I get asked, “Which is harder Rugby or Football?” or “Which do I think is more fun?”, about once a week, either from football players or rugby players. It is really hard to compare the sports to each other. They are similar in the fact that you carry a ball and that people try and and tackle you as you run with it, but different in many other ways.
For example, in rugby conditioning is much harder. You are only allowed something like five substitutions a game. So, if you start the game, you will play offense and defense for 80 Minutes or until you’re substituted. Then if you’re substituted you can’t go back into the game. That is a lot of time to be running around hitting and tackling. In football, if you’re on offense, you go to the sideline as soon as your series is over by punt, turnover, or touchdown. You actually have time to sit and rest. Even more so if you are a player that rotates with another player at the same position.
Another difference is the padding the players wear. In rugby you wear minimal padding, however, it seems that as years go on the padding is getting more sophisticated and thicker. Some rugby players wear these undershirts that have padding stitched into them or some wear rugby skull caps that have about a half inch of foam padding. In football, you have hard helmets with padding inside, hard shoulder pads with padding underneath them, thigh, knee, hip, and tailbone pads. That is the basics for football. Some wear more, and some pros wear less. The helmet and shoulder pads is what I think makes the difference between the hits in football and the hits in rugby. When a player puts on a hard helmet and has shoulder pads to protect his shoulders you feel as though you can hit without care for yourself or the other person. In football players lead with their heads and shoulder pads to deliver hardcore blows. And believe me, you feel them. In rugby, you do not lead a tackle with your head. If you do, you are asking for a gash across your face, or to get knocked out. Both of which have happened to me. I always tell people that when you play rugby it is soft muscle hitting soft muscle. Some people’s muscles softer or harder then others. In football it is hard plastic hitting hard plastic and lots of the time hitting soft muscle as well.
One if the big differences for me was the amount of contact I took during one game. I can say that if I played one game of 15 on 15 rugby and one game of football that I would have a lot more contact in football. I played wing when I played 15s so I just kind of hang out on the end, looking for work, and then every now and then get a run or have to chase down a ball or player. Most of the time you’re running around with not much contact. In football I play in the backfield as a running back. At that position you are pretty much getting hit or hitting someone every play. That is just how it goes at that position. And you had better like it or you won’t be very good. I can say without a doubt that my body was more sore from playing a single football game then playing a single rugby game. A helmet to the ribs and you will know what I’m talking about. Now if you throw in a Rugby 7′s tournament compared to a football game, I would have to go with the Rugby 7′s tournament. That is a high intensity rugby game that lasts for 14 minutes and is usually going to be repeated five or six times in a weekend. Those types of tournaments have left me exhausted and with more soreness than I would like to remember. They are also some of the most fun, and exciting games to be in. The action is non-stop. You are hitting, tackling, running, and passing at 100mph. At least it feels like that. Football can be slow at times and is over before you know it. Most plays in football last under 6-7 seconds. So most of the football clock is spent when there is no action other then getting the right play or defense called.
One other difference that maybe you can relate to is that most people know the rules or positions of football. So if you talk with someone and you tell them you play football, they know exactly what you mean, unless they are from another country, then they think you mean soccer. For the most part though, everyone knows what the NFL is and that football is a big deal here in the United States. It is nice to talk with someone and not have to explain everything about the game to them. If I tell someone I play running back, they know what I mean. Unlike Rugby, where most people don’t know much or anything about it here in the U.S.. If I tell someone I play rugby, usually they say, “WOW… really isn’t that like football and soccer mixed together?” Or, “Where do you play?” not knowing that San Diego is home to one of the best teams in the Nation (OMBAC). I could tell people that I play wing and they would have no idea of what position I’m talking about or what that position does in a game. If they are smart, they usually guess that I might be fast. Just because of the term “wing”. That is a good guess. What some people don’t know is that Rugby is the second largest team sport in the world. You can play for your country and play against the best from other countries. So it is not just a national league, but a world league. If you are good and lucky enough, you can play internationally.
So back to my questions. Which is harder? Um… I would say football is harder on the body and rugby is harder conditioning wise. Which is funner? Rugby is more fun in the way that you can play more freely and do things on the fly, and football is more fun in the way that you get big crowds at games and people really get into the sport here in the U.S., even if they don’t play. I do think the compliment each other. I think that players from both sports could benefit from playing the other. I think playing football initially made me a better rugby player. And then playing rugby, made me a better football player. Both sports are great and a lot of fun to play.
