The 2023 Rugby World Cup has gotten off to a flying start, with impressive scoring on display. In five out of eight of the opening-round fixtures, we saw bonus points awarded to the winning team. Here is an all-around explainer of what a bonus point victory is in Rugby and how teams can achieve it.
20 teams will fight it out for the Webb Ellis trophy at the Rugby World Cup in France this month, with some teams such as Ireland, France and Australia setting early benchmarks with bonus point wins to showcase that they haven't come to this year's World Cup just to participate but to win it out.
The pool stages of the tournament sees teams split up into four groups of five with each side playing each other once.
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2023 Rugby World Cup point system including bonus point
Points will be awarded as follows:
- Win: four points
- Draw: two points
- Loss: zero points
- Bonus point: 1 point
What is a bonus point in Rugby?
A bonus point is when a team scores four or more tries in a game. This means that a team Who wins a match and registers four tries or more are awareded an extra point, awarding them with 5 points instead of the standard 4 points.
Bonus points were introduced in rugby to reward adventours and attacking styles of play.
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How to get bonus point in rugby
They will be awarded as follows:
A) If a team scores four tries or more in a match, they receive one bonus point.
B) If a team loses by seven points or fewer, they receive one bonus point.
How many points for a bonus point in rugby?
The maximum number of points a winning team can receive is five points.
A losing team could earn two bonus points by scoring four or more tries and losing by seven points or fewer.
9 September 2023; Peter O'Mahony of Ireland scores his side's tenth try during the 2023 Rugby World Cup Pool B match between Ireland and Romania at Stade de Bordeaux in Bordeaux, France. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
When was the bonus point first introduced?
Bonus points were introduced to the World Cup for the first time during the 2003 tournament in Australia.
Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
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