A rugby union league table can look confusing once bonus points are added to the basic win-draw-loss score. Here is how the points system, and the bonus points that sit on top of it, generally work.
Match points and bonus points
Most rugby union leagues award four points for a win and two points for a draw, with nothing for a defeat, though the exact match points used can vary by competition and should be checked against that competition's own rules. On top of these, two bonus points are commonly available: an attacking bonus point for scoring four or more tries in a match, regardless of the result, and a losing bonus point for losing by seven points or fewer. A team can earn both in the same match: a side that loses while scoring four or more tries and finishing within seven points collects a losing bonus point and a try bonus point, for two points from a defeat.
The Six Nations Grand Slam bonus
The men's and women's Six Nations Championships add a further wrinkle: a team that wins all five of its matches in a single tournament, known as a Grand Slam, receives three additional bonus points on top of anything earned from individual matches. This rule was introduced when the Six Nations added bonus points to its scoring system in 2017, because a Grand Slam-winning side could otherwise, in theory, finish level with or behind a team that lost a match but banked more bonus points along the way; the extra three points guard against that outcome.
Reading the table
When teams finish level on total points, competitions apply their own tie-break order — points difference, points scored, head-to-head results and similar criteria are all commonly used, in varying combinations — so the exact rule should be checked against that competition's published regulations rather than assumed. As a worked example only, using invented team names: if Example FC wins four matches and picks up two bonus points along the way, for 18 total points, and Sample RFC wins three matches but collects five bonus points, for 17 points, Example FC finishes above Sample RFC on total points alone, without any tie-break being needed.
The short version for a supporter scanning a table: start with wins and draws, then add any bonus points for tries scored or narrow defeats, and only reach for the tie-break rules once two teams are level on the final total.
