Rugby score counter · Free · No sign-up
Rugby Score Counter
A rugby score counter keeps each team’s points by code: in union and sevens a try is 5, a conversion 2, a penalty goal or drop goal 3 and a penalty try 7; in league a try is 4, a goal 2 and a drop goal 1. This one ties each conversion to its try and shows table points.
Free, no sign-up, works offline, and nothing leaves this browser.
Team A 0–0 Team B, 1st half
Level. If it is still level at full time, it is a draw.
If it ended now: Team A 2, Team B 2.
| Team | Tries | Conversions | Penalty goals | Drop goals | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team A | 0 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team B | 0 | 0/0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team | Result | Try bonus | Losing bonus | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team A | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Team B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Tap a score under the team that scored. After a try the Conversion keys light up for that team only: tap Conversion +2 or Conversion missed. Tap End when the referee blows for half time or full time; it waits until the conversion is settled. Ctrl+Z undoes.
This keeps the score, the conversions and the table points; it does not referee. It has no match clock and no sin-bin timers, so it does not track cards or players off, and it cannot tell whether a try was grounded. It is not an official match card, and it does not cover touch, tag or rugby league nines variations.
Adding points is the easy part. What a plain counter cannot know is that a conversion needs a try before it, that the half cannot end until the kick is taken, that a union penalty try is 7 with no kick while a league one is 4 and a kick, or what the result is worth in the table. This counter does, for union, sevens, league and the NRL.
In rugby union and rugby sevens a try scores 5 points and the conversion kick that follows it 2, while penalty goals and drop goals score 3. In rugby league a try scores 4, conversions and penalty goals 2, and a drop goal 1. Sevens uses the union values with halves of seven minutes.
- No sign-up
- No ads
- Counts never leave your browser
- Works offline
- Unlimited counters
Key facts
| Detail | Answer |
|---|---|
| Price | Free, no sign-up, no ads |
| Codes | Rugby union (15s), rugby sevens, rugby league (international laws) and the NRL |
| Union and sevens values | Try 5, conversion 2, penalty goal 3, drop goal 3, penalty try 7 (Law 8.1) |
| League values | Try 4, conversion or penalty goal 2, drop goal 1; NRL field goal from outside the 40: 2 |
| Conversions | One per try, for the scoring team only, settled before a half can end |
| Penalty try | Union 7 with no conversion; league 4, converted from in front of the posts |
| Level at full time | A draw, golden point, sudden death, or full extra time then sudden death |
| Sudden death | The first score ends the match, so a winning try is not converted |
| Table points | 4 tries / 7 points, Super Rugby Pacific, Top 14, or league 2-1-0 |
| Scores needed | How many scores the trailing team needs to draw and to win |
| Breakdown | Tries, conversions made of attempted, penalty goals and drop goals per team |
| Where data goes | Nowhere. Local storage in this browser only |
| Official record | No. It scores what you tap and does not referee |
How to keep score in rugby with the counter
Pick the code once, then tap what the referee awards.
Choose the code
Rugby union, sevens, league or NRL. The keys, the points values and the extra-time and table defaults change with it.
Set extra time and the table
What happens if it is level at full time, and which bonus-point system the competition uses.
Name the teams
So the call, the breakdown and the table points read properly.
Tap each score
Try, Penalty goal, Drop goal or Penalty try, under the team that scored.
Settle each conversion
After a try only that team's Conversion keys light up. Tap Conversion +2 or Conversion missed.
End each half
Tap End when the referee blows. At full time it gives the result, the extra time if it is level, and the table points.
Where a rugby score counter gets used
Any touchline without a scoreboard, and any match where the table matters.
Junior and club rugby
The score for the coach, the team sheet or the club results post, with the try count for the bonus point.
Sevens tournaments
Union values, drop-kicked conversions, and extra time that ends at the first score.
Match-day volunteers
A second record of tries and kicks to check against the referee’s card at half time.
Watching on TV
Whether a seven-point lead is still one score, and what the result does to the table.
Rugby league and the NRL
Four-point tries, one or two-point field goals, and golden point.
Coaching and PE lessons
Why a try is worth more in union and a kick worth less in league.
