Anyone Else Watch Team USA vs. The New Zealand All Blacks in Rugby?

Lawsuits may evolve American football into rugby.

I've seen rugby played before at college, but nothing as exciting and fast paced as this game. Would be great to see more games.

Shawn H wrote:I think we could really excel, even if our best and biggest athletes would still probably be drawn to American football.

The biggest athletes probably would be too big for rugby because lineman types wouldn't be fast enough. However, lots of American rugby player were football players who didn't quite have the size, ability, or interest in competing at the next level.

"Bring back Buck"

It's boring compared to American football. No forward passes, no suspense, no acrobatic hits, no tricky plays. No blocking, and thus few big runs through a crowd of defenders. It's like SEC ball - run, run run, punt - with an extra down.

Rugby players make a big deal about wearing no pads or helmets, but American football rules are so dangerous that players would get killed otherwise. 19 college players were killed one year and it was nearly banned. Now they just get brain damage from rotational concussions, which the helmets don't protect against.

Bad Wigins wrote:

It's boring compared to American football. No forward passes, no suspense, no acrobatic hits, no tricky plays. No blocking, and thus few big runs through a crowd of defenders. It's like SEC ball - run, run run, punt - with an extra down.

Rugby players make a big deal about wearing no pads or helmets, but American football rules are so dangerous that players would get killed otherwise. 19 college players were killed one year and it was nearly banned. Now they just get brain damage from rotational concussions, which the helmets don't protect against.

Very true, at least in most Americans' minds: rugby is boring compared to our football. But then, I've never understood how most of the world can be so in love with soccer. You can fall asleep watching a soccer match on TV, wake up an hour later when someone yells "Gooooooooaaaaalllll!" for the first time and not have missed anything prior to that. But I did enjoy watching NZ play rugby, and I find it much more fun to watch than soccer, baseball, and other team sports. Of course, most of the world would not want to sit and watch people running a marathon on TV as many of us runners enjoy. Some of our enjoyment of sports is that we've participated in them and now get to see the very best in the world show us how it's done.

Bad Wigins wrote:

It's boring compared to American football. No forward passes, no suspense, no acrobatic hits, no tricky plays. No blocking, and thus few big runs through a crowd of defenders. It's like SEC ball - run, run run, punt - with an extra down.

Rugby players make a big deal about wearing no pads or helmets, but American football rules are so dangerous that players would get killed otherwise. 19 college players were killed one year and it was nearly banned. Now they just get brain damage from rotational concussions, which the helmets don't protect against.

An "extra down"? You're confusing rugby union with rugby league ..... Two very different sports. In other words, you don't know what you're talking about.

Rugby players don't make a big deal about not wearing pads/helmets, etc.

Regarding danger, more than one athletic young man now spends his life in a wheelchair, unable to move from the neck down. If danger is your (somewhat bizarre) metric, rugby has it all over American football.

you're really scraping the bottom of the barrel for things to be a jackass about, wtfunny.

Soccer is exciting. Rugby is exciting if it is Rugby 7s because there is more action. Football is exciting at times. Baseball....never exciting.

The 2 sports don't even have the same number of players on a team..

But fwiw, rugby (union) is a fantastic game, and the kiwis are incredible to watch.

Bucky Boy wrote:

"Bring back Buck"

That never gets old.

I thought the Americans were pretty good at the last rugby World Cup. Canadians too. Hopefully, it catches on some more over there.

If you think that game was intense, you should watch an All Black vs South Africa match - with both team's top players.

Jabalena_runner wrote:

If you think that game was intense, you should watch an All Black vs South Africa match - with both team's top players.

One of their guys--don't recal his name--mentioned that he thinks their first real match, the next one against England--will be tought. But I know almost nothing about Rugby and less about the top teams, so maybe he was just doing the normal "don't give your opponent locker room bulletin board material."

I swear I checked the spelling on that last post and it wasn't "recal" or "tought" when I hit Post Message. I've noticed this a few times lately, and it makes me look very careless. Anyone else have this problem on this forum, or am I just hallucinating?

call yourself a riter, really

Check out "Rugby League". It is a faster version of Rugby Union. It has big hits and little stoppage. Great game to watch once you learn the rules.

RUGBY LEAGUE wrote:

Check out "Rugby League". It is a faster version of Rugby Union. It has big hits and little stoppage. Great game to watch once you learn the rules.

^^

And easier to understand by Americans.

My son was a guard in college, and he plays rugby now. He is not the fastest on the team, but he is the strongest by far. He loves it, it confuses him, he loves it, he has gotten hurt more in rugby, he loves it. His team has played against teams from NZ and Australia, and the thing he loves the most is that they all go out and drink together afterwards. It is a great sport, but it is still a sport of the strong men.

I think League is a better game to watch when it's played at a lower level, etc. But watching Union at the really top level is better, IMO. Like watching a really great telemark skier.