Try (rugby)

A try is a way of scoring points in rugby union and rugby league football. A try is scored by grounding the ball in the opposition's in-goal area (on or behind the goal line). Rugby union and league differ slightly in defining "grounding the ball" and the "in-goal" area. In rugby union a try is worth 5 points, and in rugby league a try is worth 4 points.

The term "try" comes from "try at goal", signifying that grounding the ball originally only gave the attacking team the opportunity to try to score with a kick at goal.^[1]

A try is analogous to a touchdown in American and Canadian football, with the major difference being that a try requires the ball be simultaneously touching the ground and an attacking player, whereas a touchdown merely requires that the ball enter the end zone while in the possession of a player. In both codes of rugby, the term touch down formally refers only to grounding the ball by the defensive team in their in-goal.

A try is scored in wheelchair rugby following a change in terminology in an effort to become more aligned to rugby union "tries"^[2] (Tries are worth 1 point each, and, unlike tries in rugby union and rugby league, there is no subsequent conversion attempt). Wheelchair rugby league gives tries the same number of points as the normal game (four) and conversions are taken and are worth two points.