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.
Rugby union in Australia Australian football) was preferred in the southern states. Rugby union had a diminished national profile for many decades after rugby league became the more popular football code in Sydney and Brisbane prior to the first world war. The game gradually expanded its reach again after the second world war, and rugby union was re-established in most areas of the country by the 1970s. Super Rugby, previously known as Super 12 and Super 14, is a multi-regional rugby union competition that involves teams from three nations across the southern hemisphere; Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, and expanded in 2016 to