Commonwealth Rugby Glossary:
- Advantage: Unlike most other sports, referees can play advantage after a foul for what can seem an eternity, but once he calls "advantage over" then that's that.
- Ankle Tap: A tackle, usually of the last-ditch variety, which involves a dive and a slap to the attacker's ankle which, if properly executed, will result in his legs colliding with each other. Also known as a Tap Tackle.
- Backs: The group of players normally numbered Nos. 9 to 15 who do not participate in scrums and line-outs, except for the scrum-half.
- Ball Magnet: A player who accumulates a large number of possessions.
- Ball-up (also bounce): Restart of play after the ball has been whistled "dead" by the umpire.
- Banana Kick: A kick which bends around the body, also known as a "checkside" punt.
- Behind: Two points scored when the ball passes between a goal post and the shorter outer post, when the ball hits the goal post, or when a defender touches the ball before it crosses the goal line or a defender forces the ball through to prevent a goal being scored.
- Cap: Anytime a player plays in a match he/she is technically awarded a cap but the term is mostly used to note the number of official games a player has appeared for his/her national team against another national team. A cap is an honour, there is typically no physical item awarded, although originally there was.
- Charge Down: The blocking of a kick by an opposition player.
- Chip Kick: A short shallow kick usually delivered over the head of an onrushing defender to be quickly retrieved or caught by the kicker or one of his/her supporting players.
- Clearance Kick: A kick of the ball into touch which relieves pressure on a side under heavy attack.
- Complete Package: Refers to a player who can do just about everything: goals, run well, catch the ball, tackle, etc.
- Conversion: A kick at the posts after the awarding of a try, scoring 2 points through the goalposts or 1 point through the behind posts if successful. The kick must be attempted directly from a spot perpendicular to the spot where the try was awarded. Usually taken with a place kick, it can be rushed when the kicker makes a move towards the ball. If taken as a drop kick it is uncontested.
- Drop Out: The way play is re-started, using a drop-kick, after the defending side has touched the ball down behind its own try-line or when the ball has gone out over the dead-ball line.
- Drop Punt: In a drop punt, the ball is held vertically and dropped and kicked before it hits the ground, resulting in the ball spinning backwards end over end.
Dummy: A feigned pass intended to deceive an opponent about to make a tackle. - Feed: The rolling of the ball into the scrum by the scrum-half.
- Foot Up: An offence where a hooker brings his foot forward before the ball is put in by the scrum-half.
- Forward Pass: All passes must go backwards, and this is an illegal pass where the ball goes forwards. The penalty is a scrum in favour of the other side.
- Forwards: The group of players normally numbered 1 through 8 who bind together into scrums, line up for line-outs, and commit themselves to most rucks and mauls.
- Free Kick: An uncontested kick awarded to a team usually for a minor penalty by the other team. The kick cannot be taken directly at the posts except by a drop goal.
- Front Five: A common collective name for the front (props and hooker) and second row (locks) forwards. Also known as Tight Five
- Front Row: The common name for the prop/hooker/prop combination at the front of a scrum.
- Goal: four points awarded when the ball is kicked through the tall uprights.
- Grubber: A kick of the ball which causes the ball to bounce and roll along the ground.
- Guernsey: Playing jersey.
- Handpass or handball: Fisting the ball to another player (the ball maybe fisted, but it can also be thrown). The technique is similar to an underhanded volleyball serve.
- Handy Points: A colloquial term for a behind scored near the end of a close game which extends to one more than a multiple of six (i.e. from six points to seven points, from twelve points to thirteen points, or from eighteen points to nineteen points); so called because it means the opposition needs an extra scoring shot to tie or win the game.
- High Ball: A ball kicked very high into the air placing any player attempting to catch it under extreme pressure by on rushing opposition players.
- High Tackle: A tackle that results in contact to the opposition play over the top of his shoulders or to the neck or head. This will result in a free kick.
- Hit the woodwork: A kick for goal which hits one of the posts.
- Hospital Pass: A pass which is received by a team-mate a split second before he is tackled hard by one or more of the opposition, after which he is likely to need medical treatment. A useful way of settling scores with team-mates.
- Injury Time: When the referee publicly stops and starts time for more lengthy interruptions (injuries, referrals to the TV referee) so that even when the allotted 40 minutes have expired, play continues until the time for these stoppages is added. At club level, injury time is often a far less easily defined beast.
- Inside-50: The act of running or passing the ball inside the 50m arc.
- Interchange: The substitution (or rotation) of players during a game. Players entering or leaving the field of play must do so at a designated interchange area which is monitored by stewards.
- Kick A Bag: Refers to a player (usually a forward) who kicks a large number of goals in a game, e.g. Jack Riewoldt kicked a bag with 10 goals.
