Rugby Positions Explained: Every Number in Union and League

Last updated: 11/11/2026

Rugby positions run on shirt numbers: union has 15 and league has 13, and the number on a player's back tells you the job. Just not the same job in both codes, because they count from opposite ends. Every number in rugby union and rugby league is below.

What Are the Positions in Rugby?

There are 15 rugby positions in union. The forwards wear 1 to 8, the backs wear 9 to 15, and replacements wear 16 to 23. Rugby league has 13 positions, numbered the other way round, so 1 is the full-back and the forwards start at 8. Sevens uses three forwards and four backs.

Rugby team positions are the same in the women's game, shirt numbers included, so a Red Roses team sheet reads exactly like an England men's one. The names below follow World Rugby's guide to positions, which admits that regional variations exist. Put a game on with New Zealand or Irish commentary and you'll hear a few of them. The common ones are in the table.

The Midnite Take: Rugby Positions: Different Jobs, Same 80 Minutes of Hard Graft

By Dave Learmont, Creative Copy Lead at Midnite

Rugby union has 15 players on each side, and thankfully, they don't all have to do the same job.

The eight forwards handle much of the physical graft, from scrums and lineouts to winning possession at the breakdown. The seven backs focus on moving the ball, finding space and creating scoring opportunities.

The scrum-half links the two groups, the fly-half often directs play, and the full-back covers the space behind the defensive line.

Think of it as a team where everyone has a job. Some just happen to spend considerably more time with their head in a scrum.

Rugby Union Positions by Number

Rugby union positions by number run from the loose-head prop at 1 to the full-back at 15, and the numbering has been standard in international rugby since 1967. Each shirt belongs to one position, and most have a second name somewhere in the rugby world.

Every one of the rugby union positions is explained below, in the groups coaches and commentators use: front row, second row, back row, half-backs, centres and the back three.

Front Row: Props (1 and 3) and Hooker (2)

The front row is the hooker, wearing 2, packed between two props: the loose-head (1) on the left and the tight-head (3) on the right. Under World Rugby's scrum law, every scrum has two props and a hooker at the front, and the hooker on the side putting the ball in has to strike for it.

Props take the weight of the scrum and lift the jumpers at lineouts. The hooker usually throws the ball in at the lineout as well, so when a throw goes crooked, the whole ground knows whose it was.

These are specialist positions. The laws make teams carry front-row cover on the bench, which no other position gets.

Second Row: Locks (4 and 5)

Locks wear 4 and 5, pack down behind the front row and are usually the tallest players in the side. They're the main targets at the lineout, lifted high by teammates to take the throw.

Lock and second row are the same position in union. In rugby league, lock means a different position altogether. More on that in the league section.

Back Row: Flankers (6 and 7) and Number 8

The back row is the two flankers and the number 8, also called the loose forwards. The blindside flanker (6) covers the side of the scrum nearer the touchline, and the openside (7) covers the side with more space. Both spend the game tackling, carrying and competing for the ball at the breakdown.

Wing forward is the old rugby name for a flanker. It's not quite extinct.

The number 8 packs down at the base of the scrum, between the locks, and often picks up the ball from there to carry it. In South Africa the flankers' numbers are traditionally swapped, so the blindside wears 7 and the openside 6.

Half-Backs: Scrum-Half (9) and Fly-Half (10)

The number 9 in rugby union is the scrum-half, the link between the forwards and the backs. The scrum-half puts the ball into the scrum, chooses which side to feed it from, and passes it away from most rucks and mauls.

Outside the scrum-half stands the number 10 in rugby, the fly-half, who decides what the attack does next: pass, kick or run. Many fly-halves are also their team's goal-kicker.

Fly-half is also the position with the most names. It's stand-off or outside-half in Britain, out-half in Ireland and first five-eighth in New Zealand. Same shirt, same job.

Centres (12 and 13)

The inside centre (12) and outside centre (13) carry the midfield. In attack, their job is to break the defensive line, or to draw tacklers and create space for the wings. In defence, they're the ones making the big midfield tackles.

New Zealand calls the 12 the second five-eighth, and the 13 simply the centre.

Back Three: Wings (11 and 14) and Full-Back (15)

The back three is the left wing (11), the right wing (14) and the full-back (15). Wings are there to finish moves and score tries, so they tend to be among the quickest players on the pitch. If you've been wondering what the 14 position is, it's the right wing.

Behind them stands the full-back, the last line of defence and the player most likely to be under a high kick, waiting for it with the chasers arriving at the same moment. When a kick goes long, the full-back and wings decide between them whether to kick it back or run it.

Replacements: Numbers 16 to 23

In rugby union, the replacements wear 16 to 23. World Rugby's Law 3 lets a team name up to eight for international matches, and for other matches the organiser decides, up to the same maximum of eight.

The numbering follows World Rugby's Regulation 15 for internationals: replacement forwards first, from the front row to the number 8, then the backs, from scrum-half to full-back. In practice, 16 is usually the replacement hooker and 17 and 18 the props.

Front-row cover is the one part of the bench the laws insist on. A squad of 23 must include six players who can play loose-head, tight-head and hooker, and squads of 19 to 22 need five. Without that cover, scrums go uncontested.

The rest of the bench is the coach's call. A 5-3 split, five forwards and three backs, leaves room for a replacement fly-half and a back who covers several positions. A 6-2 split, explained by Rugby World, gives up a specialist back for an extra forward. South Africa's forward-heavy bench has been nicknamed the Bomb Squad.

Either way, the bench is part of the plan for a game that runs 80 minutes plus stoppages. On team news day, it gets almost as much attention as the starting side.

