Are rugby players tougher than people who play football (american) in the United States.?

Question

Are rugby players tougher than people who play football (american) in the United States.?

Answer 1

i beleive so, i play rugby, and i can hit harder and take harder hits then any football player

Answer 2

Why wouldn't they be tougher? Ruggers don't use the padding that American football players use. I would suggest that it enables ruggers to build a callus-like toughness because they don't rely on the shielding/padding so they build up a tolerance.

I'd love to see ruggers play Amercian footballers in a match - without gear!

Answer 3

obviously from two of the answers here, lightweights can play rubgy too. they play a little in college because they like to party and think they've seen the whole game after a few years of that.

the long answer got it right. american footballers each have one small job and they do it in short spurts, then go sit down and have someone else squirt water in their mouth because they're so exausted from a few minutes of exercise. they're pampered in every possible way in college and nfl.

strong isn't the same as tough. very few of those fat nfl-ers would make it ten minutes on a rugby pitch.

and yes, many people have and do play all kinds of sports with torn acls, just not the pampered american football players.

Answer 4

They are different sports, to compare each would be unfair, rugby union, rugby league,  American and Canadian football are all tough and demanding codes.  They both have their strengths and qualities.  They all have alot of things common and that should be celebrated.

Answer 5

Yes. Typically rugby players, who mostly come from countries like Scotland, Wales, New Zealand and Australia, are exposed early in life to the Spartan climate and ethos of these countries and their school systems. Things may have changed a bit by now, but cold showers, playing in freezing conditions without gloves or other protective gear, getting your balls grabbed in scrums, getting your face gouged by studs and then drinking six or seven pints after every game makes one tough.

So, rugby players aren't faster, bigger or richer than football players, but tougher? h**l yes.

Answer 6

yes

Answer 7

No. Anyone who says so hasn't played both. I played rugby through college and after, and there's a camraderie and spirit present in rugby that is absent in all big-time sports, football included. But, in terms of toughness, they're equal. Rugby players don't experience the high impact collisions football players do, and football players don't play without pads for 45 minute halves.

Regarding some of the other postings:

- Australia, NZ (except the mountains where they don't play rugby), and Fiji don't have freezing climates.

- Getting your balls grabbed doesn't make you tougher. I do believe I would have quit rugby if I had my balls fondled. But hey, if that's your reason for playing, more power to you.

- Anyone who tore their ACL, in football or rugby, would be carted off on a stretcher. Your ACL keeps your leg from bending double. That's important, whether you're playing football or not.

- Football players play hurt just like rugby players.

- Anyone commenting on how hard they hit in rugby has never played the game. The goal in rugby is to put your man down, not to hit him as hard as you can. It's illegal to hit without wrapping, or to leave your feet, and yardage is meaningless.

I've played with guys from South Africa and Australia who said American football was crazy and that they'd never play it. The sports are different. I chose to play rugby, but I don't need to try to take something away from football players to make me feel better.

Answer 8

Honestly, I think that it's pretty much even.  Sure, American players have frequent breaks and wear pads and helmets, but they tend to expend their energy in short bursts (sort of like in a boxing match) and go full throttle during each play.  Rugby players are not as physically strong as American football players are, but they have them when it comes to endurance.  

In a sense, it's like comparing apples and oranges.  Both sports (and I've played both) are very tough in their own right.

Answer 9

Rugby could possibly be tougher, and certainly demands more all-round ball handling skills.

Answer 10

i think they're both tough in their own ways. you're comparing two different sports. in american football, there's more bigger guys and they tackle differently than in rugby. in rugby, you don't have the pads and helmets like they do in american football. just a mouthguard.

Answer 11

yes there are, they wear very thin covering of padding whereas nfl players are covered greatly.....so they actually feel every cotact more heavily

Answer 12

To the guy who said that 'Rugby players don't experience the high impact collisions football players do', needs to watch a professional game of Rugby League from England or Australia. Rugby League is the toughest team sport in the World period.

Answer 13

Well it's a matter of opinion, but I think yes.

Look at this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GV2sdsY-S...

and try to tell me that there is any tougher sport.

Answer 14

The rugby ethos and the rules of the game demand toughness, so tough people tend to play rugby and those who aren't, quit. For most teams there are no substitutions except for injury - that means a given player will be playing (running, pushing, tackling, being tackled, passing, kicking, etc.) nearly non-stop for at least an hour before the 10-minute half-time break and then they go back at it for another hour or more.

Every player on the field is likely to be a tackler (and hits can be especially vicious because the person who is tackled to the ground must release the ball and the ball remains in play; this also means that both of those players involved in that tackle must immediately shake that off and get going again with no break). No player wears protective gear on their shins, shoulders, head, ribs, hips, or tailbone, as they do in football. There are no "downs" - play continues for long periods of time and the play itself varies between all kinds of physical skills, from sprinting, to tackling, to pushing, to picking up the ball at a dead run, and avoiding tackles.

Who knows whether any given rugger is tougher than any given American football player, but here's a personal anecdote for comparison.

I played for national champion and all-star teams over a long career. About once per season (we played 2-3 seasons per year of about 14 games per season) one of my knees would go out during a game. I had bad cartilage and was tearing my ACL pretty consistently (I had various surgeries, eventually), but I wouldn't have dreamed of not continuing play as long as I could run and walk, even if it was painful. That's just the way it is in rugby. Out of all those times, I never left a game for this injury (rules prohibit playing if the referee thinks you may have a concussion, so that always makes players leave the field). Compare this to the average American football player - how many running backs end their season (and often their career) after one knee injury diagnosed as an ACL tear? All of the rugby players I've known have played hurt - they played with broken toes, broken fingers, broken noses, stitchable cuts, re-located dislocations and major contusions. It's just a part of the sport and really, a reason why rugby players love it as they do.

Answer 15

I've played both, and in terms of sheer physical destruction, nothing compares to American/Canadian football.  Look on the sidelines after any college or pro game, it looks like a combat aid station.  I love rugby, and the physical demands are extreme.  Conditioning and playing tired demands toughness, but there is nothing in rugby - nothing - that compares to a wide receiver (100 kilos), running full speed, being hit by a strong safety (100 kilos) going full speed in the opposite direction.  What's "tougher" than that?

Answer 16

id have to say yes...i know football players that are afraid to come play with us