Offside is the law that gives rugby union its shape. It sets an invisible line across the field, decides who is allowed to challenge for the ball, and protects the space that attacking teams need to play. For anyone following the game in New Zealand — from a first-time Small Blacks parent to a club player chasing a starting spot — understanding offside turns a confusing whistle into a clear picture of what just happened. This guide explains how the law works in open play, at the breakdown and at set pieces, and how it has changed under recent World Rugby and Super Rugby Pacific law updates.
Key Points
- You are offside if you are in front of a team-mate carrying the ball or who last played it.
- Being offside is temporary — you must not touch the ball, tackle or move toward it until you are put onside.
- The 10-metre law forces offside kick-chasers to retreat when they are close to the catcher.
- At the breakdown, each team's offside line runs through its own hindmost foot; you must join through "the gate."
- Backs stand five metres behind a scrum and 10 metres back from a lineout.
- Accidental offside is a scrum (a free kick in Super Rugby Pacific from 2026); deliberate offside is a penalty.
- Since 1 July 2024, chasers can no longer be put onside by the receiver running five metres or passing.
What offside actually means
A player is offside when they are in front of a team-mate who is carrying the ball or who last played it — for example, ahead of the kicker, the passer or the ball-carrier. Being offside is not automatically a penalty; it is a temporary state. An offside player is simply out of the game for the moment and must not interfere with play. That means they cannot play the ball, tackle or obstruct an opponent, or move toward the ball or a player waiting to catch it, until they are put "onside" again.
Two things decide how serious an offside position is: whether the player actually affects the play, and whether the position is accidental or deliberate. Referees weigh both before reaching for the whistle, which is why an offside player far from the ball is often left alone.
Offside in open play and the kick-chase
In open play the offside line is not painted on the grass — it moves with the ball. The instant a team-mate plays the ball, anyone in front of them is offside. This matters most during a kick-chase. When a first five-eighth (fly-half) kicks downfield, every team-mate who was ahead of the boot at the moment of the kick is offside and must not join the chase until they are put onside. Chasing well without straying offside is a big part of how kicking wins field position.
The 10-metre law
The strictest part of open-play offside is the 10-metre law. If you are offside from a kick and you are within 10 metres of where the ball lands or of an opponent waiting to catch it, you must retreat. You cannot simply freeze and hope; the law requires you to move away and show the referee a genuine effort to get out of that zone. Touching the ball, or tackling the catcher, from inside those 10 metres is an immediate penalty.
How players get put onside
An offside player is not out of the game forever. In open play there are two reliable ways back onside: retreat behind the team-mate who last played the ball, or wait for an onside team-mate — often the kicker themselves — to run past you. This is why you see chasing wingers glance back at their kicker; the moment the kicker sprints past, they are cleared to chase.
One route that used to exist no longer does. Until 2024, an offside player could be put onside simply because the opponent who caught the kick ran five metres or passed the ball, so players would loiter in midfield and wait. That created the "Dupont law" stalemates of endless kick-tennis. World Rugby closed the loophole permanently from 1 July 2024: chasers can no longer be freed by the receiver's actions and must actively retreat to get back onside.
Offside at the breakdown: rucks and mauls
The breakdown is where most offside penalties are conceded in New Zealand rugby. As soon as a ruck or maul forms, each team gets its own offside line — a line parallel to the goal lines running through the hindmost foot of that team's last player in the ruck or maul. Any team-mate who is not part of the ruck or maul and is in front of that hindmost foot is offside. The defenders guarding the fringes (the "pillars" and "guards") have to keep their feet behind the line or give away an easy three points. This discipline sits at the heart of modern breakdown tactics.
Entering through the gate
To join a ruck or maul legally, a player must come through "the gate" — the channel directly behind their own hindmost team-mate's foot. Entering from the side, sometimes called side entry, is illegal because the player slips in ahead of the offside line to win the ball or clear an opponent. As players join and the ruck moves forward, both offside lines move with it, so defenders have to keep re-setting their feet.
The "truck and trailer" offence
"Truck and trailer" is a specific breakdown offence. When a maul or driving group rolls forward and the ball-carrier drops to the back while team-mates stay bound in front, those front players screen the defence from tackling the carrier. That is obstruction under Law 9.2 and is punished with a penalty kick. The same logic bans blockers from running ahead of a ball-carrier in open play.
Offside at the scrum
The scrum has its own offside lines, designed to give both backlines room to attack. The forwards packed into the scrum must stay bound until it ends. For everyone else there are two offside lines — one per team — running five metres behind the hindmost foot of the scrum. Backs who creep up before the ball is out are offside. If you want the wider picture of how these platforms are built, see our guide to set-piece strategies.
The two halfbacks
The halfback (scrum-half) rules are the exception to the five-metre line. The halfback whose team wins the ball must keep at least one foot level with or behind the ball as it travels through the scrum. The defending halfback has a choice: stand close to the scrum with both feet behind the ball, or retreat to the five-metre offside line. What they cannot do is drift offside around the tunnel to pressure the opposition. Once the number 8 picks the ball up and breaks, the scrum offside lines disappear and it becomes open play.
Offside at the lineout
The lineout keeps defenders honest with a wide buffer. While the forwards contest the ball between the 5-metre and 15-metre lines, every player not taking part must stand at least 10 metres back from the line of touch (the gap the ball is thrown down), or behind their own goal line if that is closer. They can only advance once the lineout is over.
