what is the difference of rugby and American football?
486325
Rugby sides are comprised of 15 (or 7's) and American football is 11.  In Rugby, the side stays on the field pretty much the whole game.  In American football, there are specialist teams, offense, defense, special teams.  The teams some on and off the field during time outs and get plenty of rest compared to Rugby.  \n\nThe ball is slightly different.\n\nAmerican football is scored 6 points for a touchdown, 3 for a field goal, 2 for a run or passed extra point and 1 for a kicked extra point.  Rugby is Try is 5, conversion 2, penalty 3 points.  \n\nIn American football, each play starts on the iniative of the offensive side, following a break in the action.  The ball can be advanced only by certain positions who can move the ball by running it or by passing it to another player.  Plays from "scrimmage" usually only last about 10 seconds until the ball is down, upon which the players reform and start over.  In American football, players wear equipment and pads because of the frequent contact at scrimmage and the nature of hits caused by high velocity of the forward pass (getting hit by a middle linebackers after catching a slant at full speed is no joke...I haven't been hit that hard on a rugby field.  Also, players on offense are allowed to block defensive players at will, within certain guidelines.  There are no scrums in football...possession is determined by control of the ball.  No throw ins either.\n\nThat said, Rugby requires more stamina and delivers some hard knocks and dangerous encounters of its own.  I find Rugby more grueling and demanding than football.  The players are certainly more fit and seem to be hardier than American football players.
855216
Rugby is faster and more physical.  This is partly do to the fact that the game is longer, and goes without stops.  In addition, when the ball carrier is tackled, he must immediately release the ball to allow continuation of play or face a penalty.  Also, and the most obvious difference is that forward passing is forbidden in rugby union.  The pitch is also larger than that of an american football field.  In addition, another large difference is that rugby is a game of possession not yardage, and that kicking, something that many football fans associate with a loss of possession is not regarded in the same manner in rugby. To the contrary, tactical kicking is a vital asset to any good rugby side.  In addition, blocking is forbidden in rugby, and would be considered obstruction, which would result in a penalty.
622013
If you're talking about an american football, it derives from its original cousin, the rugby ball, which was invented at Rugby School, in the district of Rugby, Warwickshire, England.
827728
i could give you a very good answer and explanation for this but im just sick and tired of people asking the same damn question over and over again.....email me and i will give you a good answer.......but if your just looking for a biased opinion on american football bashing then screw you........im just tired of always giving good answers and ppl picking answers that are to their biased beliefs or stupid one phrase answers....i know its just points but i put a lot of thought into answers and dont get the recognition for it\n\n\nok you challenged me and emailed me so i will give you the answer based on what i have read and what people have told me...and also theres several different reasons why it is called football not just one\nfirst i will use the help of wikipedia as most people do but i dont copy and paste because you could do that yourself and i wont insult your intelligence\n\nFirst you have to realize that when football first came to america the rules have changed over the years...american football comes from rugby...also called rugby football....they dont use there feet as much as association football but they still call it football.......but im going off on a tangent here...when football first came to north america it was played more like soccer than rugby....there was a great deal of kicking even more than rugby....they wanted to create a sport like rugby but had more kicking in it....the foreward pass only came out later and that grew more dominant than the latteral which was at first the only way(other than kicking of course) to score points.....another thing to remember is that football doesnt necessarily mean using the foot for the sports as said on wikipedia.....theres a strong possibility that it refers more to the fact that they play on foot....it explains that "football" was coined to express all sports played on feet by pesants during medival time so they can differentiate that from sports played on horses by aristocrates\n\nlisten the basic thing to remember is that there are a ton of theories and explanations for why football is called football when they use their hands but do you really think the americans are gonna change the name after so many years of history.......thats like saying why dont baseball players change their name to american cricket....i know football doesnt make 100% sence but the explanation is all in the history....either you live with it or not....sorry if i sound pissed but i've seen this question along with rugby players bashing football players calling it a pu$$y sport and that just gets me mad
974618
I have never tried either one. I like rugby
1090766
I would say hockey is. In hockey you play at a much faster pace, so getting hit hurts a lot more than in football. Fast paced hockey games are even harder because you are going up and down the ice so much. In football you stop play every 5-10 seconds and also get to sit while either the offense or defense is on the field(depending on what you play). Both sports are physically demanding and require a lot of strength though. I am assuming you mean football, not soccer in america.
667481
There are two different types of rugby, try these two sites.\nLeague:-http://news.bbc.co.uk/sportacademy/hi/sa/rugby_league/rules/default.stm\nUnion:-\nhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/sportacademy/hi/sa/rugby_union/rules/default.stm
869522
If this is a serious question, I will give you the real answer...\n\nWhen the sport was "created" it was called "American football" because the sport of the world at that time was "football" (what is called soccer in the US).\n\nOver time, soccer became a little known sport in the US, and the "American" became unnecessary, hence American football became football.\n\nThe term soccer comes from the "Football Association"... at one time, football split into two sports: what we call soccer, and rugby.  The Football Association endorsed regular football, so those who played football became "soccers" from "asSOCiation" and those who played rugby became "ruggers"\n\nBest of luck!