Rugby scoring by code: what every score is worth
Rugby union, rugby sevens and rugby league all score tries, conversions, penalty goals and drop goals, and give them different values. The free rugby scoreboards at the top of a search, checked on 2026-10-02, handle this unevenly. KeepTheScore runs separate union and league boards, and neither has a penalty-try key. ScoreCounter.com’s rugby board is built for union and tells league players to change the scoring to 4-2-1 themselves. ScoreCount.com’s rugby page says a penalty kick or drop goal earns 2 points; in union both are worth 3 (Law 8.1). Neither KeepTheScore nor ScoreCounter.com ties a conversion to the try it follows.
| Score | Union and sevens | League (international laws) | NRL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Try | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| Conversion, after a try | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Penalty goal | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Drop goal (field goal) | 3 | 1 | 1, or 2 from outside the 40-metre line |
| Penalty try | 7, and no conversion | 4, converted from in front of the posts | 4, converted from in front of the posts |
Sources: World Rugby Laws of the Game, Laws 8.1 and 8.3; the International Rugby League Laws of the Game 2026, Section 6 (1, 3(d), 4(c) and 7); the NRL rules book, whose two-point field goal has applied since the 2021 season. The international laws still give every drop goal 1 point.
The penalty try: 7 in union, 4 and a kick in league
A penalty try is awarded when foul play stops a probable try. In union it is worth seven points and no conversion is attempted (Law 8.3), which has been the law since the 2017–18 season, when it replaced a try converted from in front of the posts. League kept the older form. The try is awarded between the posts wherever the offence happened (Section 6.3(d) and 6.4(c)), it is worth four, and the conversion is still kicked, so it is usually six. A counter that offers a conversion after a union penalty try, or gives a league one seven, is scoring the wrong code.
Conversions: one per try, and before the half ends
A conversion is the kick at goal a try earns, so there is exactly one for each try, and only the scoring team takes it. In union it must be taken within 60 seconds of the try being awarded, by place kick or drop kick, from a point on a line through where the try was scored (Law 8.8). In sevens it must be a drop kick within 30 seconds. If time runs out after a try, the referee allows time for the conversion (Law 5.7(d)), so the half cannot end until it is taken. The counter enforces all of this: the Conversion keys light up only for the team that scored, End waits until the kick is settled, and if another score is tapped first, the conversion is recorded as missed.
League has one more rule a plain counter cannot follow. If a player fouls a try scorer, the try stands, the conversion is taken, and then a penalty kick at goal is taken from in front of the posts (Section 13.9). That is the “eight-point try”: tap Try, Conversion and Penalty goal in that order.
How many scores behind?
Commentators call a match “a two-score game” when the trailing team cannot draw level with one score. The biggest ordinary score is a converted try: 7 in union, and 7 for a penalty try too; 6 in league. So a seven-point deficit in union is one score to draw but two to win. The counter states this for the trailing team after every score.
| The trailing team needs | Union and sevens, behind by | League, behind by |
|---|---|---|
| One score to win | 1 to 6 | 1 to 5 |
| One score to draw, two to win | 7 | 6 |
| Two scores to win | 8 to 13 | 7 to 11 |
| Two to draw, three to win | 14 | 12 |
| Three scores to win | 15 to 20 | 13 to 17 |
League’s eight-point try can make one score worth 8, so an eight-point deficit is not strictly beyond one score. It is rare enough that the counter does not count on it.
Rugby bonus points: what the result is worth in the table
A rugby union result is worth more than a win, a draw or a loss. Most competitions add a try bonus point and a losing bonus point, and the thresholds are not the same everywhere, so one result can earn different points in different competitions. None of the free rugby scoreboards checked on 2026-10-02 works them out. Rugby league tables have no bonus points.
| Competition | Win | Draw | Try bonus point | Losing bonus point |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Six Nations | 4 | 2 | 4 or more tries, win or lose | Lose by 7 or fewer. Plus 3 for a Grand Slam |
| Champions Cup | 4 | 2 | 4 or more tries, win or lose | Lose by 7 or fewer |
| Super Rugby Pacific (2026) | 4 | 2 | 3 or more tries more than the other team | Lose by 7 or fewer |
| Top 14 | 4 | 2 | Win, with 3 or more tries more than the other team | Lose by 5 or fewer |
| Rugby league (NRL, Super League) | 2 | 1 | None | None |
Sources: the Six Nations’ own points FAQ; Super Rugby Pacific’s 2026 tournament format; Stade Toulousain’s explainer of the Top 14 and Champions Cup scales. Set Table points in the counter to match, and it shows what the score is worth as the match goes, and at full time.
