Rugby fans...mature discussion?

Question

hasn't this "debate" over pads gone on long enough?

I watch both (when Rugby is on TV)

and if you take an unbiased look at the two, there is really very little to compare.

"NFL players are a bunch of sissies who are afraid of getting hurt"

this is a common saying and it's asinine.

it's OBVIOUS that pro football players would die and/or become seriously SERIOUSLY injured if they didn't wear the padding that they do.

What's next, telling hockey goalies that they can't wear padding in order for them not to be called sissies?

or what about police and bullett proof vests?

I'm not trying to start a pointless argument, which is what this would become if anybody disagrees with the fact that football players could take that kind of abuse without their pads.

They're both great sports....why degrade either of them by ignorantly arguing over something so ridiculous?

Answer 1

I've played American Football and I've watched Rugby. They are two truly different sports with the same outcome at times - the player with the ball gets creamed.

Now I've read most of the posts here and I have to agree to a point that linemen, to an extent quaterbacks, would not be able to compete stamina wise with a rugby player. The running back, wide receivers, defensive backs, and to the extent of linebackers and tight ends could compete.

The collisions in both sports are violent but American Football has more. The eight guys on the line contect more in a single game than I have seen in a rugby match. I also used to play the line on both sides of the ball and I have to tell you without the pads on I would be drooling right now because of the head and attempted neck hits I took.

Padding in American Football is needed due to the amount of hits anyone player takes. Rugby has more of a flow, like futbol, and while padding (or scrum caps) are sometimes used they are not, in my opinion, vital to the game in and of itself.

I don't care what anyone else tells you but both players are tough. I've watched and/or seen players play on broken bones without knowing it until a week after the game/match.

Answer 2

The sports are completely different and played completely differently.  Therefore, the training is completely different.  The massive power of the hits in american football have become so because of the different training techniques- done for power and not endurace.  The purpose of tackling and being able to physically block is differnt in football compared to rugby.  have you ever seen a football player make his first rugby tackle??  ive seen more than one head split open- its because the skill is done differently- football players tackle head first becasue they have the protection of a helmet.  I wouldnt want to be tackled by a football player- they are trained to hit harder becasue they have pads.

Answer 3

We just celebrated the 150th Anniversary of Rugby in the USA.  Rugby started it off, then followed football and soccer.

I have watched football all my life, but when I discovered Rugby in 1978, I knew I had found the sport for me.

helmets?  padding?  who cares?

It is the game that counts and Rugby rules for me!!

CalRugbyGirl

Answer 4

Walk in a ruggers shoes, and hurt your feet...then you'll know why they think Football players are p-u-s-s-i-e-s!

Answer 5

Different sports have different requirements. NFL is explosive. The idea is to maim and hurt. You can hit someone in the air from behind. You can blindside someone. You can't do that in rugby. In rugby, it's all about continuity. Pads are a fact. They assist with protection and recovery rates. With the number of games our top teams are required to play, anything that helps with protection and recovery is good.

2 great sports, very different approaches.

Answer 6

As a rugby player i can honestly say that rugby is more tough than american football.Yes,american football is more physical but could a nfl player run around non stop(sprinting)for 80+ mins(depending on extra time)and still expect to tackle,

i doubt it.Rugby is more about endurance,balance,

elegence,toughness,speed and power.American football is more about power and size.Saying this though,i do like both sports but i prefer rugby,Hope this helps.

WALES FOR THE WORLD CUP

CYMRU AM BYTH

THANX

Answer 7

Yes, you're quite right. I'm from Britain and have grown up watching both codes of rugby (league and union), but have also grown to love American football over the last five years. So I've heard ignorant arguments on both sides of the fence.

The impacts in American football are so much greater. First, the players are much larger as they are built for small bursts of energy, whereas rugby players require greater stamina, and also, because steroid use is so rampant in the NFL (sorry, but it's true). Second, the respective nature of the games makes for significant differences in the ways that players are tackled. In football, yardage is so vital so the player with the ball is beaten up on, and tacklers can lead with their heads. In rugby it would be suicidal to over-commit to the player with the ball, and it would be literally suicidal to lead with your head. Also, rugby players have more restrictions such as not being allowed to shoulder charge.

They're different sports, and dangerous in their own ways. It's easier to compare the two codes of rugby, and I would say that union is more dangerous, mainly because of the rucking, but the scrummaging also. But out of American football and rugby union I wouldn't know which is tougher. And I don't care either; I don't watch the sports because of their danger levels.

Answer 8

well I just think that the nfl overdoes it a little. but ive never played it so i wont know. But I would sure feel a lot more comfortable if I have protective gear on. LOL

Hockey is different because there you are protecting agains the ball, not the players.

But I think that NFL shouldn't change neither should rugby. Both are great sports and some rugby players wear protective gear like scrum caps and shoulder pads

Answer 9

NFL players are stronger then rugby players.  I would not want Brian Urlacher hitting me with out pads on.

Answer 10

no im sorry the pads are pointless, people say oh but such nd such is 400lbs in american football but such nd such cant put in a proper tackle or run faster than like 2 mph. nd death is a overstatment its jus the fact they have limited ruling on tackles if the took the pads off they would inforce laws then we wuld see how well our 400lbs lard culd tackle. oh nd id like to see the 400lbs lard run around for 80mins they do bugger all in a game just stand there nd play for bout a MAX of 10 secs per play if that.... TIRING STUFF!! :S