Rugby union positions

A rugby union team is made up of 15 players: eight forwards, numbered from 1 to 8; and seven backs, numbered from 9 to 15. Depending upon the competition, there may be up to seven replacements. Each player has a fixed role and each teams will therefore play in the same formation, with only slight variations in use. Rugby union is different from other sports such as soccer with its endless number of 'formations' (4-3-3, 3-5-2 etc.) or cricket, where a player may be moved to a completely different position on the field (e.g. from silly mid-on to deep cover point).

Collective terms for positions

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Front rowThe props and hooker

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Tight forwards or Tight 5 or Front fiveThe combined front row and second row

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Loose forwards or Back row or LoosiesThe flankers and the number 8

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Half backsScrum half and flyhalf

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MidfieldCentres plus flyhalf

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Inside backsThe inside centre, flyhalf and scrumhalf

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Three-quartersWingers and centres

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Back threeThe fullback and the wingers

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Outside backsThe outside centre, wings and full back

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The fly-half is alternatively called the "stand-off half", since they are the half-back that stands off from the scrum rather than close to it. In addition, in New Zealand the fly half is referred to as the 1st 5/8, implying a slightly deeper position than halfback (the term halfback can cause confusion since some countries use it to refer solely to the scrum half, while other countries apply it to both the scrum half and the fly half) and the inside centre as the 2nd 5/8 implying a more forward position than a 3/4 back. Flankers may also, though this is more historic usage, be referred to as "wing-forwards" (it's also an archaic term for an obsolete position associated with the old 2-3-2 scrum, popular in New Zealand in the 1920s), or together with the No 8 as "loose-forwards", since they can quickly detach from scrums.

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In Australia, the second row of the scrum are often referred to as "second row", the position behind them as "lock", the forwards on either side of the lock as "breakaways" (some apply the term to the number eight as well as the flankers), and the fly-half as "five-eighth".

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As can be seen there is a lot of variation in the names of the positions. The IRB has standardised the names, yet the alternative names are still as common as ever before. A problem with standardised names is that the positions themselves are not as standard as they might seem. For example, there is a slight difference between left and right centre on the one hand and inside and outside centre on the other. Wingers can be played on the open side and the blind side (also known as strong side and weak or closed side) rather than left and right and there are also left and right flankers.

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