This one is apt to be a less polarized contest. I wouldn't really know how to answer this since I've only seen a handful of rugby games, but the hits are hard and they don't use as much gear as the NFL ... I'd call it a draw.

Views?

rugby people are crazy..

i used to party with the rugby players all the time..they were nuts..they always wanted me to play..my old boss was the coach..he was like you should try out..fuck that shit..they take a beatin..plus i have no clue how the game works (what? is it like one huge game of smear the queer?) not that i minded getting beat up and not knowing whats goin on..the real reason i didnt play is that they ran like 5 miles a day..i used to tell my boss if i can just come to the games ill join!! hed just laugh..

it probably wouldve been cool..i know theyd get absloutely bombed with the other team (after they all beat the shit outta each other) and all kinds of wild shit

im gonna choose footballif i had to pick..i respect rugby players as tough sons of bitches but i dont get into watchin the game

I have a friend that plays for a sort of professional rugby team, they travel to other cities to play and they represent Philly. When I ask who he is playing he will say "chicago" or some other city name.

Anyway, I like the strategy behind football and the intricacy in each play. Rugby is more about pure strength and talent than strategy.

now all the soccer lovers are going to be pissed about rugby, good going

All I know is that if NFL players didn't wear pads, it would more than likely result in a dozen or so debilitating injuries (spinal cord injuries, skull fractures, brain damage, etc...) each season and that's just taking into consideration the bad injuries. Same goes for hockey.

I've never really enjoyed the dick measuring debates, though. Rugby, American football, hockey....they're all tough as hell.

I respect the athletes, but I think both sports are pretty stupid.

I have a very vague understanding of rugby, but it's not really my thing. I prefer Aussie rules football.

I miss those couple of years when I was bigger than most people my age. I was a great no. 8 and just steamrolled these little guys with my runs. Then people started catching up and I got shuffled out to the centres and then the wing and then out of it altogether.

I reckon we should do marathon running vs cross country skiing vs long distance swimming next.

Rugby League is tougher than Rugby Union in terms of hits, size, strength etc. Union is a more skillful game.

Personally, I prefer Gridiron. I find games where passing must go backwards tremendously frustrating to watch.

Rugby is getting to be a tad boring with lots of tactical kicking etc. Rugby League is where it's at.

But the All Blacks are in great form so i'm on the bandwagon. We've got this years World Cup in the bank.

I used to really love rugby, but I got sick of the Polynesian fighting and fuckin dirty play aspect at high school. Last game I ever played was called off early due to too many fights, so I walked off and said fuck it i'm never playing again.

do any blacks play rugby? It seems to be a white-dominated sport

theres a guy i play basketball with that played the game in college, hes probably about 6'3-4, a solid 270, and he does not move unless he wants to. we call him big country and he has single handidly been the cause of 5 people retiring, not cause he fouls them on purpose and they get hurt, but because they try to take charges in a pick up game.

the best is when a cocky young kid starts playing and has never seen Joe play. you try to warn them, but they never listen....

The all blacks have consistently been the best team in the world. They should have won the last 3 World Cups but didn't. They always seem to severely underachieve at the World Cup. Having said that though, they should still comfortably win the next World Cup.

A lot of black players from the pacific island nations play rugby at the top level. They are usually very fast and naturally gifted at rugby and play a very good brand of rugby.

The All Blacks would be in dire shape without em.

maybe they're really Mexican

Yeah. Rugby is such a badass sport though.

Okay, what's the difference between Rugby League and regular Rugby? I'm too lazy to Wiki it.

Rugby league:
13 guys on a team, 6 of them pack into a scrum that may as well not exist cos it's really just 12 guys bending over, to make some room on the field for the quicker smaller guys.

The scrum looks like this

3 3 3
2 2
1

One side takes the ball up. 1st tackle. 2nd tackle. 3rd tackle. 4th tackle. 5th tackle. Kick to the other side. Other side goes through tackles 1-5, kick, and so on. Repeat until someone on the defending side screws up and misses a tackle or couldn't collect a kick and lets in a 'try' to the other team. Tries are 4 points. Peanlty and conversion kicks at goals 2. Drop kicks at goal 1 point.

When you're tackled, the other team falls back 10 meters and cannot contest the ball.



Rugby union:
15 players, 8 in the scrum. They actually do a fair bit of pushing in these scrums. Except if you're Australian, in which case you just bend down and let the other team push you around.

The scrum looks like this:

3 3 3
2 2
1 1 1

You play against the Kiwis and get hammered. Except when there's a world cup on, in which case you will beat them in the semi final.

Team A kicks off, Team B receives kick after a valiant attempt by team A to contest the kick. Team B guy passes to a kicker who kicks it up field to get some field position. Team A guy collects the kick and puts in his own kick to get the field position back. Team B guy does the same. Every now and then some genius realises no one will ever score by doing this, so they collect the kick and start running at the other guys.

If you're from the northern hemisphere, you just keep barging forward until the ref awards a penalty, in which case you take a penalty shot at goal, worth 3 points. Or if you're close enough within range, you take a drop shot at goal, also worth 3. If you're from the southern hemisphere, you wanna score the try, worth 5 points, with an additional 2-point conversion kick.

When you get tackled, the other team can contest the ball. Which basically means 5 or 6 guys from either team pile on top of you. If you're playing the South Africans, you can expect some bald beefy guy to stomp on you with the studded boots.

POTD