posted on Apr, 25 2012 @ 03:17 PM
Why are rugby players and their fans so insecure that they must constantly compare themselves to NFL players and claim they are tougher because they
don't wear pads?
First off, your comparing two different sports, just because it takes two teams, a ball and a field, it doesn't make them the same. It is like
comparing Nascar to Formula One.
They don't even have the same number of players on the field.
One huge difference that rugby fans don't take into account is size. The largest rugby player is about the size of the smallest player on the NFL
teams.
While comparing apples to oranges, rugby players have much better endurance then NFL players,because rugby, as pointed out, has a lot more running to
it. But rugby players are slow compared to NFL players in a 40 yard dash. Remember, these are by those "pansies" who are over 6 ft. and 300 lbs.
Also, there is a lot more contact on the gridiron then the rugby field. Just about every player on the gridiron is engaged in a physical
confrontation, that is not so in rugby.
Rugby has more rules regarding tackling, you can't embrace the neck or shoulders, in gridiron, other then touching the mask, they can bring down a
person by any means necessary.
And this also allows drives into the torso area that isn't allowed in rugby. Rugby players can brag as much as they want, but neither athlete would
walk very long without helmets with this kind of tackling.
Rugby players do have the upper hand in skill, endurance, and finesse,a nd are more versatile.Which is somethign I think the NFL could adopt, players
playing more then one position. NFL players are better athletes because they spend years studying the sport, are recruited to colleges to learn about
training and nutrition. NFL players who have played with rugby players were shocked at how little rugby players knew about training,and nutrition.
But since you want to reduce athleticism to just mere toughness, NFL takes the trophy on this. NFL players play much harder, the tackles are harder,
and the pads are necessary as much as rugby players try to down play it. And if the padless rugby players tried to take on NFL players, they would be
in for a serious rude awakening.
Despite the padding, gridiron players still suffer injuries, concussions, and broken bones.
In a nutshell, a rugby player could easily outrun a gridiron player, but he better pray that he is never caught.
Fact is, the NFL is lucrative and the players make lots of money. If rugby players could handle the NFL, there would be a lot more turncoats like
Beckham to rake it in.
Inferiority complexes aside, the two sports are different and rugby fans need to stop comparing themselves to the NFL. Be happy that rugby is played
all over the world, the NFL isn't.
As for this silliness about the NFL stopping too much, there are a lot of stops. But people also watch it because the game is more about obscene
amounts of strategy and play, then about athleticism. There is a lot more stopping on teh gridiron, but the plays are also lightening fast compared to
rugby, rugby has a lot more physical play in it. It all boils down to personal tastes.