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. It should be noted that 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

See also

• Rugby shirt
• Rugby union positions