One match, three answers
Team A beat Team B 26–20, scoring four tries, three of them converted, to Team B’s two converted tries and two penalty goals. Under the standard system, Team A take 5 and Team B 1. Under Super Rugby Pacific’s, a two-try margin earns no bonus, so Team A take 4 and Team B 1. Under the Top 14’s, Team A take 4 and Team B nothing, because a six-point defeat is outside the five-point margin.
| System | Team A: won, 4 tries | Team B: lost by 6, 2 tries |
|---|---|---|
| 4 tries; lose by 7 or fewer | 4 + 1 = 5 | 0 + 1 = 1 |
| 3 more tries; lose by 7 or fewer | 4 | 0 + 1 = 1 |
| Top 14 | 4 | 0 |
Tap the same match into the counter and switch Table points between the three. Two details catch people out. Under the standard system a losing team can take two points, for four tries and a margin of seven or fewer, while in the Top 14 only the winner can take the try bonus. And a penalty try is a try in law, so the counter counts it toward the try bonus; a competition’s own regulations have the last word.
Level at full time: golden point, sudden death and extra time
The Laws of the Game play a match as two halves of 40 minutes and allow extra time only where the match organiser has authorised it for a drawn match in a knockout competition (Law 5.1). So how a level match ends is up to the competition. In a league table a draw simply stands. Sevens and the professional competitions do say, and they differ on whether the first score wins.
| Match | Level at full time | Counter setting |
|---|---|---|
| Union league match (Six Nations, club leagues) | A draw: 2 table points each | A draw |
| Rugby sevens, when a winner is needed | Extra time after a one-minute break, in periods of up to 5 minutes, changing ends; the first team to score wins at once | Sudden death |
| A sevens competition final | Halves of up to 10 minutes rather than 7, then extra time as above | Sudden death |
| NRL regular season | Golden point: up to 10 minutes, 5 each way; the first score wins, or it is a draw | Golden point |
| NRL finals | 10 minutes of full extra time, most points wins; still level, golden point until someone scores | Full extra time, then sudden death |
| Super Rugby Pacific regular season (2026) | Golden point of up to 10 minutes after a 5-minute break; the first score wins, or it is a draw | Golden point |
| Super Rugby Pacific finals (2026) | Two 10-minute periods of extra time, then up to 10 minutes of sudden death, then a place-kicking competition | Full extra time, then sudden death |
Sources: World Rugby Law 5.1, and the sevens variations to Law 5 and Law 8.30; the NRL rules book (the Telstra Premiership interpretation of Section 6, Law 2(a)); Super Rugby Pacific’s 2026 tournament format.
Why a winning try in sudden death is not converted
In sudden death the match ends the moment anyone scores. Sevens Law 8.30 says the team that scores first is the winner at once, without further play, and golden point works the same way. So a try that wins it is worth 5 or 4 and nothing more: the counter ends the match on the try and offers no kick. Full extra time is different. It is played out like normal time, conversions included, and the counter keeps asking for them. It does not run a place-kicking competition.
Online counter vs a clicker, an app, paper and a spreadsheet
Every counting method trades something away. This is what each one actually costs you.
| Feature | This online counter | Handheld clicker | Counter phone app | Pen and paper | Spreadsheet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | $5–$15 | Free with ads, or paid | Cost of paper | Subscription |
| Anything to install | No | Buy the device | App store download | No | Yes, or a web login |
| Several counts at once | Unlimited | One per device | Usually limited | Yes, messy | Yes |
| Fix a miscount | Undo and redo | Start over | Sometimes | Cross it out | Edit the cell |
| Counts by more than one | Any step size | One at a time | Sometimes | Manual maths | Yes |
| Below zero | Yes | No | Rarely | Yes | Yes |
| Keeps the count if you close it | Saves automatically | Until you reset the dial | Yes | If you keep the paper | Yes |
| Works with no signal | Yes, after first load | Yes | Yes | Yes | Often not |
| Keyboard and shortcuts | Full | None | None | None | Partial |
| Sends your data anywhere | Never | Never | Often, for accounts and ads | Never | Yes, to the cloud |
Other counter types
The same counter, set up and explained for a specific job. Your counters are shared across all of them.
