Rugby vs Football. When in all reality, statistically, it should be the other way around. Players from the ball carrier’s team will sprint to the tackle to protect the ball so that the half-back can throw a lateral pass. In most sports, a team can dominate the game by starving the opposition of possession. There’s no denying that both rugby and American football are among the toughest team sports in the world. While in rugby, a replacement is permanent and that new player is there for good. That’s just over 50% of positions covered by a replacement. The point here is that the average rugby player needs to be able to do many different things very well. … This continuity makes rugby a more fluid game than American Football but there are a number of other situations that this also creates. Not having a forward pass means making ground is tough. Same goes for a wild pass that goes out of the field of play. Rugby Union en Rugby League zijn de twee bepalende vormen van het spel, met verschillende regels. No break. 0. February 2, 2013 . In American Football, the quarterback has the sole responsibility to get the ball down field with his arm. In rugby, the referee will never tell you, “look, you’ve had 4 goes and you couldn’t get 10 meters so we’ll give them the ball now.”. Bij ‘uit’ ballen en fouten is er even rust, maar na een tackle gaat het spel snel meteen door. Het belangrijkste verschil is misschien wel de manier waarop vooruit gespeeld mag worden: Bij rugby gebeurt het rennend of met een trap: De bal mag alleen achteruit geworden worden. No time to get organized. Rather than talk about the size of the fields in rugby and American football (or the shape of the ball or the scoring system) I’m going to look at what I consider the 4 main differences between how rugby and American football games are played. You need to protect the ruck or start calling the next play immediately. Every position player in rugby is both highly specialized and adaptable. Once a player is tackled, rugby becomes a race to secure possession. Because the game is continuous, you need to be able to make a tackle, jump to your feet, skip 5 meters so you’re onside and then sprint up in defense again. But in order to exploit lateral spaces, every rugby player must be able to catch and throw a lateral pass. Because rugby doesn’t have play limits, the defense in rugby can’t win possession by stopping forward progress. Comment below!JOIN THE TYTSPORTS TEAM and SUBSCRIBE! The tackle is just the start of the contest, not the end. Rugby forces everyone on the team to think on their feet, to adjust their style of play to the weather conditions, game circumstances and the team’s on-field assets. You’ll be going forward, backward and laterally on command and without rest. Due to the fundamental difference in gameplay, the rugby team set up must cater to both attack and defense at all times… Methodological differences between previous epidemiological studies hamper an accurate comparison of injury rates between American football and rugby. Football coaches refuse to allow their players to play rugby in the belief that their players will get injured. So even though the incentive might be the same for a rugby player or a QB to throw a pass, the rugby player is more likely not to. To name just a few: This last point is important enough to warrant further examination. Though no two players’ skill sets will overlap exactly, there are a core number of skills that all rugby players require. Listening to a rugbyman and an American footballer go at it is the perfect example. But a better comparison is between the QB and the Rugby half-back (#9). One of the most difficult parts of rugby, for beginners at least, is just getting up off the ground over and over again. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Teams can also score points by kicking the ball … Usually the team that wins possession under these circumstances will kick for the sideline and just try to slow the game down and take a break at the lineout. In 1871, English clubs met to form the Rugby Football Union (RFU). There are strategies the offense can employ to control the ruck situation and maintain possession. Some teams have been known to run 20-30 consecutive plays when in possession. In Football, you’re trying to stretch the defense downfield and exploit weakness underneath or over the top. I’ll examine how seemingly superficial differences ripple down to have a major influence on game play and tactics. All of those functional movements require rugby players to have what we commonly refer to as a “big motor”. Telkens als een speler óf de bal (na een pass) de grond raakt, ligt het spel even op z’n gat. This specialization means the offense revolves around protecting the quarterback until his receivers can get open for a pass. Running is just the start. It’s the same or similar in rugby, but worse. Remember from point #1 in this article that rugby is a horizontal game. Background: American football and rugby players are at substantial risk of injury because of the full-contact nature of these sports. Football’s interchange system allows for players to be swapped in and out for individual plays. Players don’t have any time to relax in rugby. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. This is why American Football tackles have so much venom. Rugby teams have 23 members with 15 players in the game at any one time. That means that even if you do get time as a starter, you’re certain not to play the full game. American Football’s forward pass is the fastest way to gain territory and score points. As a football player making a transition to rugby, you’ll notice immediately that your skill set needs to get bigger in order to play rugby at a high level. Stopping forward progress is just one aim of a rugby tackle, so there must be others, right? This means that gaining territory is difficult. The two biggest differences between football and rugby are that in rugby you And if you throw a pass out of the field, the other team gets it. As a football player, you’ve probably become used to dozens of short anaerobic bursts. Instead, you have a team of 15 running backs and you’re facing 15 defensive ends. Finally, and most important, this article is all a bit of fun and not to be taken seriously. Because there are no play limits in Rugby, the offense is able to starve the defense of possession, giving them a better chance to score points and win the game. O2 Inside Line: Adebayo Akinfenwa with the big questions to the squad... #WearTheRose Blocking, running routes and a run threat are all aimed at buying the quarterback time in the pocket to complete a pass. Rugby players must anticipate the tackle situation, communicate with their teammates and support the ball carrier as he goes to ground. At the same time, passing backwards means that Rugby is a horizontally-focused game. You can see the effect this has on the defense in Football, the Defensive Ends can’t put the same level of pressure on the QB and the Linebackers start to move a bit slower in coverage. Professional players can generate 1,600 poundsof force in a tackle, much more than needed to cause a concussion. Share Tweet Flip. Rugby league is arguably the most similar sport to American football after Canadian football: both sports involve the concept of a limited number of downs/tackles and scoring touchdowns/tries takes clear precedence over goal-kicking. While NFLers specialize on either the offensive of defensive side of the ball, rugby players have to attack and defend constantly. POSSESSION SPECIALISTS. This goes for Hockey, Baseball, Basketball and yes American Football. From what I’m told, this makes rugby considerably more enjoyable for those players who want to be involved in every play. 7 Reasons Why Rugby is a Better Game Than American Football, If you’re tackled on the field, the play clock stops for 35 seconds, If you’re tackled out of bounds, you keep the ball, Once tackled, you simply move to the next scrimmage, If you need to stop, you can take a timeout, After 4 plays without forward progress, the other team gets the ball. This can be where two players are spaced too far apart (a ‘Gap’), where there’s an individual player weakness (a ‘Mismatch’) or where your team has more players to attack than there are defenders in the line (an ‘Overlap’). The tackle situation also creates the opportunity for the defense to win possession. The difference being that the Football QB’s pass exploits vertical space in the defense while the Rugby half-back’s pass exploits lateral space. Many ruggers will refer to this as not ‘pushing the pass’, but more generally this relates to making the correct (and probably the safest) decision you can on the field. Saturday sees the start of Europe’s biggest Rugby … American Football has a series of rules that actually create less competition than many other sports and rugby in particular. Not having a limit on the number of consecutive plays you can run in rugby allows the team in possession to put enormous pressure on the defense. Possession is critical in both sports. The American Football players I’ve spoken to about this say that this is one of the reasons they enjoy Rugby over American Football. 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