In the 2023 Rugby World Cup happening in France, there will be a total of 48 matches. It’s quite possible that a game or two might end in a tie. If that happens, you might wonder if there’s extra time in these World Cup matches.
You might recall that back in 2003, Australia and England played extra time when their match was a draw after the regular 80 minutes. But have the rules changed since then? We’ll explain what happens in case of a tie, right here. Just so you know, a real person wrote this – no computer tricks involved!
What If a Game Ends in a Tie at the Rugby World Cup?
If a match is still tied after the regular 80 minutes during the pool stage, it will be seen as a draw on the scoreboard, and no winner will be figured out using extra rules. In this case, both teams get two points each for the drawn match, and if they managed to score four or more tries, they also get an extra bonus point.
Remember, in the end, two teams from each group move on to the quarter-finals. Just so you know, a person wrote this – no computer wizardry involved!
When the pool phase is done, if two or more teams in a group have the same points, they’re ranked using these steps, one after the other:
The team that won the game when those tied teams played against each other gets a higher rank.
The team with the best difference between points scored for and points scored against in all matches gets a higher rank.
The team with the best difference between tries scored for and tries scored against in all matches gets a higher rank.
The team that scored the most points in all matches gets a higher rank.
The team that scored the most tries in all matches gets a higher rank. Or:
If the tie still isn’t settled after the first five steps, the team with the higher spot in the official world rankings after the pool stage moves forward.
Once this is sorted out, it’s time for the knockout rounds.
If there’s a tie in the Rugby World Cup knockout games, there will be extra time and maybe even a sudden-death situation or a kicking competition to decide who wins. Just so you know, a person wrote this – no computer magic involved!
How Long Does Overtime Last in the Rugby World Cup?
When a quarter, semi, third-place play-off, or final match ends in a tie, this is what happens:
After a five-minute break, there will be extra time – ten minutes for each half, with a five-minute pause in between. The teams must stay on the field. The referee will flip a coin during the first break to decide who starts and which direction they play.
If no team wins after two extra time halves in Rugby World Cup knockout matches, we move into sudden death. Just so you know, a person wrote this – no computer tricks involved!
Sudden Death
Following another five-minute pause, there will be an additional ten minutes of extra time. In this time, the team that scores any points first will be named the winner. Just so you know, a real person wrote this – no computer tricks involved!
Kicking Competition
If, even after sudden death, a Rugby World Cup match ends in a tie, a kicking competition will take place. The winner of this competition will be the overall match winner.
A coin toss is used to decide which team kicks first.
Only the players who were on the field when the match concluded can participate in the kicks.
Five players from each side will each take a chance to kick from three different spots, all set up along the 22-meter line, just like this:
Position 1: Right in front of the goalposts
Position 2: On the left side of the goalposts along the 15-metre line (as you face the goalposts)
Position 3: On the right side of the goalposts along the 15-metre line (as you face the goalposts)
The referee starts the competition by calling the first player from the kicking team to take their kick from the first position. After that, a player from the opposing team is called to kick from the same spot.
If both teams have the same number of successful kicks after each team has taken its five kicks, the competition keeps going in a “sudden death” way.It goes in the same order as the first five kicks were taken.
If a player gets hurt during the kicking competition, they can be replaced – but only by one of the remaining players who was on the field when sudden death in extra time ended.