We Dont Wear Pads Down Under. Are We The Hardest? Top 5 Most Brutal Team Sport's.

reply to post by IkNOwSTuff


I also like their short shorts. AFL players know how to rock the short shorts. They dont get shorter than that



Those 'speckies' are pretty awesome too.

reply to post by Germanicus

Ive spent my entire life in the U.S., gotta say I hate football, unless Im palying, refuse to watch it etc. Dont even watch the super bowl-ever.
But last year I caught the Australian Football Finals, couldnt figure out the rules, still cant (havent really searched it)
But I gotta say I was GLUED to the TV. Its the ONLY football game I have ever watched all the way through. Course for all I know I could have been watching rugby too.

No pads and constantly moving, no stopping, it was AMAZING, our U.S. guys woulnt have had a chance of even keeping up, let alone take some of the abuse those guys did, skidding across the field on thier knees(no pads), getting dogpiled on by fifteen other guys, constanly running never stopping the whole game. I couldnt beleive it. the thing I thought was odd, was no matter how far they skidded on bare skin- no blood, weird-certainley looked tought than our U.S. guys, and weighed alot less( a more realistic healthy weight).

My brother spent some time with some Aussie guys last time he was overseas(guard) and he made some really good friends, so much so that he spent a couple of his 30 day leaves over there visiting. He says you aussie guys are tough, after watching that game I beleive it!

Funny thing is Im a girl, and it looks like a sport Id really be interested in- before I saw that game I always thought hockey was the last blood sport, I bow to Aussie Football-I now catch every game I can. GO AUSSIES!!!

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.

reply to post by nixie_nox


Ha! Nice burn on the inferiority complex. Just saying Rugby League is harder is all (: The lady doth protest too much methinks though I realize they are chalk and cheese,and that NFL has more strategy.

My favourite sport is actually basketball. I like the strategy. I love coaches like Don Nelson that mix it up. I think basketball is better,just not harder. Rugby League is the hardest for sure.
And I do have a Superiority Complex but I feel that my 'superiority complex' is warranted

And dont listen to Adler,he was inferior,thats all. And he knew it.