Online counter
The all-purpose counter. Any step size, any number of counters, negative values allowed.
Open online counter →Tally counter
Tally marks in groups of five for surveys, stock takes and wildlife counts.
Open tally counter →Click counter
A browser clicker that replaces the handheld thumb counter for door headcounts.
Open click counter →Lap counter
Count pool lengths, track laps and treadmill intervals without losing your place.
Open lap counter →Rep counter
Track reps and sets during a lifting session, with a step size for supersets.
Open rep counter →Score counter
A scoreboard for cards, darts and board games. One counter per player, negatives allowed.
Open score counter →Tasbeeh counter
A digital dhikr counter that stops at 33, 99 or 100 and keeps each dhikr separate.
Open tasbeeh counter →Differential counter
Six keys for a manual white cell differential, with an auto-stop and live percentages.
Open differential counter →Multi counter
Run as many counters as you like at once, side by side in a grid.
Open multi counter →Pitch counter
Count pitches, then get the rest days owed and the next eligible date.
Open pitch counter →Auto counter
Counts on its own from every 0.1 seconds to once an hour, and stops at your limit.
Open auto counter →Click speed test
Measure your clicks per second over 1 to 60 seconds, with your personal best kept on-device.
Open click speed test →Habit counter
Count toward a daily target and keep the streak, with a day boundary you choose.
Open habit counter →People counter
In and out at a door, with live occupancy against a capacity and a fix for drift.
Open people counter →Bird counter
A row per species recording the high count, so a circling flock is not counted twice.
Open bird counter →Inventory counter
A count sheet holding the book quantity beside the counted one, with the variance per line.
Open inventory counter →Knitting counter
Rows, pattern repeats and a shaping schedule that names the increase rows and then ends.
Open knitting counter →Omer counter
The 49 days of Sefirat HaOmer, in days and weeks, with the blessing state tracked.
Open omer counter →Yes/No counter
Two options, a live percentage, and the sample size and caveats the percentage needs.
Open yes/no counter →Golf scorecard
Strokes per hole with the course handicap allocated by stroke index, net and Stableford.
Open golf scorecard →Breath counter
Count breaths one to ten for meditation, with lost count recorded, or time breaths per minute.
Open breath counter →Badminton score counter
Rally scoring with the service court and doubles positions, for 3x21 and the 2027 3x15 system.
Open badminton score counter →Pickleball score counter
The 0-0-2 call with the right server and side, in side-out or 2026 rally scoring.
Open pickleball score counter →Squash score counter
Point-a-rally to 11 with the server, the service box, hand out and lets.
Open squash score counter →Penalty shootout counter
Five kicks each that stop the moment a team cannot catch up, then sudden death.
Open penalty shootout counter →Basketball score counter
Points by period with team fouls and the bonus as FIBA, NBA, NCAA or high school count them.
Open basketball score counter →Baseball score counter
Balls, strikes, outs and the line score, with foul bunts, dropped third strikes and walk-offs.
Open baseball score counter →Cricket score counter
Runs, wickets and overs by legal balls, with wides, no-balls, free hits and the chase.
Open cricket score counter →American football score counter
Touchdowns and the try at each level, with NFL, college and high school overtime rules.
Open american football score counter →Boxing score counter
Three judges' 10-point must cards and the verdict they give, split and majority draws included.
Open boxing score counter →Hockey score counter
Ice hockey goals and shots by period, with each league's overtime, shootout and standings points.
Open hockey score counter →Pool score counter
Straight pool with the breaking foul and three-foul penalties, and 8-ball, 9-ball and 10-ball races.
Open pool score counter →
Frequently asked questions
How does scoring work in rugby union vs rugby league?
Both codes score tries, conversions, penalty goals and drop goals, but value them differently. In union a try is 5, a conversion 2, a penalty goal 3 and a drop goal 3. In league a try is 4, a conversion or penalty goal 2 and a drop goal 1, or 2 in the NRL from outside the 40-metre line. Sevens is union with halves of seven minutes.
How many points is a try in rugby?
Five in rugby union and rugby sevens, and four in rugby league. In both codes the try earns a conversion attempt worth 2 more, so a converted try is 7 in union and 6 in league. A penalty try in union is worth 7 outright with no kick. In league a penalty try is 4, awarded between the posts, and the conversion is still taken.
What is a penalty try, and is it converted?
