GUIDES · BETSLIP DOCTOR
How can a Rugby Union kick chaser in front of the kicker become onside?
A player in front of a team-mate who kicks in open play is offside. If the special 10-metre law applies, the player must retire immediately behind an onside team-mate or behind the 10-metre line measured on that player’s side of where the ball is caught or lands. Ordinary opponent-action routes do not put a player under Law 10.4(c) onside; the stated charge-down exception is narrow.
For Viewers who see a teammate ahead of the kicker wait or retreat instead of chasing the kick. · Updated
Start with the foot that kicked the ball
In open play, a player is offside when ahead of a team-mate who carries or last played the ball. If that last action was a kick, the kicking foot sets the offside line. An offside player must not interfere by playing the ball, tackling the catcher, preventing an opponent from playing, or loitering in the offside position.
This is about open-play kick-chase rules. Offside at a scrum, ruck, maul, or lineout uses separate laws.
The 10-metre law calls for immediate retirement
When Law 10.4(c) applies to a player in front of the kicker, that player must retire immediately behind an onside team-mate or behind the imaginary line 10 metres on the player’s side of where the ball is caught or lands. The line is based on the catch or landing, even if the ball first hits a goal post or crossbar.
If several players are involved, the law identifies the one closest to where the ball lands or is caught as the player penalised. Do not measure the rule from the kicker or treat 10 metres as a fixed distance the chaser must run in every kick.
Ordinary restoration routes have an important limit
An offside player can move behind the team-mate who last played the ball or behind another onside team-mate. Outside the special Law 10.4(c) case, Law 10.7 also allows specified routes such as an onside team-mate moving past the player while within or having re-entered the playing area, an opponent kicking or intentionally touching the ball without gaining possession, or the ball entering touch while the player complied with the law.
Law 10.7 expressly excludes a player still under Law 10.4(c). An opponent catching, running with, or passing the ball does not by itself restore that player. The stated exception is a charge down, including a touch in an attempted charge down; it removes the 10-metre-law requirement, not every other offside or interference obligation.
Check the competition’s governing edition
This guide explains the current World Rugby 15-a-side digital law text checked on 15 October 2026. The July 2026 implementation notice does not show whether a named competition adopted a particular change mid-season; check its regulations and the relevant Union confirmation.
Two fictional kick chasers
Blue’s kicker sends the ball downfield. In the first fictional phase, a Blue player ahead of the kicker is subject to Law 10.4(c); the player immediately retires behind an onside Blue team-mate or the required line before becoming involved. In a separate phase, another Blue player is offside but not under Law 10.4(c); an onside Blue team-mate moves past that player while in the playing area, satisfying an ordinary restoration route. If the first kick instead is charged down or touched in an attempted charge down, the special 10-metre requirement does not apply, but ordinary offside and interference rules still matter.
Related questions
Is the offside line for a kick measured from the ball?
For open-play offside, Law 10.1 says the foot that kicks the ball determines the offside line.
Can an opponent catching the kick put a 10-metre-law player onside?
No. Law 10.7 excludes a player under Law 10.4(c), and Law 10.8 says opponent action does not put that player onside apart from a charge down.
Does an ordinary onside team-mate passing the chaser help?
It can be an ordinary restoration route under Law 10.7 when the onside team-mate moves past the player while within or having re-entered the playing area, but not while the player remains under Law 10.4(c).