Key takeaways
- In the standard system a win is worth 4 table points, a draw 2 and a loss 0, plus one bonus point for scoring four or more tries and one for losing by seven points or fewer.
- Check which try bonus a competition uses: an absolute four-try threshold can reward both teams in the same match, while a relative three-try margin rewards one side at most.
- The losing-bonus margin changes late kicking decisions: seven points or fewer under the Six Nations and Super Rugby Pacific rules, five or fewer in France's Top 14 and Pro D2.
- When teams finish level on points the first tie-breaker differs by competition — points difference, most wins or head-to-head results — so read the regulations before assuming.
Under the scheme usually called the standard one, a rugby union win is worth four table points, a draw two and a defeat nothing, and two bonus points sit on top: one for scoring four or more tries, whatever the result, and one for losing by seven points or fewer. A winner therefore leaves with 4 or 5 points, a drawing side with 2 or 3, and a beaten side with 0, 1 or 2. That is the scheme written into the men's Six Nations championship rules, which first used bonus points in 2017.
It is not the only scheme in use. Super Rugby Pacific and France's two professional leagues replace the four-try bonus with one that needs three more tries than the opponent, and the French leagues tighten the losing margin to five points. Those edits look minor on paper. They change which matches are worth chasing, which is the part of a table worth understanding.
The standard table, result by result
The Six Nations rules list every combination, and they are the clearest statement of the common system:
| Result | Condition | Table points |
|---|---|---|
| Win | Fewer than four tries | 4 |
| Win | Four or more tries | 5 |
| Draw | Fewer than four tries | 2 |
| Draw | Four or more tries | 3 |
| Loss | Lost by more than 7 and fewer than four tries | 0 |
| Loss | Lost by 7 or fewer, or scored four or more tries | 1 |
| Loss | Lost by 7 or fewer and scored four or more tries | 2 |
The two bonuses are independent. The try bonus is a count of your own tries and ignores the opponent entirely, so both sides can earn it in the same match. The losing bonus depends only on the final margin.
Seven is not an arbitrary margin. Under World Rugby's Law 8 a try is worth five points and a conversion two, so a seven-point defeat is a defeat by one converted try — a match a single scoring movement would have drawn. How rugby scoring works covers the point values themselves, and why draws are an ordinary rugby result rather than a curiosity.
Where the main variants differ
Three published rulebooks show the range. Each line below comes from the competition's own current document.
| Men's Six Nations | Super Rugby Pacific (2026 season) | LNR: Top 14 and Pro D2 (2026–27) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Win / draw / loss | 4 / 2 / 0 | 4 / 2 / 0 | 4 / 2 / 0 |
| Try bonus | Four or more tries, any result | Three or more tries more than the opponent | At least three more tries than the opponent |
| Losing bonus | Lose by 7 or fewer | Lose by 7 or fewer | Lose by 5 or fewer |
| Extra rule | Three further points for winning all five matches | Drawn regular-season matches go to a golden-point period of up to 10 minutes | A match lost by forfeit or disqualification costs 2 points, and the opponent is credited with 5 |
| First tie-breaker on equal points | Points difference | Most wins | Points won in the matches between the tied teams |
Absolute and relative try bonuses
The real split is between an absolute try bonus (four tries, whoever you played) and a relative one (three more than the opponent).
An absolute threshold rewards attacking in any match, including a shoot-out where both sides score freely. A relative threshold rewards only dominance: a side that scores five tries but concedes three gets nothing extra, and at most one side per match can collect it. Neither is more correct. They are answers to different questions — "did you attack?" versus "did you outplay them?"
The same three matches under three rulebooks
A worked example makes the difference concrete. Assume three regular-season matches, all decided in normal time:
- Match 1: 33–29. The winners score five tries (four converted); the losers score four tries (three converted) and a penalty goal.
- Match 2: 27–10. Four tries to one.
- Match 3: 22–16. One try each; the winners kick five penalty goals to the losers' three.
| Match | Standard (Six Nations) | Super Rugby Pacific | LNR |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1: 33–29, tries 5–4 | Winner 5, loser 2 | Winner 4, loser 1 | Winner 4, loser 1 |
| 2: 27–10, tries 4–1 | Winner 5, loser 0 | Winner 5, loser 0 | Winner 5, loser 0 |
| 3: 22–16, tries 1–1 | Winner 4, loser 1 | Winner 4, loser 1 | Winner 4, loser 0 |
Match 1 is where the systems disagree most. The standard table pays both teams for an open game; the relative systems pay the winner nothing extra because the try margin was one, and pay the loser only for staying close. Match 3 shows the French margin at work: a six-point defeat earns a point under the Six Nations and Super Rugby Pacific rules, but not in the Top 14 or Pro D2.
Why the Six Nations adds a Grand Slam bonus
The standard system has one awkward corner, and the Six Nations closes it with arithmetic. Each side plays five matches. A side that loses once can still collect four try-bonus wins (4 × 5 = 20) plus a two-point defeat, for 22. A side that wins all five without a single try bonus has only 20. The three extra Grand Slam points lift that unbeaten minimum to 23, which is more than any one-defeat side can reach, so a team that wins every match always finishes first.