Forwards vs Backs: Rugby Positions and Body Types

Forwards are generally bigger and stronger, and backs are usually lighter and quicker, but World Rugby describes union as "a game for all shapes and sizes". Each position asks for a different mix of physical and technical skills, so rugby player positions follow the job rather than a body type.

• Front row: strength and stability to hold a scrum together.
• Locks: height and reach for the lineout, plus pushing power in the scrum.
• Back row: the fitness to keep tackling and carrying for the whole game.
• Half-backs: quick hands, a kicking game and quick decisions.
• Centres: power in contact and enough pace to break a line.
• Back three: speed, and the composure to catch a high ball under pressure.

A rugby forward's first job is winning and keeping the ball. A back's first job is doing something useful with it.

Those are tendencies, not entry requirements, and plenty of players don't fit the template for their shirt.

What Are the 13 Positions in Rugby League?

The 13 positions in rugby league are the full-back (1), two wings (2 and 5), two centres (3 and 4), the stand-off (6), the scrum-half (7), two props (8 and 10), the hooker (9), two second-row forwards (11 and 12) and the loose forward (13). The numbers are set by the International Rugby League laws of the game, and they run the opposite way to union: league starts numbering from the back.

If you watch both codes, these are the numbers that trip people up:

• Number 1 is a prop in union. In league it's the full-back.
• Number 9 is the scrum-half in union. In league it's the hooker.
• Number 13 is the outside centre in union. In league it's the loose forward.
• Lock is a second-row forward in union. In league it's another name for the loose forward.

The international laws allow 17 named players, with up to four replacements and a maximum of eight interchanges. Domestic competitions set their own interchange rules.

Rugby Sevens Positions

Rugby sevens has seven players a side: three forwards and four backs, according to World Rugby. The forwards are usually two props and a hooker, and the backs are a scrum-half, a fly-half, a centre and a wing. Teams can name up to five replacements under the sevens version of Law 3.

Shirt numbers mean less in sevens. World Rugby requires them but doesn't tie them to positions, so most teams use squad numbers instead.

Rugby Formations

Rugby formations are fixed by the laws at scrums and lineouts, and left to the coaches in open play.

Scrums. In union, eight players from each side bind together: two props and a hooker at the front, two locks behind them and three back-row players to complete it. In league, no more than six players a side form a scrum, with three in the front row.

Lineouts. In union, each side needs at least two players in the lineout, and the team throwing in decides the maximum, under Law 18.

Open play in union. The forwards gather around the breakdown, and the backs spread across the pitch in a line from the fly-half outwards, with the full-back usually deeper to cover kicks.

League's defensive line. After every tackle, the defending side must retreat ten metres from the play-the-ball, with one marker allowed to stand opposite the tackled player. The attacking side gets six tackles before possession changes hands, which is why a league defence comes up as one flat line, set after set.

Why Positions Matter When You Follow (and Bet on) Rugby

Positions are how you read team news. A change at fly-half changes how a side attacks, and a 6-2 bench tells you a coach is planning a forward battle late on. If you bet on rugby, positions matter for tryscorer markets too, and our guide to betting on rugby covers how that works.

Midnite's settlement rules link positions and markets in two places. In rugby union, a penalty try counts for team-to-score markets but not for player tryscorer markets, and a First Tryscorer bet is void for a player who comes on after the first try. In rugby league, a penalty try doesn't count for Anytime Tryscorer.

Keep any bet to an amount you're comfortable losing, and set a Net Spend Limit before the weekend's fixtures rather than in the middle of them. Deposit limits, Loss Limits, Cool Off and the other account tools are in the Responsible Play hub, and BeGambleAware is there for advice and support.

FAQs

What Are the 15 Positions in Rugby?

The 15 positions in rugby union are loose-head prop (1), hooker (2), tight-head prop (3), two locks (4 and 5), blindside flanker (6), openside flanker (7), number 8, scrum-half (9), fly-half (10), left wing (11), inside centre (12), outside centre (13), right wing (14) and full-back (15).

What Is the Toughest Position in Rugby?

There's no official answer, but the usual picks are the front row and the openside flanker. Front-rowers take the force of every scrum, and the laws require specialist cover for them on the bench. Openside flankers tackle all game and compete for the ball at almost every breakdown.

What Positions Are There in Rugby?

Rugby union has 15 positions: eight forwards (1 to 8) and seven backs (9 to 15). Rugby league has 13, numbered from the full-back at 1 to the loose forward at 13. Sevens has seven: three forwards and four backs.

What Is the 14 Position in Rugby?

Number 14 is the right wing in rugby union, one of the two wingers whose main job is finishing moves and scoring tries. Rugby league only has 13 positions, so 14 isn't one of them.

Before the Teamsheet Drops

Once you know the numbers, a teamsheet tells you how a side plans to play before a ball is kicked. The fixtures are on Midnite's rugby union markets and rugby league markets pages.

Midnite is licensed and regulated by the Great Britain Gambling Commission. 18+. Please gamble responsibly.

Midnite's sport partnerships for 2026/27 run from the front of the Wolves and Middlesbrough shirts to Southampton's training kit, plus the World Snooker Tour and the NFL in the UK and Ireland.

About the author

Dave Learmont is Creative Copy Lead at Midnite, where he looks after the brand’s voice and edits the guides on this blog. He has spent more than a decade in creative and copywriting roles, including over four years at Sky Betting & Gaming, writing campaigns for Sky Bet and Super 6, and a spell as Lead Creative at Flutter UK & Ireland. Here he writes on rugby’s positions and numbers, and what the shirt on a player’s back tells you about their job. Connect with Dave on LinkedIn.