joins the two posts. A kick must pass above it to count.
Dead ball line The line at the very back of each scoring area. Past it, play stops.
Field A pitch. In the laws, the part between the two goal lines is this "of play".
Five-meter line A dashed line just in front of each goal line. No scrum is set closer than this.
Flag A soft marker on a post at the edge of the pitch. A touch judge carries one too.
Goal line The line the posts stand on. Touch the ball down on it or past it to score.
Goalposts The tall H that stands at each end of the pitch.
Grass A natural playing surface. The laws also allow sand, clay, snow and artificial turf.
Ground Where a club plays its matches. Also what the ball must touch for a try.
Halfway line The solid line across the middle. Each half starts with a kick from its center.
In-goal The area behind each try line where the ball is touched down to score.
Padding The soft covering wrapped around the foot of each post.

Show all 227 words (215 more)

The Pitch, continued

Perimeter The clear space around the playing area, kept free of fences and other hazards.
Pitch The rectangular field the game is played on.
Sand A surface the laws allow. Some kickers set the ball on a small mound of it.
Snow A surface the laws allow, as long as it is safe to play on.
Ten-meter line A dashed line on each side of halfway. A kickoff must travel at least this far.
Touchline One of the two long side boundaries. A ball that crosses it is out of play.
Tramlines A nickname for the two dashed lines along each side. A lineout forms between them.
Try line The everyday name for the line a player must reach to score.
Turf Playing surface. The man-made kind is allowed when it meets the standard.
Twenty-two A line named for its distance in meters from the goal line, and the area behind it.
Uprights The two tall posts of the H. A kick must pass between them to count.

Players and Positions 38

Alickadoo A club member who does not play but helps run things, most of all on match day.
Back row The last line of a scrum: both flankers and the forward at the very back.
Back three The two wings and the fullback together.
Ball carrier The player holding the ball, and the only one who may be tackled.
Bench Where the players who did not start wait for their turn.
Captain The player who leads the team and joins the referee for the coin toss.
Center One of two midfield backs who try to break the defensive line and link with the wings.
Colts A name for youth players, most of them just out of high school.
Flanker A back-row forward who binds on the side of the scrum and races to each breakdown.
Fly-half The back who usually takes the scrum-half's pass and directs the back line.
Forward One of the eight bigger players who push in scrums and compete in lineouts.
Front row The three forwards who meet the other pack head to head in a scrum.
Fullback The last line of defense, who catches the other team's long kicks.
Halfback A scrum-half or a fly-half. In New Zealand it means the scrum-half only.
Interchange The thirteen-a-side game's word for a player waiting on the bench.
Jumper A forward who leaps for the ball at a lineout. Also another name for the shirt.
Kicker The player chosen to take the shots at the posts.
Lifter A forward who hoists a teammate into the air at a lineout.
Lock A tall second-row forward, a main target for the throw at a lineout.
Loosehead The prop on the left of the front row, with one shoulder free of the scrum.
Number eight The forward at the very back of the scrum. The position has no name but the one on the shirt.
Opponent A player on the other team.
Pack All the forwards together, most of all when bound for a scrum.
Prop One of the two strong forwards at the ends of the front row of a scrum.
Receiver The player, usually the scrum-half, who takes the ball knocked down from a lineout.
Replacement A player on the bench who can come on for a teammate.
Scrum-half The back who rolls the ball in between the packs and passes it out to the other backs.
Second row The two locks, named for where they push in a scrum.
Selector A person given the job of choosing the players for a representative side.
Squad All the players a coach can pick from for a match.
Stand-off Another name for the fly-half, heard in Britain and in the thirteen-a-side game.
Tackler The defender who brings the runner to the ground, then must let go and move away.
Team A side: the group of players who take the pitch together.
Three-quarter A center or a wing, from the days when backs were named by how deep they stood.
Tight five The front row and the second row counted together.
Tighthead The prop on the right of the front row, wedged between two opponents.
Utility player Someone who can fill several different positions.
Wing Often among the quickest players in a team, and the scorer of many tries.

