That video missed out one very important rule: Respect! Rugby players are expected to respect the opposing team by applauding both the team and the referee at the end of a match. There is a saying in UK that football (soccer) is a gentleman's game played by hooligans while rugby is a hooligan's game played by gentlemen.
Agreed, and the England v Argentina game is a fine example, very heated during the final minutes of the game, but as soon as that final whistle went off, it was nothing but respect for eachother
I am a North of England, working class guy who was brought up on Rugby League. However, my Grandson (aged 13) began playing for a Rugby Union Club (Keighley) and I have grown to enjoy Union more than League. It is more dynamic . Both games are also played by girls/women and they are so skillful. I have watched American Footbal and it is so boring with the stop, start, time outetc and wearing crash hats and body protection is over the top. Each to their own I suppose, but I just watched the game between the English Roses and New Zealand ladies and it was a brilliant match. Ellie Kildunne (who started her playing career as a junior at Keighley) scored two amazing tries, but they were ruled out due to the slightest of infringements. Plus, Ellie looks gorgeous... ❤
2 key points not mentioned - relevant to both codes: Players think for themselves throughout the game rather than being told by a coach on the sidelines where they're expected to run to in the next 10 seconds. You're only allowed to tackle the player with the ball and you're not allowed to block/obstruct a non-ball carrier in the way you often see in American Football (particularly in punt returns where the ball carrier is protected from defenders by team-mates) and.. for Rugby Union - they didn't mention the Maul/Rolling Maul which is one of the best and most exciting formations to watch in action. There are several good 'best rugby tries' compilations that may be worth a look before you get stuck into whole match reviews.
For me one of my favourite moments was being at the bottom of a ruck on our 22 and hearing my pack leader calling "DRIVE", the full power of the front row and the other lock kicking in, the ball popping out clean and fair, my fly half (scrum 1/2 was out of position) feeding the full back, who promptly raced the length of the pitch and scored under the posts. We lost the match to superior opposition, xxx to 7, and those 7 scored in the last 5 minutes (It was a total mismatch, drawn from the pool, and the opposition admitted, in the bar, that they had fielded a number of players from more senior teams), but the applause we got from the opposition as we came off the pitch sticks in my mind over 40 years later. Talking (and drinking) captain to captain afterwards, I still recall part of that discussion, "You bggrs never fckng gave up". That's Rugby.
The problem with scrums in Union these days is that, a lot of the time, teams aren't so much trying to win the ball as trying to force the other team to concede a penalty and so the scrums will often seem to be replayed ad nauseam until the referee gives one of the sides a penalty.
A guy here in England studied an American football match and found that the game lasted 3 hours but there was only 11 minutes of actuall play. The rest of the time was waiting for changes and a lot of women cheerleaders dancing about
When the BBC had the rights to show highlights of the nfl, their highlights show had a segment where British football (soccer), rugby, both union and league players, tried to play American football against some rookies and draftees. Can't recall what happened but they were surprised by all the safety gear and wondered if it affected how they played especially as the football season is short compares to British football and rugby seasons. The american football players then tried playing rugby against a local school team and were shocked by the lack of helmet etc and looked pretty worried.
8:58 It's worth mentioning that it has to be a pretty serious injury to actually stop play. Most injuries are treated as play continues, although both Union and League have rules about allowing a player to be substituted temporarily to staunch a bleeding wound. Note that the player is then expected to return to continue playing. Rugby is a physically demanding game!
Your right, there is a great clip, guy next to touch line, have a blood wound fixed by medical staff, he see's the oposing team break away, jumps up and tackles, great clip, he was still in play,
In Australian Rules Football it’s a requirement for a bleeding player to leave the field and be treated. There was a funny incident where a player was bleeding from the face but his team was in attack so he was all “head down, stay away from the ump”. As soon as the ball was turned over “Ump! Ump! Stop the game, I’m bleeding and need treatment”.
