Comparison of rugby league and rugby union 1 in league. A penalty goal is worth 3 points in union and 2 points in league. Use of a penalty box (or "sin bin") was introduced by rugby league in 1980. Rugby union had been experimenting with the same concept since 1979, although it was not formally sanctioned until 2001. Video referee technology was first used for rugby league in 1996 and for rugby union in 2001. In rugby league the ball may be thrown or knocked out of play deliberately, while in union those are penalty offences. Kicking the ball out of play is legal in both codes.
History of rugby union in the United States in favor of rugby. The "Big Game" American football rivalry between Cal and Stanford was played as a rugby match instead of American football from 1906 to 1914 (1906 was notable for being the first year that American football had legalized the forward pass, a system that would become a distinguishing characteristic in the American game that is not present in rugby). Rugby union grew on the West Coast, and as many as 26,000 spectators regularly attended matches between the University of California and Stanford University. During this era, rugby was perceived as having the potential to challenge American football