Why is rugby called "football" when the 'foot' is not used to play it?

Question

Why is rugby called "football" when the 'foot' is not used to play it?

Answer 1

Rugby is call rugby, not football.  I have never heard it refered to as that.

Answer 2

The origin of American football is in the history of the world's most popular sport: soccer. When soccer -- more universaly known as "football" (which of course makes sense because soccer players use their feet) -- participants decided to change their centuries-old game with restrictions such as the no-use of hand rules, people who disliked this broke away to create rugby. In the states we have created our own version of the game under the same old name "football" with more of a rugby style, the whole time forgetting why we call it that.

Football, known only in canada and the USA as soccer, is the worlds most popular sport.

Answer 3

I call it Rugby and I used to play it.

The ball is kicked more than Gridiron

Answer 4

it actually is used to kick the ball, although i can see where you are coming from, they do use their hands most of the time

Answer 5

Because it was derived from Association Football.

Answer 6

Rugby is not football because both are not the same. Rugby is a popular sport in the UK and in most Commonwealth countries. A similar looking sport is popular in the USA and they call it American football. If you just say football, it most probably means soccer.

Answer 7

Actually the foot is used to kick the ball in rugby.

It is used a lot more in rugby union.

Answer 8

It's actually called rugby football. Many clubs names have "rugby football club" in their title. Any player can kick the ball at anytime but hands are used more often.

Answer 9

because rugby is a variation of football. the whole story of when william web ellis was playing football at his school called rugby, he picked the ball up and scored !!! lol

Answer 10

Lambspews got it right . The facts / myth is that during a game of football (soccer) at Rugby School in England a player called William Webb Ellis picked up the ball and ran with it. It caught on , rules were drawn up and the game was called Rugby Football . The trophy for the World Cup was named after this character.

Over the years the rules have been modified  and scoring values changed .  Initially the only way of scoring was to kick goals. A try was not worth any points . All it did was give a chance to kick for goal , hence the name "try". Nowadays of couse , a try holds the highest points value .

Answer 11

I thought it was soccer that was called football? I may be wrong though.

Answer 12

Rugby is called football because both modern football (soccer) and rugby originate from the same game - namely football.

Rugby is a form of football that originated at the Rugby School in england during 1823, and its invention is attributed to a young man named William Web Ellis (Spiro Zavos, in his book 'watching the world cup' vigorously disputes this as a way for the home nations to retain control of the game in the modern world, but whatever the truth of the matter, this is the version that is ingrained in modern rugby culture).

Web Ellis picked up a football (soccer ball) and ran with it, creating 'Rugby Football'. Rugby was actually played as a variation of soccer until the formation of the Football Association in 1863.  Until this time it was common practice for opposing teams to agree on the rules of the game before the start of a match, 'Rugby Football' being one of the many variations of the rules.

In fact, the world's first 'Football Club' was actually a Rugby club (The Barnes Club, founded in 1843). A tradition that continues to this day (The Hong Kong Football Club is so named after its rugby team, and not the soccer/football team).

After the formation of Association Football (where we get the term soccer), Rugby teams could not agree to the new standardized rules, and it is here that the sports went their separate ways. And while many Union's around the world have no association with football/soccer, they remain faithful to the sport's origin by retaining the 'Football' in their name (Rugby Football Union).

And that is why we still refer to rugby as football or footy...

Oh and ps... the foot is used to play rugby; hooking, kicking, rucking, etc.

Answer 13

why is soccer  called football and not balet??? maybe balet is a harder sport than soccer iv never heard any 1 say are you going to watch the footbball and refer to rugby thats just weird its either called rugby or uniion!

Answer 14

Stick to washing dishes and doing the laundry, dumb ar5e.

Answer 15

Hey?

I thought American football was called gridiron- which is not the same as rugby.

Answer 16

Rugby was invented when a couple of kids from a school in England called Rugby(that`s where the sport rugby got its name) were playing football(soccer).One of the kids got the ball and held it while running to the goal net.Of course this was a violation,but the other kids who saw it thought it was interesting and decided to create a sport.Originally,the kids used footballs(soccer balls) to play the sport,but eventually one of they discovered that and oval-shaped ball was suited for the sport.Soon the sport spread to other schools in England,and the English people decided to call it Rugby(because it originiated from the school of rugby.)Because Rugby originated from kids playing football(soccer),and that a football(soccer ball) was used to play Rugby originally.the name football was stuck along with Rugby.Also the foot is used to kick the ball,although most of the time players use their hands.

Answer 17

The answer has already been given, it is a hybrid of football - Rugby Football.

Over the years rugby has changed and developed into two codes both of which still use their feet to control the ball. The most obvious is rugby league where following a tackle (with the exception of the fifth), the tackled player places the ball on the floor and pushes it to the acting half back (positioned behind him) with his foot. Union uses feet to rake the ball in a ruck/maul and both codes can only use the feet to move the ball in a scrum as all the participants arms are locked together.

Both codes use tactical kicking so it's pretty obvious that the foot is used in rugby. Yes, not as much as in football/soccer but the foot is definately (and for all to see) used.

Answer 18

It is used to kick, and run. Besides, both codes of Rugby, gaelic football, aussie football, Soccer and Gridiron, are a deviation of the same game.

Answer 19

"The foot is not used to play it"?????

Go watch some England matches & you'll change your opinion..... ;-)

Answer 20

Rugby or American football. The foot is used too if I'm not mistaken.

I once answered a Q on football and needed clarification on whether the asker was referring to English or American football.

Football is also known as soccer in some parts of the world; sigh.

Why not just stick to rugby to save the confusion?

Answer 21

Rugby is never called football! In Europe, soccer is called football. In USA, football is their version of rugby. Also, the foot is used very often in rugby. Get your facts straight before asking questions!

Answer 22

Rugby isn't called football you dope it's called RUGBY!!!