Ball and Kit 34

Ball It is oval, so nobody can be sure which way it will bounce.
Bladder The air-filled inner tube of a ball.
Boots Rugby shoes, with studs under the sole.
Collar The neck band of a shirt. Modern jerseys keep it very small or leave it off.
Cotton The cloth rugby shirts were traditionally made from.
Foam The soft, light material modern scrum caps are made of.
Grip What studs give a player on the turf, and what the ball's surface gives the hands.
Headgear Soft, thin padding for the head. Nothing stiff is allowed.
Hoops Stripes that run across a jersey from side to side.
Jersey The strong shirt of a rugby player, with a number on the back.
Kit A player's whole outfit: jersey, shorts, socks and boots.
Leather What balls were once made of. It soaked up water and grew heavy.
Mouthguard A shield worn over the teeth.
Number On the back of a jersey. It shows the position of the player who started in it.
Oval The egg-like shape of a rugby ball.
Panel One of the four pieces that make up the outside of the ball.
Polyester The thread a modern ball is sewn with, and a fiber in many jerseys.
Pump It pushes air into the ball.
Rubber Traditional jerseys had buttons made of it, so they came undone and did not pop off.
Rucking shield A hand-held pad that a partner holds while a player drives into it.
Scrum cap Soft headgear first made to protect a forward's ears.
Scrum machine A heavy padded device that a pack pushes against in training.
Shirt Another word for the jersey. A rugby one is made of strong cloth.
Shorts Worn with a jersey, long socks and boots in the traditional kit.
Shoulder pads Thin, soft ones are allowed. Stiff ones are not.
Sleeve Short on most modern jerseys, long on traditional ones.
Socks The long ones are part of the traditional kit.
Stitching The rows of thread that hold a ball's panels together.
Studs The knobs under a boot that grip the turf. The referee checks them before a match.
Synthetic Man-made, like the material of a modern ball.
Tackle bag A padded bag that stands in for an opponent in training.
Tape Some players wrap it around the head to protect their ears.
Tee A small plastic stand that holds the ball still for a place kick.
Waterproof Able to keep the wet out. Modern balls are; the old leather ones were not.

Scrum, Lineout and Ruck 33

Bind To grip a teammate with the whole arm, as forwards do before they push.
Blindside At a scrum or ruck, the side with less room before the touchline.
Breakdown The contest for the ball in the moments after a tackle.
Crouch The referee's first call to the two front rows.
Drive A push by the forwards that carries the ball ahead through contact.
Drop-out A drop kick the defending team takes from behind one of its own lines.
Engage To come together, as two packs do when their front rows interlock.
Feed To roll the ball in between the two packs. The scrum-half does it.
Gain line A line nobody can see, drawn across the pitch. Carry the ball past it to gain ground.
Gate The imaginary doorway at the back of a ruck. Arriving players must come through it.
Hook To pull the ball back with a foot.
Jump To leap for the thrown ball.
Kickoff The drop kick at the center spot that begins each half.
Lift To hoist a leaping teammate high so they can catch the throw.
Lineout The restart at the side of the pitch: a throw goes up between two rows of forwards.
Mark A clean catch of a kick close to your own goal line. Shout the word to win a free kick.
Maul The ball carrier is held up, standing, and teammates bind on and drive forward.
Openside At a scrum or ruck, the side with more room before the touchline.
Phase One spell of play between two breakdowns.
Possession Having the ball. Either team may fight for it at any time.
Push What two packs do against each other once the ball is in.
Put-in The right to roll the ball in between the packs, given to one team.
Reset To form a scrum again after it has fallen or turned too far.
Restart The kick from halfway after points are scored.
Ruck Players on their feet push over a ball on the ground and hook it back with their boots.
Scrimmage A name used in the early game for what later became the scrum.
Scrum Each team's eight forwards lock together and push against the other eight.
Set piece The shared name for the two big restarts, one pushed and one thrown.
Throw-in How the ball comes back into play from the touchline, straight down the middle.
Touch Out of play at the side of the pitch. A ball that goes there brings a lineout.
Tunnel The space between two opposing front rows, where the ball is rolled in.
Turnover A change of possession in open play, often won at the breakdown.
Wheel To turn the two bound packs around until they face sideways.

