Crossing the goal line is not enough: the ball must be grounded.

This page uses the international running-game laws

The controlling source is the International Rugby League 2026 International Laws of the Game with Notes on the Laws, effective from 1 January 2026. The grounding tests come from the Section 2 glossary and Section 6; the relevant tackle and restart rules are in Sections 11 and 12.

This is the international baseline for the 13-a-side running game, not a guide to rugby union, wheelchair rugby league, physical-disability playing conditions or every domestic variation. A league, age grade or tournament may add playing conditions and review procedures.

IRL recognises three ways to put the ball down

The 2026 Section 2 glossary defines “grounding the ball” as any one of these actions:

1. Placement: placing the ball on the ground with one or both hands.
2. Downward pressure: exerting downward pressure with a hand or arm while the ball itself is on the ground.
3. Front-of-body cover: dropping on a ball that is already on the ground and covering it with the front of the body above the waist and below the neck.

The third method is the 2026 clarification. Covering a loose ball with the player's back is not grounding under the current definition. Nor does merely falling beside, touching or picking up the ball satisfy a method unless a legal grounding action follows.

“Downward pressure” is not a test for every try

A player carrying the ball can score by placing it on the ground with a hand or hands. The law does not add a separate downward-pressure test to that placement. Downward pressure is the alternative that applies when a hand or arm grounds a ball already on the turf.

Officials therefore ask what the player and ball were doing, not whether a commentator used the word “control.” IRL Section 6 notes that a player who has correctly grounded the ball does not have to retain it afterwards. A release after legal grounding is harmless; losing or knocking the ball forward before grounding may produce a different ruling.

The goal line counts as in-goal

IRL Section 6 expressly treats the goal lines as part of in-goal, so an attacker can score by grounding the ball on the line. The whole ball and the player's whole body do not have to pass beyond it. The location of the ball when it is legally grounded is decisive.

The limit is Section 6, Law 3(a): the scorer must not already be in touch, touch in-goal, or on or over the dead-ball line. Under Section 9, the ball is also out when it—or a player in contact with it—touches the relevant touch-in-goal or dead-ball boundary or something on or beyond that boundary.

Corner-post exception: contact with the corner post does not by itself put a ball carrier into touch in-goal. A loose ball that touches the corner post is in touch in-goal. That distinction can decide a corner finish.

The tackle state decides whether another reach is available

“Held up” describes an attacker who is in possession in the opponents' in-goal but is unable to ground the ball. To analyse how the attempt reached that point, use the tackle tests in Section 11, Law 2. A player is tackled when, while held, the ball or the hand or arm holding it touches the ground; when held upright so that no further progress or release is possible; or when the player makes clear that they have succumbed to the tackle. Other listed tackle conditions can also complete it.

Section 11's near-line note preserves a narrow scoring opportunity: when a ball carrier is brought down near the line and the ball has not been grounded, the player may place it over the line for a try because, in that stated situation, the tackle has not yet been completed. Once the tackle is complete, a fresh effort to advance or place the ball cannot convert that tackle into a try.

Where the player is tackled can differ from where the ball lies

Section 11, Law 12 supplies two boundary cases:

• If part of the tackled player's body is on or over the goal line but the ball remains in the field of play, the player plays the ball where the ball lies. There is no try and no held-up in-goal restart.
• If an upright ball carrier is tackled while straddling the goal line, the player is deemed tackled in-goal. If the attacker cannot ground the ball, the held-up restart applies 10 metres out.

The ball's position, the player's tackle state and the in-goal boundary must therefore be checked separately. “The player crossed” is not a complete ruling.

A continuous slide can still produce a try

Section 6, Law 3(c) awards a sliding try when a tackled player's momentum carries them into the opponents' in-goal and they ground the ball there. The ball may first have touched the ground in the field of play, provided the player is not in touch, touch in-goal, or on or over the dead-ball line when the ball crosses the goal line.

Section 11, Law 5 complements that rule by treating a momentum-driven sliding tackle as effected where the slide ends. This is different from a player generating a new advance after being held. Existing momentum may carry the player into a lawful grounding; a completed tackle does not create permission for a second effort.

The attack keeps the ball unless the set has ended

The note to Section 12, Law 1 gives the held-up procedure. The attacker who was unable to ground the ball plays it 10 metres from the goal line, opposite where they were held, and the existing tackle count continues. The referee does not reset the count merely because the tackle ended in-goal.

After the fifth play-the-ball, the held-up result falls under Section 11, Law 7: possession changes through a handover at the 10-metre restart point. It is not a goal-line drop-out. It is also not a seven-tackle set or an automatic repeat set under the IRL 2026 baseline.

A failed grounding does not always stop play

Section 6's notes separate several outcomes that are often collapsed:

• Pickup: collecting a loose ball in the opponents' in-goal is not a try. The attacker may carry it to a better position before grounding.
• Incorrect attempt: if the attacker fails to ground the ball correctly, play continues unless something else—such as a knock-on or the ball becoming dead—stops it.
• Simultaneous grounding: if an attacker and defender ground the ball simultaneously in the defending in-goal, Section 6, Law 3(b) awards the try, subject to the attacker's boundary status.
• Ball in a scrum: the ball cannot be grounded for a try while it remains in the scrum, although a player may pick it up at the base and then drive through to ground it.

