American Football vs Rugby?

Question

Which is the tougher/toughest, american football or rugby and don't just say football cause you're american or the other way around?

Answer 1

Ive seen both but im a huge football fan id say american football either way theres some big hits in rugby and everthing but they dont have people like ray lewis laying people out

Answer 2

Rugby by a long shot.  I played football in HS and play rugby in college, and I can say from experience that the hits are just as hard and more frequent, and you must be in excellent shape to play the game.

The way I think you can determine the answer is by asking if a professional football player could jump in and play a rugby game, and that answer is probably not because of the conditioning.  If a rugger were thrown into a football game though, they could survive (although likely not play as explosive of a game).

Answer 3

I say American Football not because I'm American (which I'm not), but because I'd like to think I'm pretty knowledgeable about both sports. By the way, I'm English and live in London.

Rugby League players are probably tougher than Union players, but American Football players are much tougher than either. The game is MUCH more violent and dangerous than either Rugby code. One reason is that Gridiron players are much bigger, stronger and faster than their Rugby equivalent positions. A frequent comment by people in my country who know nothing about Gridiron is that, with all the padding, it's 'Rugby for pansies'. Of course, the reason for all the protection is precisely because the game is so violent and dangerous. I went to the NFL game in London last year and some of the hits were frightening.

The problem with this type of question, which you refer to, simich, is that most North Americans will say Gridiron, and most non-Americans will say Rugby, and neither usually has sufficient knowledge of both sports to give an informed answer. For the record, I played Rugby Union for my school for 7 years, and have been following the NFL since the early 1980s.

Answer 4

Funny coincidence!

I asked almsot the same question a minute after you!

Answer 5

im brititsh and im saying american football, maybe they wear padding and stuff but the tackles are much harder but rugby tackles are technique

Answer 6

Id say American Football is tougher. If I had Laron Landry running full pace at me and I wasnt wearing pads, I would run the other direction as fast as I could.