Rugby law changes 2026: the trials that became law, and what changed in-goal

Published 13 November 2026 · 10 min read

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Short answer

From 1 July 2026 four World Rugby law trials are full law: the scrum brake foot (all rugby) and, in elite rugby, water carrier limits, the 20-minute red card replacement and the TMO's role. Community unions also set the tackle line at the waist or base of the sternum, and some in-goal restarts became try line drop-outs.

The 2026 rugby law changes at a glance

World Rugby changed the Laws of the Game in three steps in 2026: Council decisions of 17 June 2026 that took effect from 1 July, a law application guideline in October, and a hip drop tackle law that applies from 1 November. The table lists every change on World Rugby's 2026-07 Law updates page and the pages it points to.

Rugby law changes in 2026, who each applies to and when
Change	Status	Applies to	From
Brake foot at the scrum	Trial became full law	All rugby	1 July 2026
Restrictions on water carriers	Trial became full law	Elite rugby	1 July 2026
20-minute red card replacement	Trial became full law	Elite rugby	1 July 2026
Role of the TMO	Trial became full law	Elite rugby	1 July 2026
Lower tackle height	New law, wordings approved	Community rugby	1 July 2026
22 drop-out becomes try line drop-out in some in-goal cases	Law change	All rugby	1 July 2026
Minor wording changes	Law change	All rugby	1 July 2026
Hip drop tackle added to Law 9.13	Law change	All rugby	1 November 2026
60-second conversions, Protect the 9, non-contested not-straight lineouts	Still trials	Where the competition runs them	Another season, then review

World Rugby's page says the changes apply "to new competitions/events starting after 1 July", and that a competition already under way should check with its union for the date. The page gives no law numbers; the numbers used below come from RugbyReferee.net's report of the changes and are marked as such.

The four trials that became full law

Four Global Law Trials passed into full law on 1 July 2026: the brake foot, water carrier restrictions, the 20-minute red card replacement and the role of the TMO. World Rugby's page says they "have now become full law from 1 July". Only the brake foot applies to all rugby; the other three are elite-game rules, according to RugbyReferee.net.

Brake foot at the scrum

The brake foot is the only one of the four that applies at every level. World Rugby's page lists it as "Brake foot (for all)", and RugbyReferee.net describes it as the hookers' brake foot at the scrum. Referees and scorekeepers meet it as a scrum sanction, not a score.

The 20-minute red card replacement

A team can bring on a replacement for a sent-off player after 20 minutes of playing time, unless the red card was for an intentional or highly dangerous action. World Rugby's trial page sets out the rule as trialled:

The sent-off player "will take no further part in the match".
"For intentional and highly dangerous actions, the player cannot be replaced."
"For other actions, the player sent off may be replaced after 20 minutes playing time."
A tactically replaced player may return only to replace a teammate who received a qualifying red card, once that time has elapsed (Law 3.33 on the trial page).

The trial page limits the rule to "Elite Rugby", defined as "a professional level of rugby, determined by individual unions/competitions". It does not define a "qualifying red card" or say how the 20 minutes are counted; it refers questions to laws@worldrugby.org. That page describes the trial, so check the current Law 3 text for any wording the July 2026 update tidied.

Water carriers and the TMO

Two more elite rules became law: the restrictions on water carriers entering the field, and the role of the TMO, which RugbyReferee.net notes had been a trial since 2000. World Rugby's 2026 page names both and gives no detail of their wording, so a competition's own regulations are the place to read how they apply to a given match.

Community tackle height: waist or base of the sternum

In community rugby the legal tackle line is now the waist or the base of the sternum, chosen by the union or competition, and elite rugby keeps the shoulder line. World Rugby's tackle height page quotes Law 14.1: tacklers must tackle "below the relevant high tackle sanction line – shoulder line in elite rugby, or waist/base of the sternum in community rugby".

