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

Traditionally however, some clubs, notably 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 1-15 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.

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 messed up and the same is often done to the back row.

See also

• Rugby union positions