Rugby · Level 1: Beginner · Sub-level 1.5
Watching a Match
10 tests · 100 facts · updated 28 October 2026 · markdown
What a fan sees: the scoreboard and table points, the TMO and cards, statistics, the bench, the kick at goal, anthems and the haka, stadiums and the referee's microphone.
Each test below is ten questions on Insporta. The list under a test is what the questions check: one fact per question, with the source it was written from. Read it before the test, or come back from a wrong answer.
Test 1The scoreboardTake a test
Seventeen is seven more than ten.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Seven points from a converted try levels the score.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
It needs two scores to win from eight behind.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Seven is the most from one score.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Score and time are the key numbers.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Three points means a penalty or drop goal.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Five plus two is seven.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Five, seven and ten points.
Source: General rugby union reference · applied
3-0, then 3-7, then 10-7.
Source: General rugby union reference · applied
A converted try is seven points.
Source: General rugby union reference · applied
Test 2Bonus points in a tableTake a test
Most competitions give four points for a win.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
A draw shares the points.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Four tries earns the attacking bonus point.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Close defeats still earn a point.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
A win with four tries gives four plus one.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Bonus points keep matches alive to the end.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
One for losing by seven or fewer, one for four tries.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
0, 1, 2 and 5.
Source: General rugby union reference · applied
Result first, then the bonuses.
Source: General rugby union reference · applied
Tries count for the bonus, not the result.
Source: General rugby union reference · applied
Test 3The TMO on screenTake a test
The TMO reviews replays for the referee.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
The TMO watches the broadcast pictures.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Fans often see the same replays.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
The crowd waits for the decision.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
The TMO checks scores and dangerous play.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Replays catch what the eye misses.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
The screen signal asks for a review.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Score, signal, replays, decision.
Source: General rugby union reference · applied
The TMO watches from a separate room.
Source: General rugby union reference · applied
The box shape is the TMO signal.
Source: General rugby union reference · applied
Test 4Cards on a broadcastTake a test
A yellow card is a temporary suspension.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Ten minutes of playing time.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
The sin bin is next to the field.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Fourteen against fifteen for ten minutes.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
A countdown shows when the player returns.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Red is the most serious card.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
A red card ends that player's match.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Penalty, sin bin, sending off.
Source: General rugby union reference · applied
Foul, card, off, back.
Source: General rugby union reference · applied
Sin-bin timers count down ten minutes.
Source: General rugby union reference · applied
Test 5Match statisticsTake a test
Possession is shown as a percentage.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Territory shows where the game was played.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Defence is measured by tackles made and missed.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Metres made shows go-forward.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Penalties conceded show indiscipline.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Points, not possession, decide matches.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Turnovers swing momentum.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Score first, then ball, ground, defence.
Source: General rugby union reference · applied
Territory is time spent in the opponents' half.
Source: General rugby union reference · applied
Test 6The replacements benchTake a test
Match-day squads are 23: fifteen starters and eight replacements.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Specialist front-rowers keep scrums safe.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
South Africa made the forward-heavy bench famous.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Replacements bring energy late on.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
The player goes off for an HIA.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
The player returns once the bleeding stops.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
They warm up and wait by the field.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Eight, fifteen and twenty-three.
Source: General rugby union reference · applied
Warm up, called, wait, on.
Source: General rugby union reference · applied
Number boards show who comes on and who goes off.
Source: General rugby union reference · applied
Test 7The kick at goalTake a test
Silence for the kicker is a rugby tradition.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Tees hold the ball still and upright.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Sand buckets were common until the 1990s.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Routines build repeatable technique.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Wilkinson's crouch with hands clasped became iconic.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Raised flags signal a successful kick.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Silence turns to noise after the kick.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Place, step back, run up, strike.
Source: General rugby union reference · applied
Silence, kick, flags, noise.
Source: General rugby union reference · applied
Kickers repeat the same routine every time.
Source: General rugby union reference · applied
Test 8Anthems and the hakaTake a test
Anthems are sung with teams lined up on the field.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Flower of Scotland is Scotland's rugby anthem.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Ireland's Call was first sung in 1995.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Its English title is Land of My Fathers.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Ka Mate dates from the early 1800s.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Fiji perform the Cibi and Samoa the Siva Tau.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Facing the haka is a sign of respect.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
The haka comes after the anthems, just before play starts.
Source: General rugby union reference · applied
Fiji, Samoa, Tonga.
Source: General rugby union reference · applied
Teams line up arm in arm for the anthems.
Source: General rugby union reference · applied
Test 9Stadium traditionsTake a test
Twickenham is the home of English rugby.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Murrayfield is Scotland's national stadium.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
It has been sung at Twickenham since the 1980s.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
The roof can close against Welsh weather.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
The All Blacks went decades unbeaten there.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
South Africa won the final there.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Clubhouses are at the heart of rugby clubs.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
London, Edinburgh, Cardiff.
Source: General rugby union reference · applied
Auckland, Johannesburg, Paris.
Source: General rugby union reference · applied
Wales's national stadium has a closing roof.
Source: General rugby union reference · applied
Test 10The referee's microphoneTake a test
Hearing the referee explains each call.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Match officials are linked by radio.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Clear talk helps players stay in the Laws.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Ref radios let fans hear decisions.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Short calls guide players during play.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Talking keeps the game flowing.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
The broadcast picks up the referee's microphone.
Source: General rugby union reference · recall
Whistle, signal, explain, restart.
Source: General rugby union reference · applied
On the field, on the touchline, in a room.
Source: General rugby union reference · applied
Broadcasts carry the referee's voice.
Source: General rugby union reference · applied
Sources
World Rugby handbooks and coaching material, union and competition records; original questions authored, nothing reproduced. Numbered Laws belong to the Laws category.
- General rugby union reference100