Comments on: American Football vs. Rugby: Which is Tougher?

By: DaveS

DaveS — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 13:39:14 +0000

I doubt an American Gridiron team could play rugby and win. Rugby is a fluid sport and I would be surprised if a 150kg, 6′10 Offensive tackle would have the fitness or a Running Back the all round coordination required for Rugby. Gridiron players are trained to execute specialised movements within seconds whereas in Rugby the required skill set is much broader (note Lola’s comment on ‘complexity’) with all 15 Rugby players expected to run, tackle, kick, brace, pass, catch etc in continuous motion for 5-10 minute periods without an official or unofficial break in play.

Getting back to the orginal question, I would say Rugby is tougher (mentally and physically) due to the lack of protective equipment worn, sustained coordination and relentless contact. However Gridiron with it’s robust protective equipment, limited restrictions on tackling and player positions specifically designed for physical interference makes it a lot more dangerous.

As others have mentioned, it would be also worth including Rugby League in this discussion. Rugby League permits the use of a very effective, physically jolting tackle known as the ’shoulder charge’ which is illegal in Union.

Regarding Aussie Rules – I grew up with and played it and although I’d say it is a physically demanding contact sport and potentially very dangerous, the players in no way endure the same physicality as the two sports being discussed.

By: Dodo

Dodo — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 05:31:52 +0000

If you use too much of body armor, you’re probably a lady.

Rugby is tougher.

By: Jonny

Jonny — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 18:25:14 +0000

I bet my house if you took a that a team of NFL players and put them in a rugby match, they would win HANDS-DOWN!, some of these NFL players are physical freaks of nature. Infact Julious Peppers, Chris Johnson & Ray lewis could beat a whole rugby team by themselves

By: Luis

Luis — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 18:18:13 +0000

American football all day (and im English). The hits in American football are WAY! harder than in rugby thats why all that equipment is nessasary, there alot more momentum in the tackles and if they didnt have that equipment then players would gt injured on every play. Rugby players dont need all that gear because theres no momentum in the tackles there all soft wrap up tackles. And as far as sportsmanship i can’t turn on sky sports news without hearing something about a ‘fight on a rugby pitch’, ’stamping in scrum’, ‘eye gouging’, ‘drug taking and stuff like that.

By: renzo

renzo — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 22:25:36 +0000

RUGBY IS THE BEST, IT CAN NOT BE COMPARED WITH A SPORT THAT AMERICANS MADE UP.american football never will be recognized nowhere but US.

Rugby is the best sport ever!!!!! no needs explanation

By: PK

PK — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 04:26:08 +0000

The team in that picture there is Middlebury College, a division 2 university side from Vermont that has no business doing a haka.

By: Adam Roy

Adam Roy — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 18:16:24 +0000

Agreed 100%. If you’re looking for out and out violence, though, you have to talk about international rules (fusion of Celtic football and Aussie rules). The games always seem to just degenerate into huge brawls.

By: N. Chrystine Olson

N. Chrystine Olson — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 18:47:57 +0000

I’ve been waiting for 8 months for SOMEONE to mention Aussie Rules. Think it beats both on the “toughness” scale”…and I wrote the gridiron side of this piece

By: Ash Duncan

Ash Duncan — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 01:53:49 +0000

Australian Rules Football anyone? (www.afl.com.au)

360 degree hits, non-stop football, huge bumps, bone crunching tackles, high flying marks, high scoring games.

Exciting much?

By: Jimbo

Jimbo — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 02:03:55 +0000

No question, American Football is a man’s sport and rugby is for average athletes. American Football players (NFL) are much faster, stronger and larger than their rugby counterparts. Don’t believe me? Just check out the picture at the bottom of the article – the rugby players screaming look like the guys in the stands at an NFL game, not the guys on the field. Small, scrawny, slow…

I’d like to see how long a rugby player would want to go without pads after an NFL linebacker ran him over. Imagine a 340 pound (154kg) lineman, 6′8″ (2.032m) tall, who can run 40 yards in 5 seconds, bench press 480 pounds, and has a vertical leap of 28 inches. There isn’t a rugby player on the face of this earth that could stop him, but that’s about par for the course with regards to offensive lineman in the NFL.