The tackle sanction line by level of rugby
Level	Sanction line	Who decides
Elite rugby	Shoulder line	The Laws
Community rugby	Waist or base of the sternum	The union or competition organiser

The wordings were approved on 17 June 2026 and appear in the laws materials from 1 July 2026. RugbyReferee.net places the changes in Laws 9 and 14 and in the Game On variations. The Game On text on World Rugby's page contains a garbled phrase about the number of choices, so the two-option description here follows RugbyReferee.net and Law 14.5a, which lists the line as shoulder, base of the sternum or waist.

In-goal restarts: the 22 drop-out and the try line drop-out

Two situations that used to restart with a 22 drop-out now restart with a try line drop-out (TLDO). World Rugby's page gives them as examples of in-goal restarts where a try is not scored: a charge-down from the field of play that goes dead, and a ball carrier who runs into in-goal near the corner flag and is tackled into touch-in-goal before grounding the ball. Both were 22 drop-outs; both are now TLDOs.

RugbyReferee.net explains the aim as consistency with the goal line drop-out introduced in 2021, now called the try line drop-out. It also covers simultaneous grounding with the touch-in-goal or dead-ball lines.

In-goal restarts after the July 2026 update, as RugbyReferee.net reports them
Situation	Restart
Attacker carries, plays or kicks the ball into in-goal and does not score	Try line drop-out
Ball carrier tackled into touch-in-goal before scoring	Try line drop-out (was a 22 drop-out)
Charge-down from the field of play that goes dead through in-goal	Try line drop-out (was a 22 drop-out)
Kick from the field of play that goes dead through in-goal	22 drop-out, with a scrum option from where it was kicked
Defenders take the ball back into their own in-goal and it does not come out	Five-metre attacking scrum, no change

None of these restarts changes how many points anything scores. They change which team restarts and from where.

The hip drop tackle law from 1 November

From 1 November 2026, Law 9.13 (dangerous tackling) names the hip drop tackle. World Rugby's page on the change says its Executive Board approved the amendment on 28 September 2026 after concern about injuries to ball carriers, and that these tackles are banned in American football and rugby league.

The law defines the action: the ball carrier is grasped or tackled from the side or behind, the tackler swings round or through them, and the tackler drops their hips or body weight onto the carrier's legs or lower limbs as they are brought to ground.

Sanctions in World Rugby's hip drop tackle guideline
Action	Sanction
Grasp, slide or hold, with no swing or hip drop	None: play on
Swing through with minimal lower-limb contact	Penalty
Swing through with more than minimal lower-limb contact	Yellow or red card
Premeditated or intentional foul play	Red card (permanent in elite rugby)

A separate Law Application Guideline on dangerous knee drop tackles was published in October 2026. The page that announces it does not state sanctions, so this guide does not either.

Clarifications with law numbers

World Rugby also approved more than 50 minor wording changes in July 2026, and RugbyReferee.net lists the ones that change what a referee does, with their law numbers. World Rugby's own page lists none of them, so treat the numbers as RugbyReferee.net's.

Clarifications reported by RugbyReferee.net, July 2026
Law	What it now says
19.11d	A number 8 cannot change binds and move across a position during a scrum; players keep their bind, in their starting position, for the whole scrum
19.7d	A number 8 can bind on a flanker and a second row
18.8a	50:22 added to the definitions and the lineout table
18.22	A hooker's feet may be on the touch line at the throw, but the hooker may not step onto the field
Law 14	A tackle can take place in in-goal, but the later tackle laws do not apply
15.20	After an unplayable ruck, the side that was last going forward throws in at the scrum
11.6	A forward pass into touch again gives a lineout or scrum option, an option dropped by accident in 2018
3.27	Up to 5 minutes to stem bleeding before an HIA begins; the HIA takes 12 minutes

What did not change for scorekeepers

The 2026 changes do not alter how many points a score is worth. In rugby union and sevens a try is 5 points, a conversion 2, a penalty goal or drop goal 3 and a penalty try 7; the rugby score counter lists the values for each code, including league. What the new laws change for a table official is the timing around a red card: the 20 minutes of playing time before an elite replacement can come on.

