Penalty Box - Rugby Football

Rugby Football

In both codes of rugby (rugby league and rugby union), only penalties involving violent play, dangerous play, professional fouls or repetitive commission of a specific offence result in a sin binning, where the offending player must spend 10 minutes off the field. In rugby union, the referee usually signals such infringements by displaying a yellow card. In Australian rugby league, the referee will raise both hands and spread his digits to indicate "10 minutes"; elsewhere, the yellow card is used.

Often, if a team is committing one offence repeatedly, the referee will warn the captain that the next time they commit that offence, the player responsible will be sent to the bin. For the most serious offences and/or repeated misconduct, the referee may send off players, who take no further part in the game and leave their team a player short. Referees also have the power to send team officials to the stands.

In 1981 Australia's New South Wales Rugby Football League introduced the use of the sin bin and that year Newtown Jets hooker Barry Jensen became the first player sent to it. Use of a sin bin was introduced to rugby union in 2001.

In the National Rugby League, there is no physical sin bin. Players must serve their punishment in the dressing room; remaining on the sideline or in the stands is not permitted.

In rugby union sevens, the sending-off period is 2 minutes, which as a percentage of match time is actually a more severe penalty, as a normal sevens match lasts only 14 minutes instead of the 80 used in 15-man union or 13-man league. During this time, the offender's team must play with one fewer player.