Rugby union match officials Rugby union match officials Rugby union match officials are responsible for enforcing the rugby union laws of the game during a match and imposing sanctions on individuals who do not follow the rules. "Every match is under the control of match officials who consist of the referee and two touch judges or assistant referees." Further officials can be authorised depending on the level and form of the game. When the game of rugby union was developed at Rugby school, there were no official rugby referees. It was not until many years later when the game began to spread internationally that
Laws of rugby union occurred they can award a "penalty try". Penalty tries are always awarded underneath the goalposts, no matter where the infringement occurred. Beginning in 2017, penalty tries are automatically worth seven points, negating the need to attempt a conversion. In the case of a jump ball from a cross-field kick, the ball cannot be punched out of play by a defender as you could in rugby league, it should be caught and grounded to get a 22m dropout instead. When a try is awarded by the referee, the team scoring the try has the right to attempt a conversion. A conversion