Rugby union numbering schemes

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A rugby union team consists of 15 players plus up to seven replacements (depending on the competition). The starting players are normally numbered from 1 to 15 and the replacements 16 onwards.

Traditionally, however, some clubs, notably Leicester Tigers and Bristol used alternative schemes consisting of letters, whilst others Bath and Richmond used a scheme with no number 13. Leicester's numbers were from 1 to 15 corresponding A to O with the exception of the openside which who wore H which is the eighth letter of the alphabet. English Zurich Premiership sides have ceased using these numbers/letters to better aid the understanding of those new to the sport.

Nowadays the players are numbered 1 to 15 with 1 being loosehead prop and 15 being the fullback. However, the numbering used to be reversed with 1 being the fullback. This change happened in the 1950s. Rugby League still uses this reverse numbering system.

Another common variations in the numbering is the interchange of 6 and 7 (particularly in South Africa and Argentina) or of 11 and 14.

There also are regional variations to the way line-ups are listed. Most of the time, the first player mentioned is actually the number 15. The two mainstream styles of listing a line-up are 15–9 then 1–8 and 15–1. However, you may see the centres swapped over and the same is often done to the back row.

Position	Standard number	No 13-number	Letters — Leicester-style	Letters — Bristol-style
Full back	15	16	O	A
Right wing	14	15	N	B
Outside centre	13	14	M	C
Inside centre	12	12	L	D
Left wing	11	11	K	E
Fly-half	10	10	J	F
Scrum-half	9	9	I	G
Loosehead prop	1	1	A	H
Hooker	2	2	B	I
Tighthead prop	3	3	C	J
Lock	4	4	D	K
Lock	5	5	E	L
Blindside flanker	6	6	F	M
Openside flanker	7	7	H	N
Number eight	8	8	G	O
Replacements	16 onwards, up to 22	17 onwards, up to 23	P onwards, up to V	P onwards, up to V

[edit] See also

Category: Rugby union