Defenders may keep the ball up, but foul play remains foul play

Defenders may complete a lawful tackle and prevent the ball from reaching the ground. Section 11's ball-stealing note also creates a specific try-line contest exception: the usual penalty for a steal by two or more defenders does not apply while the player in possession is attempting to ground the ball. Once the tackle is completed, however, Section 11, Law 9 prohibits taking or attempting to take the ball from the tackled player.

Dangerous or unfair conduct is not excused by the attempt to save a try. Under Section 6, Law 3(d), the referee—or video referee where available—may award a penalty try if a try would have been scored but for the defending team's unfair play. Section 13 places an ordinary in-goal penalty 10 metres into the field opposite the offence; foul play against a player in the act of scoring can instead lead to the additional penalty kick described in Section 13, Law 9.

The referee decides; video review is not universal

IRL Section 6, Law 5 says only the referee, or the video referee if one is available, may award a try. The referee may consider the touch judges' advice and must check that they are not reporting an earlier incident. The law book defines a video referee, but it does not require every match to appoint one.

A competition's rules decide whether an incident is referred, reviewed automatically or challenged, and what evidence standard applies. That is why a local match with no video official and an NRL-style Bunker review can use the same core grounding concept but follow different decision procedures. For the separate process, see Captain's Challenge and video referee rules.

How to rule a grounding replay

1. Locate the ball. Did it reach the opponents' in-goal, including the goal line?
2. Check the boundary first. Was the attacker already in touch, touch in-goal, or on or beyond the dead-ball line?
3. Check earlier events. Did a knock-on, obstruction, foul or other infringement precede the grounding?
4. Name the grounding method. Hand placement, hand-or-arm downward pressure, or a legal front-of-body cover?
5. Fix the tackle state. Was this a lawful near-line placement or momentum slide before the tackle was complete, or a new effort afterwards?
6. If there is no try, identify why. Incorrect grounding may leave the ball live; an effective tackle with the carrier unable to ground produces held up.
7. Apply the count and competition rules. Continue from 10 metres out, hand over after the fifth play-the-ball, and use any appointed review procedure.

The ball reaches only the goal-line paint

Situation: a carrier remains mostly in the field of play but places the point of the ball on the goal line with one hand before any touch-line contact.

Ruling: try. Section 6 treats the goal line as in-goal, and hand placement is a legal grounding method. Neither the whole ball nor the player's whole body has to cross the line.

A loose ball is covered by the attacker's back

Situation: the ball is stationary in-goal and an attacker falls backwards over it without placing a hand or arm on it.

Ruling: no try from that contact. The 2026 glossary requires the specified front part of the body for the covering method. Play continues unless another event makes the ball dead or stops play.

A grounded player reaches while the tackle is still incomplete

Situation: an attacker is brought down just short, the ball has not touched the ground, and the player places it onto the goal line before the tackle has otherwise become effective.

Ruling: try. Section 11's near-line note expressly permits that placement and states that the tackle has not been completed in this situation. The decisive fact is timing, not the number of visible movements.

An upright carrier is stopped astride the line

Situation: the attacker has one foot on each side of the goal line, remains upright, and is held so that no further progress or legal grounding is possible.

Ruling: held up. Section 11 deems an upright player tackled astride the line to be tackled in-goal. The same attacker plays the ball 10 metres out, with the existing count continuing.

The last-tackle carry is held above the turf

Situation: the fifth play-the-ball has occurred; the next carrier crosses into in-goal, but defenders prevent every legal grounding method.

Ruling: no try and handover 10 metres from the goal line, opposite where the player was held. Section 11, Law 7 and the held-up note do not give the attack another play.

Six shortcuts that produce the wrong answer

• “Breaking the plane scores.” No. Rugby league requires grounding in the opponents' in-goal.
• “Every try needs downward pressure.” No. A carrier may place the ball with a hand or hands.
• “Any torso contact grounds a loose ball.” No. In 2026 the covering method is limited to the front of the body above the waist and below the neck.
• “The player crossed, so the ball must be in-goal.” No. Section 11 separately addresses a body over the line while the ball remains in the field of play.
• “Held up means a repeat set or goal-line drop-out.” Not under the IRL 2026 baseline; the count continues, or possession changes after the fifth play-the-ball.
• “Every televised league uses the same review system.” No. Video referrals, Bunker reviews and challenges are competition procedures.

Governing-body sources and effective rules

• International Rugby League — 2026 International Laws of the Game with Notes on the Laws — Section 2 glossary; Section 6, Laws 3 and 5; Section 9, Laws 1–2; Section 11, Laws 2, 5, 7, 9 and 12; note to Section 12, Law 1; and Section 13, Laws 8–9.
• International Rugby League — Amendments to International Laws 2026 — published 9 January 2026; confirms implementation from 1 January 2026 and the front-of-body grounding clarification.
• International Rugby League — IRL Rugby League World Cup 2026 rules confirmed — published 29 April 2026; confirms the Men's and Women's tournament adoption of 2026 NRL/NRLW rules and interpretations.

Checked on 27 August 2026 against the IRL 2026 law book and IRL implementation notices. This page states the international running-game baseline; appointed competition regulations and age-grade or modified-format playing conditions may supplement or vary it.