When the lineout ends
Knowing when the lineout finishes is what stops defenders being penalised for charging early. Before the ball is thrown in and touched, the offside line for players in the lineout is the line of touch; once the ball is touched, the ball itself becomes their offside line. The lineout ends — and the 10-metre line ceases — when the ball or the player carrying it leaves the lineout, when the ball is thrown beyond the 15-metre line, or when a ruck or maul forms and moves past the line of touch. Each team may also post one receiver, standing at least two metres back from their own jumpers.
Offside Lines at a Glance
| Phase of play | Offside line | Typical sanction |
|---|---|---|
| Open play (kick) | The kicker, plus the 10-metre zone around the catcher | Penalty kick |
| Ruck | Through each team's own hindmost foot | Penalty kick |
| Maul | Through each team's own hindmost foot | Penalty kick |
| Scrum | Five metres behind the hindmost foot (non-participating players) | Penalty kick or free kick |
| Lineout | 10 metres back from the line of touch (non-participants) | Penalty kick |
Accidental offside versus deliberate offside
Not every offside is treated the same, and the difference decides the restart. Accidental offside happens when a player simply cannot avoid being touched by the ball or by a team-mate carrying it — common in the tight channels of forward play. Under the global law, play stops only if the offending team gains an advantage, and the restart is a scrum to the non-offending team. Deliberate offside — moving forward into play, blocking a defender, or refusing to retreat — is a penalty kick.
New Zealand fans will notice a local twist. Super Rugby Pacific's 2026 law package turns accidental offside (and teams dawdling to clear a ruck) into a free kick rather than a scrum, part of a wider push to cut stoppages and keep the ball moving — a theme that runs through modern rugby game management.
How referees manage the offside line
Referees in New Zealand tend to manage offside proactively, talking players onside before reaching for the whistle. You will hear calls such as "hands away," "you're square, stay there," or "get back, blue seven." The aim is to keep the game flowing rather than to punish. At scrums and lineouts the assistant referees watch the backline offside lines while the referee focuses on the ball and the forwards.
Materiality and repeat offending
The key idea is materiality. An offside player 30 metres from the ball who cannot affect the play is usually left alone, while the same player near the ball is penalised at once. Persistent offside is treated as team-wide ill-discipline: a run of infringements earns a team warning and then a yellow card — ten minutes in the sin bin. For how those cards escalate, see our guide to the yellow and red card rules.
| Referee call | What it means | What you must do |
|---|---|---|
| "Get back!" | You are ahead of the offside line | Retreat behind the hindmost foot or the mark |
| "Don't touch it" | You are offside but not yet involved | Stay passive; do not move toward the ball |
| "Onside!" | Your offside status has been cleared | You may re-join the play |
How the 2024–2026 law changes affect offside
Offside has been at the centre of rugby's recent drive for faster, more open play. The headline change is the closure of the "Dupont law" loophole on 1 July 2024, which forces kick-chasers to keep retreating instead of standing and waiting. Around it sit other global updates: a 30-second shot clock to set scrums and lineouts (from 2024, with the lineout clock and a 60-second conversion limit added for competitions from January 2025) and the 20-minute red card, moved to a global trial in May 2025, which lets a team replace a sent-off player after 20 minutes.
Super Rugby Pacific has gone further for 2026. Alongside making accidental offside a free kick, the competition stops extra attackers joining a ruck once the referee calls "use it," lets teams pass back into their own half before launching a 50:22, gives referees discretion over cards at a penalty try, and widens where quick taps can be taken. The common thread is less standing around and more ball in play — which puts an even higher premium on staying onside.
Sources
- World Rugby – Law 10: Offside and onside in open play
- World Rugby – Law 15: Ruck
- World Rugby – Law 18: Touch, quick throw and lineout
- World Rugby – Law 19: Scrum
- World Rugby – Rugby fan-focused law changes confirmed (2024)
- Super Rugby Pacific – New law innovations for the 2026 season
- Rugby World Cup / World Rugby – What is a 50:22?
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the offside rule in rugby union?
A player is offside when they are in front of a team-mate who is carrying the ball or who last played it. They are temporarily out of the game and must not touch the ball, tackle or obstruct an opponent, or move toward the ball until they are put onside again.
What is the 10-metre law?
When you are offside from a kick and within 10 metres of where the ball lands or of the opponent waiting to catch it, you must actively retreat. You cannot stand still, and you cannot play the ball or tackle the catcher until you are onside — doing so is a penalty.
How do you get put onside after a kick?
Retreat behind the team-mate who kicked or last played the ball, or wait for an onside team-mate such as the kicker to run past you. Since 1 July 2024 you can no longer be put onside just because the opponent who caught the ball runs five metres or passes it.
Where is the offside line at a ruck or scrum?
At a ruck each team has an offside line running through the hindmost foot of its last player in the ruck. At a scrum, backs and other players not in the scrum must stay five metres behind the hindmost foot until the ball is out.
What is the difference between accidental and deliberate offside?
Accidental offside — being unavoidably touched by the ball or a team-mate — is a scrum to the other team, or a free kick in Super Rugby Pacific from 2026. Deliberate offside, such as blocking a defender or refusing to retreat, is a penalty kick.