One version of the 7 types of football. But the term soccer was invented by students at the school as a derogatory term. It's a posh insult. Just like calling people folk. It's in soccer tribe by Desmond Morris.
Union all the way - League is ok if proper rugby isn't available. I would actually recommend the New Zealand v Ireland or the South Africa v France quarter finals at this years world cup played last weekend. Seriously two of the best games I've seen and I've been watching Rugby for over 40 years.
Oooh! "Proper" rugby, eh? Pretentious ***hole! I'm a union fan, too, but there is nothing "improper" about Rugby League: it is a sport in its own right and just as much entitled to use the term "rugby" as union.
You should also watch womens rugby or react to it, they play just as hard as the men, with the same exact rules, they also have womens leagues, womens national teams that play for there country in european and world cups, Me i prefer the womens rugby to be honest, one to support them, secondly, the standard is so hi
For our american cousins, the rugby (union) world cup is available on Peacock. Today (20th) it's Semi Final 1: Argentina (underdogs) vs New Zealand (the all blacks, legends). Tomorrow (21st) it's Semi Final 2: England (actually doing better than people expected) vs South Africa (current champions, and favourites)
@@stuartcollins82 In fairness, England haven't had the toughest matches. Samoa were the only ones that gave us any real trouble. Definitely getting spanked tomorrow though!
I like your reaction style, you don't comment over the content but add appropriate observations, pausing when needed and not too frequently. I really like your comparisons to American Football as it translates both ways, helping a person understanding better American football. Rugby Union is what I played, rucks and scrums are awesome. Regarding your reaction to scrums... yes necks, ears, shoulders pushing together in the scrum, then you're in the 2nd row and your arm is locked up between the legs of the person in front of you in the first row, grabbing their shirt, locking you in, holding tight. Not an every day experience, unless you play Union Rugby :D
Not only is Rugby a school it is also a town in England. Another sport named after an English place is Badmington. You should look into sports that originated in Britain. I think it's a topic you'd enjoy. I prefer Rugby Union. It's Semi Final's weekend in the World Cup, currently taking place in France and miraculously England made it to the Semi's and play tomorrow! I doubt we will win as we are up against favourites, South Africa but I am so happy we got that far! Tonight is Argentina vs New Zealand (The All Blacks) who are probably one of the most famous teams of any sport in the world. The Six Nations tournament starts every February. It involves Scotland, Ireland, Wales, England, France and Italy. It's a great watch.
This is all great info, thanks! Yeah, I'm going to try to catch that England v South Africa tomorrow (tonight for me ☺️) Also, yeah, great idea to check out some other British sports, thanks!!
I prefer Rugby Union over League (despite being Northern) I had a go at watching American football once. The constant stopping drove me absolutely insane. It's as though it's designed for people with a very short attention span to be honest.
Played Rugby for almost 12 years. Some of the best experiences of my life came whilst playing. Only ever had 2 injuries in all that time, a popped ankle which was my fault and a dislocated shoulder which wasn't. World Cup is on right now the semi finals are gonna be awesome 1 tonight 1 tomorrow.
Only two? I lost count of the number of times I broke a rib or a finger, busted my collarbone once, torn ACL too. I certainly wasn't the biggest guy on the pitch by any means though
@@rogu3rooster Yup lucky sod right here. The dislocated shoulder was fun tho. I was a prop got grabbed and thrown by my arm. Heard the pop, but, continued to play the last 20 mins, including a few scrums too, before going to hospital to get it popped back in. Still got the stretch marks to this day. Rugby players are a different breed.🤣
I've played rugby league and never got injured,my son who plays it now,has broke his thumb on the growth plate area,had concussion,needed physio on his leg,but he loves playing the game
We only played Union at our school (in England) and it was always winter, so the pitch would be churned up and then frozen solid. Tackles were BRUTAL. The field was like a frozen cheese grater. We prayed for summer and the cricket season.
