American Football Vs. Rugby?

reply to post by SlovenlyGhost


I would disagree that rugby players are more ''athletic'' than American Footballers.

The fact of the matter is that different sports require different skills and athletic abilities. I think that it's unfair to say that one sport is any more skillful or athletic than another, as every participant has to hone both of these abilities within the parameters of the sport that they play.


In the case of Rugby vs American Football, then they are different games which require their players to master and achieve different skills to excel at each sport.

Yes, American Football players wouldn't last a gruelling 80-minutes on the rugby field, but would rugby players last a high-intensity stop-start ''play'' that American Football is based around ?

Bear in mind that I'm a big rugby fan, and I've already made my disdain for American Football obvious on this thread, so I have no need to stick up for the sport other than a sense of fair play.


An earlier contributor made a highly simplistic and erroneous comment, stating that football ( soccer ) was more skillful than rugby because young children will automatically raise their hands to stop a ball that is chucked towards them, rather than trapping it with their instep.

This is ridiculous, as it's comparing two very different skills, and two very different sports that do not revolve around something as simple as just kicking a ball or handling a ball.


In football, for example, the only way an opponent can legally win the ball off you is if he actually plays the ball, or uses watered-down physicality to barge you off the ball.
This makes it far more easier for footballers to develop their skills, as within the rules of the sport, nobody can actually stop them by playing the man, rather than the ball.


In rugby, it's not just about the handling skills of catching and passing, it's the fact that the game involves the opponents either playing the man or playing the man and ball !

When you watch the very top rugby playing teams, such as the All Blacks or the Springboks, then you just have to admire their insane handling skills amidst all that bruising physicality.


Here's one of your boys, John Smit, pulling off an incredible one-handed catch in a fluid passage of play that occurred during one of the South Africa vs Australia games in 2010:




Please excuse my slight digression from the original theme of your topic.

I love playing ( hopefully, eventually coaching ) and watching a variety of different sports, and sport is one of my great passions in life.


I don't believe that any sport is more or less harder than another, as they all require a different set of physical and mental skills, and, as someone who has completed a Marathon and also played darts, I can guarantee you that potentially getting a 9-darter ( I've never come close to achieving this ) is every bit as difficult as running/jogging 26 miles !

reply to post by Sherlock Holmes


Well I have to agree. Guess each sport is different from another and each on requires their own set of skills, like you said. Just thought rugby was a whole lot more athletic.

Wouldn't know much about football(soccer) seeing as I rarely ever watch it. In rugby it's all about your ball skills. In soccer the ball can go any which way where as in rugby your only allowed to pass it backwards. There's so many rules surrounding what your allowed to do with the ball that you'd have to develop some insane ball skills.

Rugby is in it's own league so it would be unfair to try and compare it to another sport.

Guess in the end it all comes down to the individual and what ever sports suites their interests. For me it's rugby and through my eyes it will always be better than any other sport.

Personally i have to say that i feel rugby is a better game, after playing rugby for 4 years, ive become acustom to playing.

I just think the way the game played is more fluent than american football, i also think that both games are similar. I agree that American Football also seems to be more violent than rugby, how ever at the same time i have to point out that american footballers wear a large ammount of protection,. where as rugby players tend not to, i think this can account for why american football is more agressive than rugby.

There are phenomenal athletes in both, having played some rugby in America a few years ago, the wider public think you are mental for playing without pads or helmets

As time has gone by I would rather watch the average game of rugby league than union





www.youtube.com...

Well.....when the Yanks get rid of all the 'girls blouses' and stuff I will take another look at the game. Until then, here is what is gonna give the Kiwis ( real men..lol) the Rugby World Cup this year!
And led by a special friend, Tana Umaga. Shame he is not still in the squad.





ETA: Sorry...I see it wont embed so do take a look at the youtube link...only a minute or so!

American Football FTW

Originally posted by Cayla19
American Football FTW

For shame.

I'm glad one other person in this thread has remembered that there's two codes of rugby, I am a fan of both albeit at club level rather than international due to the politics and management of the respective unions.

Weird double post.

Originally posted by BlackPoison94
It's not soccer...it's Football.

Not Football, "Association Football" and soccer is an Oxford abbreviation for association.

The term "soccer", derived from a transformation/emendation of the "assoc" in Association football, was popularised by a prominent English footballer, Charles Wreford-Brown (1866–1951)

reply to post by dbates


Shall we stay on-topic and stop talking about that lesser sport? Both American football and rugby are superior to THAT.

I think it's pretty even to be honest.

I think American football is slightly more intense but as someone that played it in High School often when you get hit in pads you don't feel crap. (Still can hurt bad at times) The main problem with American Football is head injuries, people nailing you in the head with a helmet. Head injuries are VERY frequent in American Football and the NFL which is why now the NFL is making a crap load of new rules to prevent head injuries because they happen so often. The fact of pads makes the game alot more exciting as your not as limited as how hard you can hit people or as worried about getting hit.

Also keep in mind that there are alot of HUGE football players like (6'4 - 6'8 300 pounders) playing with guys that are maybe even 5'8 200 pounds.
I never played Rugby or honestly watched it so I will not comment on it. But from what i've seen it's a very Rough sport to.