GUIDES · BETSLIP DOCTOR
Who throws into the lineout after a Rugby Union kick goes into touch?
The thrower depends on the type of kick and how the ball reached touch. A penalty kick chosen to reach touch and a qualifying 50:22 give the throw to the kicking team; an ordinary kick and a direct kick from the 22 with no gain in ground follow separate Law 18 rows. A direct kick from the 22 is not automatically a 50:22.
For Rugby Union viewers checking which side keeps or receives the throw-in after a kick reaches touch. · Updated
Penalty kicks and 50:22s
If a team chooses a penalty kick to touch, that team throws into the lineout. A legitimate penalty-goal attempt that goes into touch has a separate row, so do not treat every penalty-origin kick alike.
- A qualifying 50:22 is kicked indirectly into touch from the kicker’s own half and reaches touch in the opposition’s 22. The kicking team throws in when the Law 18.8(a) conditions are met: the team did not take the ball into its own half, or a tackle, ruck or maul occurred there, or an opponent touched the ball there. The variation does not apply to a kick-off or restart kick.
- The 50:22 variation does not apply to a kick-off or restart kick. The ball also cannot have been played back into the half in a way that defeats the definition; check the full law conditions.
Check a direct kick from inside the 22
For an ordinary kick, the opposition generally throws in. Law 18.8(d) handles a direct kick from inside the kicking team’s own 22: if that team took the ball into the 22 and no tackle, ruck, maul or opponent touch there created gain in ground, the non-kicking team throws. The row also sets the mark of touch; the no-gain rule is not a 50:22.
- If a tackle, ruck or maul occurred in the 22, an opponent touched the ball there, or the defending team did not take the ball back into its 22, use the gain-in-ground row. The non-kicking team still throws, but the mark can differ.
Restart kicks have their own row
A kick-off after a score and a drop-out that go directly into touch are covered separately in Law 18.8(b). If the touch option is taken, the non-kicking team throws. Do not apply the ordinary open-play rows to a restart kick.
Three fictional kicks to touch
These are hypothetical sequences, not real match events. First, a team chooses a penalty kick to touch; that team throws in. Second, a player kicks indirectly from their own half into the opponents’ 22, with the 50:22 conditions met; the kicking team gets the throw. Third, a player kicks directly from inside their own 22 after their team took the ball there and before any tackle, ruck, maul or opponent touch in the 22; this is the no-gain row, so the non-kicking team throws. These cases do not turn every kick from the 22 into a 50:22.
Related questions
Is every kick from a team’s own 22 a 50:22?
No. A 50:22 requires an indirect kick from the kicker’s own half into touch in the opposition’s 22, with the conditions in Law 18.8(a): the ball was not taken into the kicking team’s half, or a tackle, ruck, maul or opponent touch occurred there. It cannot come from a kick-off or restart kick. A direct kick from inside the 22 follows Law 18.8(d).
Who throws after an unselected penalty-goal attempt goes into touch?
Law 18.8(c) has a separate row for a legitimate penalty-goal attempt that goes into touch. Check that row rather than using the penalty-kick-to-touch outcome.