A penalty try is awarded when foul play by the defending team stops a probable try. In rugby union it is worth seven points and no conversion is attempted, under Law 8.3. In rugby league it is awarded between the posts wherever the offence happened and counts four, and the conversion is kicked from in front of the posts, so it is usually worth six.
How do bonus points work in rugby?
In most union competitions a win earns 4 table points and a draw 2, with up to two bonus points on top: one for scoring four or more tries, and one for losing by seven or fewer. Super Rugby Pacific gives the try bonus for scoring three more tries than the other team, and the Top 14 gives it only to a winner, with a five-point losing margin.
How do I track tries, conversions and penalty kicks?
Tap Try, Penalty goal or Drop goal under the team that scored. After a try, only that team’s Conversion keys light up: tap Conversion +2 if the kick goes over or Conversion missed if not. The breakdown table counts each team’s tries, conversions made of attempted, penalty goals and drop goals, and the panel shows the same in the 2T 1C 3P 0D shorthand.
Does it work for rugby league or sevens?
Yes. Choose the code and the keys change: league gives 4 for a try, 2 for a goal and 1 for a drop goal, and the NRL setting adds the two-point field goal from outside the 40-metre line. Sevens uses union values, asks for drop-kicked conversions, and defaults to sudden-death extra time, where the first score ends the match.
What is golden point in rugby league?
Golden point is sudden-death extra time: if the scores are level at full time, the next score of any kind wins the match at once, even a one-point field goal. In the NRL regular season it lasts up to ten minutes, five each way, and if nobody scores the match is a draw. NRL finals play ten minutes of full extra time first, then golden point.
When is a field goal worth two points?
In the NRL, a field goal kicked in general play from outside the opposition’s 40-metre line has been worth two points since the 2021 season. Inside the 40 it is still one. The International Rugby League laws give every drop goal one point, so outside the NRL a long-range field goal is worth one unless a competition has adopted the rule.
How long do you have to take a conversion?
In rugby union the kicker has 60 seconds from the try being awarded, by place kick or drop kick, from anywhere on a line through where the try was scored. In sevens the conversion must be a drop kick, taken within 30 seconds. If time runs out after a try, the referee allows time for the conversion, which is why the counter waits for it before ending a half.
Is this an official rugby scoresheet?
No. It is a score counter for club and junior matches, sevens tournaments, coaching and following games on television. It keeps the score, the conversions, the breakdown and the table points in this browser and sends nothing anywhere. It has no match clock or sin-bin timers, and it cannot see the pitch, so it scores whatever you tap.
Counting guides
Longer answers to the questions behind the counting.
- Swimming
How to count laps while swimming
Why swimmers lose count at length 14, and five methods that actually hold up.
- Tallying
Tally marks explained
Groups of five, the five-bar gate, and why the convention has survived for centuries.
- Events
How to do an accurate headcount
Counting people is easy. Counting them accurately, twice, is not.
- Habits
Track a daily habit streak
Why streak apps fail, and what a plain daily counter does better.
- Click speed
How to click faster
Hardware and grip account for most of the gap. Practice accounts for less than people think.
- Inventory
How to do a stock take
Counting is the easy part. Preparing, and knowing your count is right, is the job.
- Training
Reps and sets explained
How to read a programme, and why the rep range matters more than the total.
- Reference
Types of counters explained
Synchronous vs asynchronous, mod-N, ring and Johnson, plus mechanical and software counters.
- Build it
How to make a counter
Twenty lines gets you counting. Here is what to add after that, and why.
- Baseball
How to keep an official pitch count
Little League requires an official recorder at every game. Almost nobody explains the job.
- Dhikr
One tasbeeh is equal to how many?
The same phrase means a bead loop, a single dhikr, or a full set of a hundred. Which one is meant, and when.
- Haematology
How to do a manual differential count
Why the pattern matters, how many cells is enough, and the imprecision built into the method itself.
- Birding
How to count a flock of birds
Blocks, tens, and why the number to report is the most seen at one time.
- Knitting
How to read knitting shaping instructions
Every 4th row, alt rows, at each end, AT THE SAME TIME — translated, with the rows they land on.
- Golf
Stableford points and net scores
Stroke index, strokes received, net score, points — in the order you actually need them.
- Surveys
How many people do you need to survey?
Why 385 answers a city and 45 answers a club, and the margin each sample size buys.