Running, Passing and Kicking 36

Ankle tap A diving swipe of the hand at a runner's foot that makes them stumble.
Carry A run with the ball in hand.
Catch To take the ball cleanly out of the air.
Charge down Blocking an opponent's kick by running at the kicker.
Chase To run after your own team's kick and try to win the ball back.
Chip A short kick just over the defensive line for a teammate to run onto.
Counterattack To attack straight back after catching the other team's clearing kick.
Decoy A runner who acts as if about to take a pass, to pull defenders away.
Draw To pull a defender toward you before passing to the free player outside.
Fend To push a tackler away with a straight arm.
Flick A fast, short pass made with the wrists.
Gap A space between two defenders that a runner aims for.
Grubber A kick that sends the ball rolling and tumbling along the ground.
Hand-off Another name for holding a tackler away with a straight arm.
Interception Taking a pass that was meant for a player on the other team.
Kick To strike the ball with a foot. It may be sent in any direction.
Line break Getting through the defense with the ball without being tackled.
Offload A quick pass made in the middle of being tackled.
Overlap More attackers than defenders at one moment.
Pass A throw to a teammate. It must never travel forward.
Pop A very short pass, lobbed up in a small loop.
Punt A kick struck before the dropped ball reaches the ground.
Quick hands Moving the ball fast between players, each catching and passing in one motion.
Release What a tackled player must do with the ball at once.
Run To carry the ball on foot. A player may go in any direction.
Sidestep A wide step one way, then a quick shift the other, to slip past a defender.
Skip A pass that misses out the nearest teammate and goes to one farther away.
Smother A kind of tackle that stops the ball carrier from passing.
Spiral How a standard pass spins through the air, around the ball's long axis.
Support Teammates arriving to help the ball carrier.
Swerve A curving run to the outside of a defender that loses little speed.
Switch A move that changes the direction of play.
Tackle To grab the ball carrier and bring them to the ground.
Territory Ground gained up the pitch. Teams often kick for it.
Up and under A high, short kick that gives the chasers time to get beneath it.
Wrap What a tackler's arms must try to do around the ball carrier.

The Match and Scoring 31

Amateur Unpaid. Every union player had to be until 1995.
Bonus point A reward in a competition table for scoring many tries or for losing narrowly.
Club A local rugby organization with its own teams.
Code One of the two main forms of rugby.
Contact The kind of sport rugby is: players may tackle.
Conversion The kick at the posts that a team earns by scoring a try.
Drop goal A score in open play: the ball is dropped, bounces, and is kicked over the bar.
Drop kick A kick struck as the dropped ball bounces up off the ground.
Extra time More play added when a knockout match is level at the end.
Football The family of games rugby belongs to. The sport's full name ends with this word.
Full time The end of a match, marked by the referee's whistle.
Grounding Touching the ball down in the scoring area. It completes a try.
Halftime The break in the middle of a match, after which the teams swap ends.
Knockout The stage of a competition where the losing team goes out.
League The code of rugby with thirteen players a side and no lineouts.
Match A game of rugby between two teams.
Penalty kick A shot at the posts awarded after the other team breaks a law.
Place kick A kick at a ball set still on a tee or on the turf.
Points What tries and successful kicks at the posts add up to.
Professional Paid to play. An argument over this split the sport in two in 1895.
Score The points each team has so far. Also, to win some.
Sevens A form of rugby with fewer than half the usual players and very short halves.
Spectator A person who comes to watch the match.
Stoppage A pause in play, for an injury for example. It does not count as playing time.
Tag Rugby without tackles: a defender pulls a strip from the belt of the runner.
Test A full international match.
Toss The flip of a coin that decides which team kicks off.
Tournament A competition among many teams. The short form of the game is often played this way.
Try The main score: touching the ball down on or past the other team's goal line.
Union The code of rugby with fifteen players a side, lineouts and rucks.
Wheelchair Rugby gives its name to a full-contact sport played in one of these.

Laws and Referees 32

Advantage Letting play go on after an offense because stopping would hurt the team that was wronged.
Assistant One of the two officials who help the referee, once known as touch judges.
Caution A formal warning from the referee for repeated or deliberate offenses.
Collapse To bring a scrum or maul down on purpose. It is penalized.
Dangerous play A serious kind of offense, such as a tackle around the neck or head.
Forward pass A throw that travels toward the other team's end. It is against the laws.
Foul play Deliberate breaking of the laws.
Free kick A lesser award for a technical offense. No shot at the posts is allowed from it.
High tackle Grabbing a runner above the shoulders. It is dangerous and penalized.
Infringement Any breaking of a law.
Knock-on Losing the ball forward off a hand or arm. The other team gets a scrum.
Late tackle Hitting a player after the ball has already been passed or kicked away.
Law Rugby's word for a rule.
Not straight The call when a lineout throw unfairly favors the thrower's own team.
Obstruction Getting in the way of a player on the other team who does not hold the ball.
Official The referee, or one of the two who assist from the side of the pitch.
Offside In front of the line that counts, and so not allowed to join in.
Onside Behind the line that counts, and so free to take part in play.
Penalty The award against a team for a serious offense: a kick for the other side.
Red card Shown to a player who is sent off and takes no further part in the match.
Referee The official in charge of the match, who keeps the time too.
Retreat What players who are not in a ruck or maul must do, back behind the offside line.
Signal A movement of the referee's arm that shows the decision.
Sin bin Where a cautioned player waits while the team plays one short.
Suspension Time off the pitch as a punishment. A yellow card brings a short one.
Tap A tiny kick to yourself that restarts play quickly after a penalty.
Timekeeper An official who helps the referee by watching the clock.
Touch judge An official who watches the side of the pitch and raises a flag when the ball goes out.
Tripping Bringing a runner down with a foot or leg. It is against the laws.
Video The kind of referee who watches the match on a screen and advises on hard decisions.
Whistle The referee blows it to stop play and to end each half.
Yellow card Shown with a caution. The player must leave the pitch for a short time.

