Australian Rugby VS. American Football

20 May, 2012

Recently, my boyfriend came out to Australia to visit me. He had the pleasure of attending two rugby games. AT first he was very confused, but he quickly caught on. Having that he played football throughout high school, he was very opinionated about the differences between rugby and football. This led me to analyze my field trips and search for the differences.

1. Obviously, Rugby does not use pads, football does. 

2. Rugby is more fast paced, whereas football stops every time there is a tackle. 

3. The tackles themselves differentiate between the sports. In Rugby, the ball must be released once the player is tackled. In football, the player is able to hold on to the ball until someone grabs it from him or it touches the ground.

4. The ball in rugby is larger, making it so the players usually use two hands to pass. Football, the ball is specifically marked, making it easier for players to throw the ball with accuracy

These are just a few that I have noticed. There is a lot of talk about Rugby being a ‘tougher’ sport because the lack of padding, however, it is argued the football is the ‘tougher’ sport because it takes more skill. In my opinion, both games are great for different reasons!