A scorekeeper who also keeps the clock needs the match's own competition regulations for that count, because World Rugby's trial page does not say how the 20 minutes are measured.

Which laws apply to your match

The July 2026 changes apply to competitions and events that start after 1 July 2026, so a league that began in the spring may still be under last season's wording. The hip drop tackle law is dated 1 November 2026 for everyone. For anything in between, the competition's union is the authority; World Rugby's own page tells mid-competition teams to ask it.

The newer trials still running are 60-second conversions, Protect the 9 and non-contested not-straight lineouts, according to RugbyReferee.net. World Rugby's January 2025 trial list shows the 60-second conversion, a 30-second lineout formation, a one-metre limit on playing an opponent near a ruck or maul, the scrum-half's position at the scrum and the not-straight lineout change, and it does not say which of them the 2026 trial names refer to. Check the competition's regulations to see which are in force.

Frequently asked questions

What are the new rugby laws for 2026?

World Rugby's Council approved four Global Law Trials for full law on 17 June 2026, effective 1 July: the scrum brake foot, elite water carrier restrictions, the 20-minute red card replacement and the TMO's role. It also approved a lower community tackle height, moved some in-goal restarts from a 22 drop-out to a try line drop-out, and added a hip drop tackle law from 1 November.

When do the 2026 rugby law changes take effect?

The July changes apply to new competitions and events starting after 1 July 2026; World Rugby tells teams to ask their union about a competition already under way. The hip drop tackle change to Law 9.13 takes effect on 1 November 2026. Which date applies to a given match depends on when the competition began, so the union's own notice decides.

Which rugby law trials are still running?

RugbyReferee.net, reporting World Rugby's July 2026 decisions, lists three that stay trials for another season: 60-second conversions, Protect the 9 and non-contested not-straight lineouts. World Rugby's page says the newer trials stay in play for another season and will then be reviewed, without naming the date of that review.

How does the 20-minute red card replacement work?

In elite rugby a sent-off player cannot be replaced for intentional and highly dangerous actions. For other red-card actions the team may replace the player after 20 minutes of playing time, using a player who has already been tactically replaced. World Rugby's trial page, which describes the rule as trialled, says the scope is elite rugby, as each union or competition defines it.

How high can you tackle in community rugby now?

Law 14.1 now reads that tackles must be "below the relevant high tackle sanction line", which is the shoulder line in elite rugby and the waist or the base of the sternum in community rugby. In the community game the union or competition organiser chooses between waist and base of the sternum. Elite rugby keeps the shoulder line.

What is a try line drop-out (TLDO) in rugby?

A restart that replaces the 22 drop-out in some in-goal situations where no try is scored, matching the goal line drop-out brought in during 2021. From July 2026 it applies when a ball carrier is tackled into touch-in-goal before grounding the ball, and after a charge-down from the field of play that goes dead through in-goal.

What is the hip drop tackle law in rugby?

From 1 November 2026, Law 9.13 lists a hip drop tackle as dangerous tackling. It occurs when a ball carrier is grasped from the side or behind, the tackler swings round or through, and drops their hips or body weight onto the carrier's legs as they go to ground. World Rugby's guideline sets sanctions from a penalty up to a red card.

Does a 22 drop-out still exist in rugby?

Yes. A kick from the field of play that goes dead through in-goal still gives a 22 drop-out, according to RugbyReferee.net's report of the July 2026 updates. What changed is that two in-goal situations where an attacker or a charge-down is involved became try line drop-outs, so the 22 drop-out now covers fewer cases.

Did the points values in rugby union change in 2026?

None of the changes on World Rugby's 2026 pages alters what a score is worth: a try is still 5 points, a conversion 2, a penalty goal or drop goal 3 and a penalty try 7 in rugby union and sevens. The new laws change how the game is restarted and sanctioned, so a scorekeeper's points arithmetic stays the same.