How do yellow and red cards work in community rugby?

Question

Accepted Answer

Under World Rugby Laws 2026 (Law 9), a player who commits foul play must be cautioned, shown a yellow card or sent off.

Yellow card: the player is cautioned and suspended for 10 minutes. A second yellow-card offence means the player must be sent off. Play restarts with a penalty.
Red card: the player is sent off and takes no further part in the match.
Repeated team offences: when different players of the same team repeatedly commit the same offence, you give the team a general caution, and if they repeat it you show a yellow card to the guilty player(s).
Dangerous tackling includes tackling or attempting to tackle an opponent that leads to head contact, or above the relevant sanction line (see Law 14.1) while either player is in open field play.
Other dangerous play includes leading with the elbow or forearm, lifting an opponent and dropping or driving them so their head or upper body hits the ground, tackling an opponent whose feet are off the ground, and retaliation.
A player who disputes your decisions or does not stop when you whistle is guilty of misconduct (penalty).

Rugby Canada's U11 to U14 age-grade games use different card rules, covered in a separate question.