American Football Vs. Rugby?

“I think the more violent game is American football, and the more physically challenging is rugby. The advantage in American football is that you get seven months to prepare for a four-month season. In rugby, it seems like you get two weeks to prepare for an 11-month season.” –Richard Tardits, who played rugby with France’s national youth team before moving to the US and picking up football. Tardits would go on to play linebacker for the New England Patriots and Arizona Cardinals before returning to rugby as a member of the US national team.

Rugby VS. American Football

Two completely different sports yet similar in some aspects.Which would you say is better?

For me it's rugby.

It's not soccer...it's Football.

Hence FOOT ball

(Sorry just had to spew that out)

But yes...rugby and american footie is very similar..

I'm on your team Slov. Together we can defeat OutKast Searcher! Go Team!

reply to post by BlackPoison94


Lol.Thanks for the reply. Football(soccer) is in a league of its own.

reply to post by v1rtu0s0


Yes together we shall destroy the evil demon Outkast Searcher!!Add him to the list of enemies...of skov

Football is the most skillful sport as you have to use your feet. Its easier to catch a ball than kick it. Thow a kid a ball, they will try and catch it, you have to have skills to play football.

The World says NFL.. But that could be more spectacle than anything else.

reply to post by woodwardjnr


Not soccer.American football

thanks for the reply though.

I don't know if American football is more violent. I would tend to think that rugby would be far more demanding in all areas. No padding to protect from the hits says a lot in my opinion. I think you need to be real tough to play rugby.

Rugby definitely is the more demanding of the two. Just my opinion.

reply to post by hhcore


I totally agree with you.I've watched American Football and it doesn't compete.Though,most Americans wouldn't admit that.

I played football when really young and began playing rugby in college. From personal experience, the great thing about rugby is that what you lack in size/strength, you can make up for with grit and scrappiness. I regularly played in the forward pack against large football-players types, and often over the course of 80 minutes it would be a truly even battle.

I personally think Rugby is the better of the two, for the simple fact that i'm from New Zealand.
Go the All Blacks!

Peace 2 all

reply to post by Hazz-14


Well the springboks will be keeping their World Cup Trophy so don't get your hopes up

I'll let this vid speak for my choice



ETA: I played a few games like that through my school life, tho to our credit we still managed to concuss a few teachers, but on the whole got beaten to a pulp and no, I'm not a public (private) schoolboy..

Jonah Lomu

lol cool vids thanks guy.

the legend himself Mr Jonah.Scary guy that.those damn maories.

I'm surprised this question needs to even be asked !

Rugby ( both codes ) is an entertaining and enthralling sport, while American Football is a 3-hour commercialthon interspersed with sporadic 10-second pieces of ''action''.

I don't deny that American Footballers are skilful at what they do, and I wouldn't claim that rugby is superior or inferior in that regard, it's just that American Football is just so mind-numbingly dull !

reply to post by woodwardjnr


That's not true.

Kicking a ball is easy, as is handling a ball. It's doing it well that is the difficult part !


All sports require a different selection of skills, and I don't think you can accurately claim that one requires more skill than the other. Something as basic as athletics requires a tremendous amount of skill to do perform well at, the same as many unfairly-maligned sports such as darts, snooker and table tennis.

reply to post by Hazz-14


Jonah Lomu was an extraordinary player.

It's just a shame that his career was cut off in his prime due to illness.


I love the way that players attempting to tackle him seemed to just ''bounce'' off him !

You have no idea how happy I am to see people agree with me. All this started with a debate I had with an ATS member that was convinced American Football is the more athletic sport. Which it isn't of course.

Yeah, it's sad it had been cut short. He'll always be a legend.

I remember back in 1995 there was an advert where a bunch of Springboks start arguing on who's suppose tackle him. Not that any of them wanted to. He's a giant.