GUIDES · BETSLIP DOCTOR
After a Rugby Union attack ends without a try in-goal, which restart applies?
There is no single restart for every no-try event in-goal. Under the current 15-a-side laws, an attacking play that becomes legally dead and a ball charged down by an attacking player from the field of play and dead through in-goal can lead to a try-line drop-out; a failed kick at goal and a kick through in-goal follow different rows. A held-up ball may restart with a try-line drop-out or a five-metre scrum, depending on how it entered.
For Rugby Union viewers trying to understand why a no-try sequence near the try line restarts from different places. · Updated
Start with how the ball became dead
Use the specific World Rugby law row for the path into in-goal. These common cases do not share one restart.
- An attacking player plays, kicks or carries the ball into in-goal, does not score, and the ball becomes legally dead there: try-line drop-out (Law 12.12(a)).
- An attacking player charges the ball down from the field of play and it goes dead through in-goal: try-line drop-out under the current Law 12.12(d).
- An unsuccessful penalty-goal or dropped-goal attempt is grounded or made dead in in-goal: 22-metre drop-out (Law 12.11(a)).
- A kick from the field of play goes through the opponents’ in-goal and becomes dead: 22-metre drop-out, with the defending team able to choose a scrum at the kick point (Laws 12.11(b) and 21.11).
A held-up ball depends on its entry
Law 21.16 says a ball-carrier held up in-goal restarts with a try-line drop-out or a five-metre scrum, depending on how the ball entered. Law 19.1 row 5 supplies the defending-team branch: when the defending team plays or takes the ball into in-goal and it is made dead, the attacking team throws into the scrum closest to where it became dead.
Check the competition’s law edition
World Rugby’s July 2026 update says some no-try in-goal cases changed from a 22-metre drop-out to a try-line drop-out. Its examples include a charge-down that goes dead and a carrier tackled into touch-in-goal before grounding. The changes apply to new competitions or events starting after 1 July 2026; ask the union about a competition already in progress.
Four separate fictional in-goal sequences
These are hypothetical rule examples, not real match events. If an attacker carries the ball into in-goal and it becomes legally dead without a try, use the try-line drop-out row. If an attacking player charges the ball down from the field of play and it goes dead through in-goal, the current Law 12 row gives a try-line drop-out. If a carrier is held up, check whether the attacking or defending team took the ball into in-goal; the outcome can be a try-line drop-out or five-metre scrum. If a failed penalty-goal attempt is made dead in in-goal, use the 22-metre drop-out row.
Related questions
Does every no-try kick into in-goal produce the same restart?
No. A failed kick at goal, a kick through the opponents’ in-goal, and an attacking play that becomes legally dead are addressed by different law rows. Identify the kick and how the ball became dead before choosing a restart.
Does the July 2026 change automatically apply during an ongoing league?
World Rugby says the changes apply to new competitions or events starting after 1 July 2026. For a competition already in progress, check the union’s implementation date.
Sources and further reading
- World Rugby Laws of the Game, Law 12, clauses 12.11–12.13(d), current digital text reviewed October 15, 2026
- World Rugby Laws of the Game, Law 21, clauses 21.4, 21.11 and 21.16, current digital text reviewed October 15, 2026
- World Rugby Laws of the Game, Law 19.1 table row 5, current digital text reviewed October 15, 2026
- World Rugby, 2026-07 Law updates, published July 2026; reviewed October 15, 2026