Rugby league is a team sport, played by two teams of 13 players. The aim is to carry an oval ball up the field towards the opponents in-goal where the ball is grounded to score a try, worth four points. Having scored the try, the team has the right to attempt to kick a goal worth a further two points if successful. The opposing team attempts to prevent the attacking team from carrying out this objective by tackling the player with the ball. It is one of the two codes of rugby, the other being rugby union.

Rugby league was initially played by a breakaway faction of the English Rugby Football Union (RFU) known as the Northern Union. When similar breakaway factions occurred from RFU-affiliated Rugby Unions in Australia and New Zealand, in 1907 and 1908 they formed associations known as Rugby Leagues and used the modified Northern Union rules. The Northern Union later changed its name to the Rugby Football League. Thus, the game became known as rugby league.