Rugby Union, Rugby League, NFL, Australian Rules or International Rules?

[The Valkyrie]

I was driving through one of the northern suburbs of Wellington a few months ago when I saw people playing a game wearing the armour worn while playing American Egg-Ball.

I thought WTF?

Apparently there's a small but dedicated group who play it.

Who knew?

[SteelCurtain]

Having played both rugby and collegiate football, I will tell you that American football is much more violent. Orders of magnitude more violent. Every single play ends in a bone crushing hit for someone. Every. Single. Play. Without exception. Even a false start has collisions. Offensive and defensive lineman punish each other severely. I palyed safety in college, and the worst collisions I experienced weren't laying out a receiver over the middle (I suspect I experienced more than 75-100 concussions doing that) but rather running at full speed into a 350 lb offensive tackle on a fire zone blitz.

In fact, one of the thoughts on how to make the sport less dangerous is to actually get rid of helmets and pads like rugby or AFL. The thought is that the helmets give a false sense of safety and that the hits would be less severe and athletes would take less risks.

[Cato]

I played wideout in HS; predominantly running offense. Crackback blocks were always fun until the fourth time we ran the same play and the OLB figured it out. I'll admit that I was hit so hard I shit myself a little. I can't imagine 350 pound lineman and the speed of the game at the collegiate level.

[c172]

I was driving through one of the northern suburbs of Wellington a few months ago when I saw people playing a game wearing the armour worn while playing American Egg-Ball.

I thought WTF?

Apparently there's a small but dedicated group who play it.

Who knew?

And Pittsburgh, PA, where I last lived, had an Aussie football team. Rugby's also somewhat of an anomaly here, but there are lots of college clubs, especially for women's.

[The Valkyrie]

Having played both rugby and collegiate football, I will tell you that American football is much more violent. Orders of magnitude more violent. Every single play ends in a bone crushing hit for someone. Every. Single. Play. Without exception. Even a false start has collisions. Offensive and defensive lineman punish each other severely. I palyed safety in college, and the worst collisions I experienced weren't laying out a receiver over the middle (I suspect I experienced more than 75-100 concussions doing that) but rather running at full speed into a 350 lb offensive tackle on a fire zone blitz.

In fact, one of the thoughts on how to make the sport less dangerous is to actually get rid of helmets and pads like rugby or AFL. The thought is that the helmets give a false sense of safety and that the hits would be less severe and athletes would take less risks.

You haven't played rugby against me...

[RobertE]

Ice hockey, as played in the NHL, is tougher than the various forms of football in my opinion.

That is quite a tough sport in all fairness.

The All Blacks.

'nuff said.

What can I say? Australia and New Zealand, with a total combined population of 28 million are the most natural athletes in the world I would guess. They seem to be champions in most things that are physical. The fact that if you take France, England, Italy, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and the USA which means 540 million people, and you only have 1 world champion speaks volumes about how good the Aussies and Kiwis really are. 

I don't think I've ever watched a rugby match.  We don't get it on the telly.  It's just not a big thing in the U.S..

You do get it on tele, but only when the World Cup comes along, and then it is generally a massacre. The players who have Fijian and Maori origins are phenominal:









This is something that you will never see in any sport other than rugby. It is awesome, and they can back it up if you disrespect it. You challenge the haka, you forfeit the game. 

Two of the best sides in rugby, Australia and New Zealand matches played:

http://prntscr.com/ckvn0y

Impressive stats I would have to say.

[SteelCurtain]

Having played both rugby and collegiate football, I will tell you that American football is much more violent. Orders of magnitude more violent. Every single play ends in a bone crushing hit for someone. Every. Single. Play. Without exception. Even a false start has collisions. Offensive and defensive lineman punish each other severely. I palyed safety in college, and the worst collisions I experienced weren't laying out a receiver over the middle (I suspect I experienced more than 75-100 concussions doing that) but rather running at full speed into a 350 lb offensive tackle on a fire zone blitz.

In fact, one of the thoughts on how to make the sport less dangerous is to actually get rid of helmets and pads like rugby or AFL. The thought is that the helmets give a false sense of safety and that the hits would be less severe and athletes would take less risks.

You haven't played rugby against me...

Guuuurl I'll play with you any time.

[RobertE]

Having played both rugby and collegiate football, I will tell you that American football is much more violent. Orders of magnitude more violent. Every single play ends in a bone crushing hit for someone. Every. Single. Play. Without exception. Even a false start has collisions. Offensive and defensive lineman punish each other severely. I palyed safety in college, and the worst collisions I experienced weren't laying out a receiver over the middle (I suspect I experienced more than 75-100 concussions doing that) but rather running at full speed into a 350 lb offensive tackle on a fire zone blitz.

In fact, one of the thoughts on how to make the sport less dangerous is to actually get rid of helmets and pads like rugby or AFL. The thought is that the helmets give a false sense of safety and that the hits would be less severe and athletes would take less risks.

Off-topic, but I think I may have found a sport that is probably the most dangerous in the world and that is the Isle of Man TT. 




Perhaps you won't watch the whole thing, but when you hear the sound at 7:01 like a "whoosh", that tells you how close he was to coming off the bike. 









Full volume for the ride bys. 

[Little lunch]

Unless it's touch football, all football can lead to brain injury, not to mention plenty of injury for the rest of the body.

[Little lunch]

https://youtu.be/EdyLK0ZqFks