Rugby union bonus points system Rugby union bonus points system Bonus points are group tournament points awarded in rugby union tournaments in addition to the standard points for winning or drawing a match. Bonus points were implemented in order to encourage attacking play throughout a match, to discourage repetitive goal-kicking, and to reward teams for "coming close" in losing efforts. The most common bonus point system is: In this system, winning teams get 4 or 5 points; drawing teams 2 or 3 points; and losing teams 0, 1, or 2 points. The French professional league, Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR), uses a similar system in
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