How this list was compiled: Rugby words chosen and defined for this site in seven themed lists (the pitch; players and positions; ball and kit; scrum, lineout and ruck; running, passing and kicking; the match and scoring; laws and referees), with a favorites list, an easy list and a hard list. Terms and laws were checked on 2026-10-10 against the English Wikipedia articles Rugby union, Rugby union positions, Rugby union gameplay, Glossary of rugby union terms, Scrum (rugby union), Line-out (rugby union), Try (rugby), Drop goal, Rugby ball, Rugby union equipment, Rugby shirt, Scrum cap, Rugby football, Rugby league, Rugby league positions, Rugby sevens and Tag rugby, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_union (CC BY-SA 4.0), and the entries scrum, ruck, maul, lineout, try, conversion, touchline, in-goal, knock-on, loosehead, tighthead, grubber, offload, alickadoo and mouthguard in Wiktionary, https://en.wiktionary.org/. Every meaning is in our own words, and spellings are American (center, meter, defense). No team, tournament, trophy, player or brand is named, and pitch sizes, clock lengths and points values that change with the form of the game are left out. Licence: own work

How it works

This rugby word search printable starts on Scrum, Try, Tackle, Lineout, Ruck, Pitch and Conversion, with two positions, Wing and Fullback.

Read the full guide

Seven lists, from the pitch to the laws

Start from a list has The Pitch (Touchline, In-goal, Twenty-two), Players and Positions (Prop, Flanker, Fly-half), Ball and Kit (Studs, Scrum cap, Tee), Scrum, Lineout and Ruck (Bind, Tunnel, Blindside), Running, Passing and Kicking (Sidestep, Offload, Grubber), The Match and Scoring (Drop goal, Sevens) and Laws and Referees (Knock-on, Sin bin, Advantage). Stand-off and Interchange are there for the thirteen-a-side game.

Two more lists, sorted by word length

Easy Rugby Words keeps to 45 words of 3 to 5 letters, such as Try, Ruck, Maul, Kick and Ball. Hard Rugby Words has 32 long ones, Interception, Loosehead and Alickadoo among them.

Tick Show clues, not words in More options and Oval becomes "The egg-like shape of a rugby ball."
Two-word terms are hidden as one run of letters: KNOCKON, SINBIN, FLYHALF, DROPGOAL.

Questions and answers

What is a scrum in rugby?

A scrum restarts play after a minor error such as a knock-on. In rugby union, eight forwards from each team bind in three rows and push against the other pack, and the scrum-half rolls the ball into the tunnel between the two front rows.

Why is a try called a try?

The name comes from try at goal. Touching the ball down past the goal line at first earned only a chance to kick at the posts. Today the try is the main score, and the kick that follows it is the conversion.

What is the difference between a ruck and a maul?

In a ruck the ball is on the ground: players on their feet push over it and may use only their boots. In a maul the ball carrier is still standing, held by an opponent with a teammate bound on, and hands are allowed.

What is a lineout in rugby?

A lineout brings the ball back after it goes into touch. Forwards from both teams stand in two rows at right angles to the touchline, the ball is thrown straight down the middle, and jumpers, often lifted by teammates, compete for it.

All 227 words

The Pitch 23

The Pitch, continued

Players and Positions 38

Ball and Kit 34

Scrum, Lineout and Ruck 33

Running, Passing and Kicking 36

The Match and Scoring 31

Laws and Referees 32

How it works

Seven lists, from the pitch to the laws

Two more lists, sorted by word length

Questions and answers

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