The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 4 letter word DROP GOAL
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
D
R
O
P
G
O
A
L
More clues leading to the result DROP GOAL
Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "term at Rugby" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case term at rugby = drop goal.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.