- Knock-on: Losing, dropping, or knocking the ball forward from a player's hand resulting in the ball being awarded to the other team in a scrum.
- Lifting: The act of lifting the lineout jumper into the air in order to more easily catch or intercept the throw.
Lineout: The set play re-starting play after the ball has been taken out or kicked to touch. Both sets of forwards will line up opposite each other with the side with throw calling a play. The throw must be directly down the middle of the two lines. - Maul: Typically after a runner has come into contact and the ball is still being held by a player once any combination of at least three players have bound themselves a maul has been set. The primary difference from a ruck is that the ball is not on the ground.
- Melee: An unacceptable gathering of players involved in deliberate physical contact. Can lead to suspensions and fines.
- Offsides: During rucks, scrums, lineouts, and mauls an imaginary line is present over which any player crossing before the set piece is completed commits a penalty.
- Out on the Full: A kick that travels across the boundary line without first being touched by a player or hitting the ground. This will result in a free kick to the opposition team, taken by the player closest to the point at which the ball crossed the boundary line.
- Pack: Another name for all the forwards usually when they are bound for a scrum.
- Pepper The Goals: when a team has numerous scoring chances, usually said when all those scoring shots result in more misses than trys, goals, or behinds.
- Penalty: Any number of infractions or violations which award the other team a kick.
- Penalty Kick: An uncontested kick awarded to a team for a major infraction by the other team. The kick can be taken directly at goal and scores 2 points (goal) or 1 point (behind) is successful. If the ball is kicked to touch, then the throw-in is awarded back to the team which kicked the ball out of bounds.
- Penalty Try: The awarding of a try due to a blatant or repeated violation by an opposing side that prevents an obvious try from being scored.
- Pill: the football.
- Place Kick: A kick of the ball resting on the ground, placed in an indention in the ground, from a small pile of sand, or from a kicking tee. Place kicks are used to start each half, for penalty kicks at goal, or for conversion kicks after a try has been awarded.
- Possession: The act of obtaining the ball.
- Pushover Try: A try scored by the forward pack as a unit in a scrum by pushing the opposition's scrum pack backwards across the tryline while dragging the ball underneath them. Typically scored from a 5m scrum, the try is usually awarded when the No.8 or scrum-half touch the ball down after it crosses the try line.
- Red Card: A player can receive one of these from the referee, sending him off for the remainder of the game, for persistent breaching of the rules or for serious foul/dangerous play.
- Rubbed Out: A colloquialism for being suspended.
- Ruck: Typically after a runner has come into contact and the ball has been delivered to the ground once any combination of at least three players have bound themselves a ruck has been set. The primary difference from a maul is that the ball is on the ground.
- Scrum: The formation used in the set play re-starting play after a knock-on or forward pass. The forwards from each side bind together and then the two packs come together to allow the scrumhalf with the feed to deliver the ball to the scrum. A scrum can also be awarded or chosen in different circumstances by the referee.
- Scrum down: The coming together of the scrum.
- Scrummaging: The process of setting and completing a scrum.
- Shot: An attempt to kick a goal/behind.
- Shot Clock: The amount of time each team has to either 1) advance past each 50m line or 2) score.
Sin Bin: The naughty corner where all players who have been yellow carded sit all alone for 10 minutes. - Sledge: Trash talk, insult, goad or jibe an opposition player as an attempt to distract him from playing well.
- Slot: A new player who joined the club via draft or trade and is fitting in well with his new team
- Take: A well executed catch of a kicked ball.
- Tap Penalty: A quickly taken penalty where a player taps the ball a couple of inches with his foot and immediately catches it and surges forward, done to catch the opposition unawares.
- Torpedo Kick: A long, high, spiral kick of the ball that rotates the ball around its long axis which is aligned with the direction the ball is travelling. Very difficult to catch and is primarily used when kicking for goal from 50 meters (55 yards) or more.
- Touch Judge: An official posted on each side of the pitch to mark the spot where balls go out of touch and to judge kicks at goal. The touch judge is also instrumental in pointing out any serious violence infractions not seen by the referee and in major matches is in radio contact with him.
- Try: A score of 6 points awarded when the ball is touched down to the ground by a player inside the try square.
- Try Square: The 6.4×9m rectangle drawn on the ground directly in front of each goal.
- Turnover: When one side takes possession of the ball from their opponents.
- XV: A common identifier for the first fifteen selected players of a club or team. A team can also use XV in their name, pronounced as fifteen.
- Yellow card: A player who receives a yellow card from the referee has to leave the pitch for ten minutes at sit in the Sin Bin. This is usually given for dangerous, persistent or cynical breaches of the rules. If the offence is more serious then he can be red carded.