645774
American football originated from soccer.Soccer is more universally known as "football"  because soccer players use their feet. Players decided to change the game with restrictions like the no-use of hands rule ....some players, who didn't like that, created rugby. The USA created its own version of the game under the original name "football" with more of a rugby style than soccer.Thanks for asking !
748966
In England football (soccer) was the original ball sport played in many universities and colleges. The legend is that William Webb Ellis, while playing football at Rugby School, picked up the ball and ran with it this became a splinter-game called Rugby Football. When the English football league was established a number of these rubgy football clubs decided not to join in as the league did not recognise the use of hands as a legal method of play. Rugby became a popular alternative to football (soccer) but nearly all rugby clubs were called Rugby Football clubs. The game became immensly popular in America, but without a governing body to ensure uniform rules of play the nature of the American game began to significantly diverge from the Rugby played in England. Since the term 'Rugby' refers to the place where the rules originated it is understandable that the American sport adopted the word football to describe their similar but different game. In short American football was an offshoot of English Rugby football, which is itself an offshoot of the original game of football that the Americans call soccer. The word soccer is purportedly derived from "association football" and actually originates in England, but NOBODY in England calls football soccer at all, unless we have to dumb our programs down for American audiences. \n\nI also completely agree with you that football should only refer to the english game because (1) it is the original sport, (2) the American game has little connection whatsoever with the use of the foot, and (3) outside the US everyone calls this football, that's the entire world. I thought you guys believe in democracy? Billions watch not just world cup matches, but Champions League (the world's greatest sporting competition) and domestic competitions. Oh yeah, and American football sucks!
45718
DUH!!!! In rugby you wear basically no padding and you tackle each other! DUH Rugby is more dangerous!
813107
American football is played on a field that is 120 yards long and 50 yards across i believe.  100 yards for the field and each endzone is 10 yards deep.\n\nI would like to add that i see that this is about Soccer so the size of the field would be 120yards x 60 yards.
1098792
they have American football...which actually is adapted from rugby, play in England and most of common-wealth countries. So not to confuse with their popular game they called football..soccer.
761450
American football wasn't developed in the UK, Rugby was developed in the UK. Rugby was introduced to the US, then the rules changed to differentiate American football from Rugby. All the changes, rules, and regulations were made in the US so that American football is a completely different sport than rugby. Therefore, American Football was loosely based on Rugby, but developed into it's own sport. \n\nAnd Einstein was German, not American.
1152193
Rugby!! No pu$$y protective gear like in American football. It's significantly more physical and requires more braincells to play.
414289
when football was first invented it was similar to soccer and rugby, the early games where played by using a variety of techniques to score, a drop kick like what we saw doug flutie this year attempt on a extra point was rampent in the early years of the sport.  drop kicks were used so much in the early days and were worth two points.  most teams would settle on a drop kick to get points easily, but then the ball was more round like a soccer ball. the evolution of the american football evolved through testing to see how you could throw a ball further, now it has evolved into the passing and rushing game we see today, but years in the past the dropkick led the sport to be called football, rumor had it that while the inventor was visiting mexico he heard a word about the sport soccer or rugby being callef futbol and then brought the word back and dubbed american football.
459840
Easy to understand?  Both Rugby and Football are difficult for someone you has never seen the game to follow.  They need to be sitting with someone who has really played the game to get a good explaination. Rugby is a bit easier because the action follows the ball and the ball is easier to see, however football on tv is well explained with glowing yellow lines and announcers. Tie\n\nToughness- I'd love to watch an 80 minute rugby game in slow motion because man, these boys are bad!  They give out some brusing hits and then just get up and do it again.  The contact however is not head on like in US football. Rugby- it's better than watching a toughman contest\n\nSounds - BLUE 38, BLUE 38, football is a great game for the sounds, the crunch of the O line and D line colliding, the pop of a good hit, the linebackers and Qb giving audibles. Also include the music and cheerleaders.\n\nStrategy and depth of the game- rugby- like soccer- has little strategy compared to football.  Football is mind over matter, the smartest, most together teams win, not the ones with the most talent.- Football\n\nRouting for the team- RUGBY -  When you have an entire country behind you, that is something else. I love the 6 nations and rugby world cup for this.  It is more exciting to watch New Zealand play Austrilia, US play Japan or even Fiji vs Tonga than Cleveland vs Tennesse.\n\n\nScore is tied 2 vs 2\n\nTie breaker - The SHOW!  Watching (or playing) Football is filled with brilliant moments, the brusing sack, the interceptions, one handed catchs, pancake blocks, juke left juke right stiff arm then run for a 80 touchdown, leaping TD catchs, Punt + kickoff returns, and the Hail Mary Pass to win it.  Sure it is a game that stops and starts more, but if you know what to look for, the wait is worth it.\n\nand the winner is: Football