Football vs Rugby

[Eja117]

See then it starts to get like comparing a crash test to bumper cars. Yes the bumper cars don't stop, but obviously the crash test is the tougher, more dangerous thing.

If you never stop and you play non stop for a long game eventually you get marathon runners playing the sport and I don't think of that as tough, rough, or dangerous.

There has to be some explosion and collision, not just bumping and poking out eyes.

[indeedproceed]

See then it starts to get like comparing a crash test to bumper cars. Yes the bumper cars don't stop, but obviously the crash test is the tougher, more dangerous thing.

If you never stop and you play non stop for a long game eventually you get marathon runners playing the sport and I don't think of that as tough, rough, or dangerous.

There has to be some explosion and collision, not just bumping and poking out eyes.

I feel like you really have no idea what you're talking about. I've played both sports. I'd say its more like comparing a demolition derby to a nascar race. The crashes are bigger but less frequent.

But if you think it still doesn't hurt like a mother, or that only marathon runner can play, or that being on the bottom of a ruck when the other team feels like they need to send you a message is not one of the toughest things any man can do, then you do not understand rugby.

[indeedproceed]

Edit: Sorry for the high horse tone, but it irks me when football players/fans pretend like they understand rugby, and when rugby players/fans pretend like they understand football. They are both so different from their characterizations as games.

[jackson_34]

We can resolve this. We send a group of our fastes/biggest linbackers against the best euro rugby and see who wins. LB by a long shot. Bigger, stronger and conditoned enough to lay a pounding on some tea sippers

You don't send them to europe, you send them to South Africa, Australia, New Zealand. Remember the linebackers may have the ability to put on a big hit, but there is no shoulder-charging allowed in Union, you have to know how to tackle properly. The conditioning is a hell of a lot different between the two sports. Plus the anti-doping policy is alot sticter in Rugby... just saying  

Who plays rugby league besides austrailians?

I've never played aussie rules but I've watched a lot of it..I can't imagine its tougher than rugby.

It's not as widespread as Union, but league has a very strong competition in England, and there are always Internationals between New Zealand Australia and England in league at the end of the Australian season.

As for Australian Rules; Definently not as rough as Union or Gridiron, but they are easily the fittest, most conditioned athletes of team sport. I have a friend who just got drafted to the Australian League and the amount of conditioning they have to do is absolutley unbelievable. They run on average a total of 14km per game over 80mins. Add this to all the kicking, jumping, tackling and it's a hell of a sport.
Not really my most enjoyable spectator sport but you have to give credit where it's due.

Side note; AFL is one of the main reasons that basketball in Australia is at such a poor level compared to the rest of the world. The AFL scout the junior basketball leagues and poach most of the promising talent since both sports are fairly comparable in many aspects.

[Eja117]

I played a little rugby for a short time in college. I understand the general concept of the bigger guys that get in the scrum and the smaller guys that run lateralling the ball back, but my comment was more towards the description of Australian rules football when the guy said they never stop. If a guy just runs the whole time without stopping that takes a lot of the explosion and size out of the game. Maybe he depicted it inaccurately. Maybe there's more walking and stopping then he's making it sound like

[indeedproceed]

I played a little rugby for a short time in college. I understand the general concept of the bigger guys that get in the scrum and the smaller guys that run lateralling the ball back, but my comment was more towards the description of Australian rules football when the guy said they never stop. If a guy just runs the whole time without stopping that takes a lot of the explosion and size out of the game. Maybe he depicted it inaccurately. Maybe there's more walking and stopping then he's making it sound like

My apologies then. I've been defending both sports against misconceptions for almost a decade.

As far as Aussie Rules...its really a lot like soccer with tackling or rugby without rucks.

By that I mean they're in amazing shape but its not like they lose their ability to hurt people.

[Eja117]

I played a little rugby for a short time in college. I understand the general concept of the bigger guys that get in the scrum and the smaller guys that run lateralling the ball back, but my comment was more towards the description of Australian rules football when the guy said they never stop. If a guy just runs the whole time without stopping that takes a lot of the explosion and size out of the game. Maybe he depicted it inaccurately. Maybe there's more walking and stopping then he's making it sound like

My apologies then. I've been defending both sports against misconceptions for almost a decade.

As far as Aussie Rules...its really a lot like soccer with tackling or rugby without rucks.

By that I mean they're in amazing shape but its not like they lose their ability to hurt people.

I wouldn't say they lose the ability to hurt people, but I assume it must be somewhat lessened, especially towards the end of the game.

I'm just saying a sport with no Jake Longs and no Dan Koppens and no Julius Peppers and no Ray Lewis or Brian Urlacher that is dominated more by Marshal Faulks, who have been running all day must have a little less WHAM from time to time

[fairweatherfan]

I was a rugger (well, sort of...winger here  ) in college and grad school, and I'd agree with those who say rugby is overall a rougher sport that requires greater endurance, but football is significantly more dangerous in terms of severe injuries.  Demo derby vs NASCAR race is a good analogy.  Rugby tends toward chronic injuries accumulated over the game and over time, and football tends more toward severe, one-time injuries.

A key difference is that rugby is much less of a collision sport - typically a guy that hits you in a rugby game started coming at you from less than 10 feet away, whereas in football someone might sprint the width of the field and launch themselves at you.  Rugby tackling is focused more on wrapping up and pulling down, and football tackling is more about hurling yourself like a missile to blow the guy up.  The hits are much more frequent in rugby though, and you don't have time to collect yourself (or get off the field) between plays. 

Oh, and rugby does have the unique danger of all sorts of fun illnesses brought on by shooting the boot and the like.  But I'll take a rugby social over a football postgame celebration any day.


EDIT:

Where did you go to school?

University of Rochester for undergrad, UNC for grad (played for the B-school team, though I wasn't a B-schooler)

[indeedproceed]

I was a rugger (well, sort of...winger here  ) in college and grad school, and I'd agree with those who say rugby is overall a rougher sport that requires greater endurance, but football is significantly more dangerous in terms of severe injuries.  Demo derby vs NASCAR race is a good analogy.  Rugby tends toward chronic injuries accumulated over the game and over time, and football tends more toward severe, one-time injuries.

A key difference is that rugby is much less of a collision sport - typically a guy that hits you in a rugby game started coming at you from less than 10 feet away, whereas in football someone might sprint the width of the field and launch themselves at you.  The hits are much more frequent in rugby though, and you don't have time to collect yourself (or get off the field) between plays. 

Oh, and rugby does have the unique danger of all sorts of fun illnesses brought on by shooting the boot and the like.  But I'll take a rugby social over a football postgame celebration any day.

Where did you go to school?

[Eja117]

Hey wait. Don't chick rugby players have a certain tradition? I wonder how that started. I'll take that over football cheerleaders any day. Mostly

[indeedproceed]

Well we can't talk too much about those traditions. They are both immoral and illegal.

However have you ever heard the story of Yukon Pete? No, we can't talk about him either.

[Eja117]

Well we can't talk too much about those traditions. They are both immoral and illegal.

However have you ever heard the story of Yukon Pete? No, we can't talk about him either.

They're illegal? Wow. Now I like rugby more