Laws of rugby league

The laws of rugby league, officially the Laws of the Game, are the laws governing the game of rugby league football. The Laws apply to the play, officiating, equipment and procedures of the sport. The Laws are the responsibility of the Rugby League International Federation.

Rugby league governing bodies are permitted to vary the Laws for use in their own competitions. This allows countries to cater for their own "priorities, competitors and opportunities", while avoiding the hindrance to progress that a necessity for international agreement might cause. In the past, "pre-tour agreements" between opponents have been employed to deal with differences.

International rugby competitions, including the World Cup, are often played under rules that differ from the official Laws.

The Laws have undergone significant changes since pioneers of the sport broke away from the Rugby football establishment in 1895. Sean Fagan, a rugby league historian, describes the sport as a "constantly evolving animal, particularly with professional coaches, [with which] the rules have to keep pace".

The current Laws of the Game and Notes on the Laws are set out in 17 sections:

The current 17 sections, which include notes, are detailed in fewer than 50 pages and around 17,000 words. The Laws are further clarified through practice and the enforcement by referees of rulings and guidelines issued by their governing bodies. These guidelines, and the referees themselves, may utilise the flexible provisions of the Laws to officiate the Game without the need to amend the Laws, for example Section 15, Law 1 (i) allows a judgement of misconduct to be made against a player for behaviour "in any way contrary to the true spirit of the game". That law was used to combat the incidence of chicken-wing tackling techniques, for example.

To cite the Laws of the Game and Notes on the Laws published for rugby league football, the following formats have been used:

When citing previous versions of the Laws of the Game it is helpful to note the date of publication.

The rules of football as played at Rugby School in the 19th century were decided regularly and informally by the pupils. For many years the rules were unwritten. In 1845 three pupils at the school, William Delafield Arnold, Walter Waddington Shirley and Frederick Leigh Hutchins were tasked with writing a codified set of rules by the then Head Schoolboy and football captain Isaac Gregory Smith. The three pupils submitted 37 rules which were approved on 28 August 1845. Another pupil, Charles Harcourt Chambers, illustrated the Rules.

...
Wikipedia