GUIDES · BETSLIP DOCTOR
When is a Rugby Union quick throw disallowed even though the same team keeps the lineout?
A quick throw is disallowed if a lineout has already formed, a different ball is used, or someone other than the thrower or the player who carried the ball into touch touched it after the ball went out. In each of those cases, Law 18.5 awards the lineout to the same team. An incorrect throw is a separate issue with its own sanction.
For Viewers wondering why a team must form a lineout instead of taking an immediate throw. · Updated
Separate eligibility from throwing technique
Assume the team’s right to throw in has already been established. A quick throw is an option before a lineout forms, using the ball associated with the original trip into touch. The question here is whether that option remains available, not which side earned the throw after a kick or penalty.
Three events disallow the quick throw
Law 18.5 awards a lineout to the same team if a lineout has already formed, a different ball is used, or the ball was touched after going into touch by someone other than the thrower or the player who carried it into touch. A disallowed quick throw therefore does not hand the lineout to the opposition.
- A lineout is already formed.
- The thrower uses a replacement ball instead of the ball that went into touch.
- After the ball goes into touch, someone other than the thrower or original ball-carrier touches it.
An available quick throw still has to be executed correctly
If no Law 18.5 event has disallowed the quick throw, Law 18.4 requires the throw to be between the mark of touch and the thrower’s own try line, parallel to or toward that try line, and made with both feet outside the field of play. The ball must reach the five-metre line before it touches the ground or a player. For those Law 18.4 execution breaches, the opposing, non-offending team chooses a lineout or scrum.
Law 18.6 addresses a different situation: the ball must reach five metres before a player plays it, and no player may prevent it travelling five metres. The sanction there is a free-kick. Keep that free-kick rule separate from both Law 18.5 disallowance and Law 18.4’s execution sanction.
Check the competition’s governing edition
This guide uses World Rugby’s current 15-a-side digital text checked on 15 October 2026. The July 2026 implementation notice does not establish how a named competition applied any change mid-season; check that competition’s rules and Union confirmation.
One fictional lineout entitlement, four quick-throw checks
Blue is entitled to throw in. Before a lineout forms, Blue’s thrower has the same ball that went into touch, and no one else has touched it after it crossed the touchline; the quick throw may still be available if it is executed correctly. If Blue instead uses a replacement ball, Law 18.5 disallows the quick throw and awards Blue the lineout. The same result follows if a spectator touches the ball after it went out, or if Blue’s lineout has already formed. In a separate attempt while the quick throw remains available, a throw directed toward the opposition try line is incorrectly executed and gives the opposing, non-offending team the Law 18.4 choice of a lineout or scrum. These are fictional examples.
Related questions
Does a spectator touching the ball give the lineout to the other team?
No. Under Law 18.5, the quick throw is disallowed and the same team is awarded the lineout when a person other than the thrower or player who carried the ball into touch touched it after the ball went out.
Can a team use a replacement ball for a quick throw?
No. Law 18.5 disallows the quick throw if it uses a ball different from the one that originally went into touch; the lineout goes to the same team.
Is a short quick throw always a free-kick?
For an incorrectly executed quick throw under Law 18.4, the opposing, non-offending team chooses a lineout or scrum. Law 18.6 separately gives a free-kick if the ball is played before reaching five metres or a player prevents it travelling that distance.