What each rule does to the last ten minutes
Bonus points change in-game decisions most when a match is already settled one way or the other. Four common late situations:
| Late situation | Four-try bonus, lose by 7 or fewer | Three-try margin, lose by 7 or fewer | Three-try margin, lose by 5 or fewer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leading, three tries to none | A fourth try is worth a point | Bonus earned for now; conceding a try would cancel it | Bonus earned for now; conceding a try would cancel it |
| Leading, four tries to two | Bonus already secured | One more try is worth a point | One more try is worth a point |
| Trailing by 9, kickable penalty | Kicking it leaves a 6-point gap, inside the bonus margin | Same | A 6-point gap is still outside the margin |
| Leading by 5, kickable penalty | Kicking it to lead by 8 removes the opponent's point | Same | Same: the opponent's point disappears once the lead is 6 or more |
The third row is where a coach's maths changes most. Under a seven-point rule, a late penalty goal for a side nine points down is a guaranteed table point if nothing else is scored. Under the French five-point rule the same kick is not enough on its own, so the trailing side has more reason to go for a try.
The fourth row is the mirror image. The losing bonus gives the leading side something to play for after the win is safe: pushing the margin past the threshold takes a point away from a rival. Across a season that point can be worth as much as one earned.
Bonus points across a season
Bonus points can rank a side with fewer wins above one with more. Assume a four-match run under the standard rules:
| Team | Results | Table points |
|---|---|---|
| A | Three wins with fewer than four tries each, one heavy defeat | 3 × 4 = 12 |
| B | Two wins with four or more tries each; two defeats by 7 or fewer, one of them with four tries | 5 + 5 + 2 + 1 = 13 |
Team B is ahead with one win fewer. That is the system working as designed — it rewards attacking intent and close finishes — but it means a table cannot be read as a win-loss record. The soccer comparison is instructive: how soccer league tables work explains the 3-1-0 scheme, where a win is worth three draws and there is no reward at all for a narrow defeat.
When teams finish level
Bonus points reduce ties but do not remove them, and the competitions break them differently:
- Men's Six Nations: points difference across all matches, then tries scored (penalty tries included), and if still level the sides are placed equally. The championship's history page records that points difference has broken ties since 1994; before that, sides level on points shared the title.
- Super Rugby Pacific (2026): most wins first, then points difference, then most tries, then try difference.
- LNR (2026–27): table points won in the matches between the tied teams, bonuses included, then overall points difference, then a longer list that runs to try differences, points scored and the previous season's finishing position.
The order matters. A wins-first rule protects the side that won more often from a rival that banked bonus points; a head-to-head rule makes the direct meetings decisive. Goal difference and tiebreakers works through the same trade-offs in soccer, where the arguments for and against head-to-head are well rehearsed.
Where the idea came from
Wikipedia's summary traces the standard format to New Zealand's National Provincial Championship in 1995 and the first Super 12 season in 1996, and records that Super Rugby switched to the three-try-margin version in 2016. The Six Nations came late: its official history says the 2017 championship was the first to add bonus points, after more than a century in which a win was simply a win.
Bonus points and a season simulation
24-0 Rugby Draft Pro League runs a 24-match GM season under a $200M in-game salary cap, with tries, conversions, penalty goals, drop goals and draws in its match model and the playoff and championship picture resolving at the end. Its listing does not say whether the league table uses bonus points, so nothing above describes how the game ranks clubs; treat this article as background on the real competitions. What does carry over is the habit of reading a long season as a series of margins rather than a list of wins, which is also the thinking behind managing depth in squad rotation over a rugby season.
Competition rules change between seasons, and each organiser's published regulations are the authority; the figures here are the 2026 and 2026–27 versions. More rugby explainers are collected on the rugby hub, and the studio's management games are listed under sports GM. The game is not affiliated with or endorsed by any competition, club, union or governing body named here.
Good to know
Frequently asked questions
How many table points is a win worth in rugby union?
What is a losing bonus point?
Can a team get two bonus points in a match it loses?
Why does the Six Nations give three extra points for a Grand Slam?
Do all rugby competitions use the four-try bonus?
Sources
- Guinness Men's Six Nations Rugby Rules (opens in a new tab)Six Nations Rugby — accessed
- Guinness Men's Six Nations History and Origins (opens in a new tab)Six Nations Rugby — accessed
- Tournament Format (opens in a new tab)Super Rugby Pacific — accessed
- Livre 2 — Sportif et Compétitions 2026/2027 (version consolidée au 1er juillet 2026) (opens in a new tab)Ligue Nationale de Rugby — accessed
- Law 8: Scoring (opens in a new tab)World Rugby — accessed
- Rugby union bonus points system (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia — accessed
League, team and athlete names appear here only to identify the rules, records and history being discussed. Reign Creative LLC's sports games are not affiliated with, endorsed by or licensed by any league, team, players' association or athlete, and all names and marks belong to their owners.
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