What Does a Number 8 Do in Rugby Union?
Rugby IQ · 7 September 2026 · 5 min read
With Peter Lakai · Number 8
The number 8 wears 8 in rugby union and packs down at the back of the scrum. The 8 controls the ball at the scrum base, picks and carries from it, links the forwards to the backs in open play, and covers behind the defensive line. It is the only shirt in the pack named after its number — see where it falls among all fifteen rugby positions.
What are the number 8’s four links?
Everything the 8 is picked for is a link of some kind. Call them the Number 8’s Four Links.
- Control the base.The ball at the back of the scrum is the 8’s, and nobody else’s, until the 8 gives it up.
- Pick and carry. Off the base, from a standing start, into a defender who is already set.
- Link pack to backs.The 8 is the forward who arrives in the backs’ channel and passes out of contact.
- Cover the back field. When the kick goes over, the 8 is the forward expected to be there.
What does a number 8 do at the scrum?
The 8 binds between the two locks with both hands, which leaves the feet free, and the ball arrives at the base of a scrum that is still moving. From there the 8 has three options and about a second to choose between them.
Control it. The feet hold the ball at the back while the pack drives, the scrum-half waits, and the opposition back row cannot legally leave until it is out. A scrum that is going forward with the ball still at the 8’s feet is the cheapest attacking platform in the game.
Pick it. The 8 lifts the ball and carries from a dead stop, usually around the fringe, and the value is in the metre or two that drags a defender out of the line. Or leave it: the 8 releases and the 9 clears, which is the right call far more often than a highlight reel suggests. What happens next is a ruck like any other — see rugby drills that transfer.
What physical attributes does a number 8 need?
Four qualities, and where each one actually lives in a training week.
| Attribute | Why the number 8 needs it | How it is trained |
|---|---|---|
| Leg drive from a static start | The pick-and-go begins with the feet planted and a defender already there | Heavy hinge and split-squat work, plus sled starts from a low position |
| Ball security in contact | The 8 carries into the heaviest traffic on the field, most often off the base of the scrum | Carrying drills with contact, both arms, under fatigue |
| Handling under pressure | The link role means offloading and passing while being tackled | Handling work added to the end of a contact session, never the start |
| Aerobic base for cover defence | The 8 covers behind the line and is expected to be the forward who gets there | Extensive aerobic work plus repeat efforts with a ball |
Frame at 8 is the rarest combination a selector looks for: long enough for the tail of the lineout, heavy enough to carry off the base, and still quick to the far corner. The sourced bands sit on one page and one only, rugby positions body types.
Number 8 vs flanker: what is the difference in the back row?
All three loose forwards leave the scrum to do much the same work, and the difference is where each one starts and what each one is holding when the ball comes out. The 8 owns the scrum base and the link role. The 6 and the 7 bind on the sides, break earliest, and live at the breakdown.
In practice that means the 8 is the back-row forward who carries from a set platform and passes in the wide channel, while the flankers are the ones who arrive at a contest someone else started. A side picks its 8 for what happens off the base and its openside for what happens on the ground — which is the whole of what a flanker does.
The names travel too. The 8 is a no 8 or a number eight in most of the northern hemisphere, an eighthman in South Africa, and one of three loose forwards in New Zealand. Every shirt and every alias sits in one table on the hub: rugby positions answers it in full.
How does a number 8 train?
A number 8 trains the standing start first, because every signature moment of the shirt begins from one: the pick, the drive off the base, the carry into a set defender. Four qualities carry the week.
| Quality | Why the number 8 needs it | What a session looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Scrum-base power | The pick is a standing start against a defender who is already set, and it is the shirt's signature carry | Hinge and squat patterns, then sled and prowler starts from a low, braced position |
| Carrying strength | The 8 takes the heaviest traffic of the back row and has to come out of it still holding the ball | Loaded carries and contact carries, both arms, with the ball live at the end of the effort |
| Handling under fatigue | Linking the pack to the backs means passing and offloading when the lungs are already gone | Handling added after the conditioning block, never before it |
| Aerobic cover | Covering behind the defensive line is the one job on this page that a tired forward simply does not do | Extensive aerobic running plus repeat efforts, run around a ball rather than a clock |
Put together, that is a four-block plan rather than a list of sessions. The four-week workout plan by position sets out the split, and the per-position workout PDF is the version you can take to the gym. If you would rather it was written for you and progressed week to week, ERA’s gym programs are built per position by the internationals who play them.
How is the number 8 different in rugby league?
In rugby league this differs because there is no equivalent shirt at all: 8 and 10 are the props there, and the closest thing to the union 8’s ball-carrying job belongs to the loose forward at 13.
Where to find out more
The shirt sits inside a whole pack: rugby positions covers all fifteen numbers and what each one does, and rugby positions by body type runs the question the other way, from the frame you have to the shirt it suits. To train the shirt rather than read about it, the gym programs are written per position.
Frequently asked questions
What is position 8 called in rugby?
Position 8 in rugby union is called the number 8, and in South Africa the eighthman. It is the only shirt in the game whose name is simply its number — every other position on the field has a word of its own, and this one never got one that stuck.
What is the number 8 position in rugby?
The number 8 position in rugby union is the back-row forward who packs down at the very back of the scrum, between the two flankers. The 8 is the only forward bound to the scrum with both hands free of a front-row body, which is why the ball at the base is the shirt's responsibility.
What position does number 8 play in rugby?
Number 8 plays at the base of the scrum in rugby union and in the back row, linking the forwards to the backs in open play. Off the scrum the 8 picks and carries or leaves the ball for the scrum-half; in the loose the 8 carries, clears rucks and covers behind the defence.
What does number 8 mean in rugby?
Number 8 in rugby union means both the shirt worn at the back of the scrum and the player who wears it. It is the only position named after its number, so a coach who says number 8 is naming a job, not reading a squad sheet. In New Zealand the same player is a loose forward.
What is a number 8 in rugby union?
A number 8 in rugby union is one of the three back-row forwards, and the only one who packs down at the back of the scrum rather than the side. The 8 controls the ball at the base, carries from it, links the pack to the backs, and covers the space behind the defensive line.
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