It might surprise readers to know that Twickenham, the England Rugby teams home venue is larger than Wembley, it's footballing conterpart. The playing area measures up at 125m x 70m (8,750 sq m) – which makes it comfortably larger than Wembley, the English national football stadium. Despite Wembley having a larger capacity of 90,000, its pitch size is only 105m x 69m (7,245 sq m).
There is room for size variation in pitch size for Rugby. A range of acceptable dimensions for Rugby Union pitches have been set by World Rugby. The length of a Rugby pitch can range from 94 meters to 100 meters, whilst the width can range from 68 meters to 70 meters.
In feet, the length of a rugby pitch can range from 308 feet to 328 feet, whilst the width can range from 223 feet to 230 feet.
In addition to this, the in goal area at either end of the pitch can be between 6 meters and 22 meters in length. Taking this into account, the full playing area varies in length from between 106 meters and 144 meters.
This visual representation below gives a clear picture of the required dimensions:
The Perimeter
In rugby union, the perimeter of the pitch houses technical areas. These provide space for substitutes, training staff, and the sin bin.
Most rugby union pitches leave at least a metre between the touchlines and any technical areas, avoiding any collisions in the event that a player comes off the field at speed. As a general rule and as per World Rugby regulations, the perimeter should be at least 5m wide to meet regulations.
Orientation
World Rugby's latest guidelines suggest that a Rugby Pitch would ideally be orientated to minimise the impact of the sun on Players.
Imagine you were to draw a straight line from the centre of one goalpost to the centre of the opposite goalposts. In the Northern Hemisphere this line should run at an angle of -75° to 20° with North being 0°. In the Southern Hemisphere this line should run at an angle of -20° to 75° with South being 0°.
What about line markings?
There are two main types of line markings, solid line markings and dashed line markings.
Solid line markings are used to indicate the following:
- The touchlines which indicate the edges of the field of play
- The try lines at both ends of the pitch
- The halfway line in the middle of the pitch
- The dead ball lines at the far ends of the field of play
- The 22 meter lines, 22 meters from the try lines
Dashed line markings
- 5 meter lines, which indicates for a team that they are 5 meters from the try line
- 10 meter lines, which are drawn 10 meters either side of the halfway line
- Two dashed lines positioned 5 meters and 15 meters away from the touchlines on both sides.
What about the goalposts?
Rugby posts are positioned centrally, on the try line at either end of the pitch. Whilst the length and the width of a pitch does allow for some variation, posts must always have a distance of 5.6 meters between them, with a minimum height of 3.4 meters. The top of the crossbar must be 3 meters above the ground
It is important to ensure that the pitch dimensions, markings and goalposts are suitable for the users of your sports facility. Ensuring that your facility can provide adequately for the age group and game type is a vital requirement. Pitchbooking customers find the ability to add specific notes to each booking highlighting the facility requirements for a customer removes the headache of a last minute layout change being required. The benefits of this feature are laid out on our solution page
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a rugby Pitch bigger than a football pitch?
Yes, a rugby pitch is generally larger than a football (soccer) pitch in terms of dimensions. The standard dimensions for a rugby union pitch, as defined by World Rugby, are up to 100 meters long (not including the in-goal areas, which can add an additional 10-22 meters on each end) and 70 meters wide. In total, including the in-goal areas, a rugby pitch can be up to 144 meters long. This makes the maximum possible playing area for rugby 7,000 square meters (excluding in-goal areas), and up to 10,080 square meters if you include the maximum in-goal length.
In contrast, the dimensions for a football pitch as specified by FIFA can vary more but are generally smaller. The length of a football pitch can range from 90 to 120 meters, and the width can range from 45 to 90 meters. This means the maximum size of a soccer pitch can be 10,800 square meters (120 meters by 90 meters), which seems larger at maximum size compared to rugby. However, the commonly used dimensions for professional soccer pitches are towards the lower end of this range, typically around 105 meters by 68 meters (7,140 square meters).
Therefore, while the maximum allowed size for a football pitch can technically exceed that of a rugby pitch, the standard playing areas used in professional settings typically make rugby pitches larger in both length and playing area than most football pitches. The key difference lies in the typical dimensions utilized and the rugby pitch's additional area provided by the in-goal zones, which are not present in football.
N.B. This is a follow up to our FA Football Pitch sizes blog that you can view here