@emdiar6588 It was the same for us in a very wintery Glasgow, the ground was rock hard and as I played for the schools footy team for my year all the guys who were in the schools Rugby team was it as open season on us. I just booted the egg away any time it came near me.😂 Love watching Rugby but playing it was a nightmare. Actually where we played(or tried hard not to😁) is now home to Glasgow Warriors.
Although it suggests otherwise in the video, the ball is "in play" a lot more in league than union. Stoppages are more common and the game is generally considered slower in union whereas the speed of a league ruck alongside quicker restarts when a ball goes out of play means a league game flows better in my opinion. You should definitely watch a full match of each for a better understanding. May I also suggest watching highlight videos of big hits or great trys (touchdowns)
You call it a UNIFORM. We call it a KIT. In rugby there are no " special teams" like in American Football. The whole team is on the pitch at the same time (apart from substitutes). The Rugby World Cup is on at the moment. It would be worth you trying to see some of it.
A good place to watch a couple of good Rugby union matches for the first time would be the semi finals of the world cup happening right now . England V's South Africa at 8pm UK local time tomorrow should be a good one. As an Englishman I hate to say that we have scraped through so far and I'm dreading the possibility we may get totally outclassed tomorrow. Never stop trying though, I love it.
I'm from the north on England and love rugby but I prefer rugby union more than rugby league. This is because I like a more fast pace, free flowing game. It has also never made any sense to me that in rugby league or indeed American football that if you can't score after so many plays then you have to give up possession of the ball. That in my book doesn't encourage people to contest the ball as your thinking "oh well, it will be our turn with the ball soon". With rugby union you have to put effort into the game otherwise your team could go all the game with virtually zero possession of the ball. Whenever I've played rugby myself I have always found rugby union to be more violent so that's another reason I prefer that code. It is good for getting out all of your frustrations. After a good game of rugby union your too tired and beat up to do anything but rest.
I live in New Zealand, where rugby union is the national sport (those players wearing black in the video? That's our national team, the "All Blacks"). Rugby league is often just called league. I'm guessing that lifting in a lineout would be illegal in American football - it's only been legal in rugby for the last 30 years. There have been bad injuries in the scrum and it's been made safer over the years. The video mentioned scrums and rucks but didn't mention another similar common move, the maul - which is where one team's scrum pack spontaneously forms to push the other team back. BTW, the final of the Rugby Union world cup is happening next weekend in France (New Zealand vs either England or South Africa) - well worth trying to watch if you can.
Hi pall home your well, The scrum as you rightly said i brutal, neck and back your not wrong, you find they suffer with there ears, you will notice as you watch rugby, that some guys tape around there head and ears to keep ears flat in scrum, some will wear a scrum cap soft material to protect there ears, you will also see alot of rugby players have cauliflower ears, The deformed ears you see on boxes
Worth noting that in League it’s 6 tackles to score rather than just move the ball 10 yards (or metres), so you have to move the length of the field in that time
When I played Rugby in early High School (secondary school here) we were very specifically and carefully taught exactly how you form up in a scrum, where to put your shoulders/ears for the safest form.
Rugby Union the best. I went to Twickenham and watched England Vs New Zealand. I support England of course but watching the Hakka (New Zealands pre game war chant) is fantastic. I recommend watching the Haka it lasts for about a minute.
@@almostyummymummy My family are from NZ so I’ll be watching supporting the All Blacks, As England are not there. It was a sad ending for us but hey that’s why the Springboks are world champs.
Rugby union scrums are made up of 8 of the largest players on the field from each team and can be close to a ton of meat from each team going head to head thru the three men from each team who meet
With league there are only 6 tackles without a foul and the ball goes to the opposition, so if you start from your goal line you have to go the length of the field in the six plays
And no tackling above the shoulder, shoulder level usually a yellow (sin bin) card, contact to the head without extenuating circumstances usually a red (gone from the game) card, recently checks for foul play have become background checks by video referees while play continues
Regarding Rugby Union scrums. The way the scrum is formed and engaged has changed several times to reduce injuries. Initially, the teams would form up and just slam into each other to engage. The latest version has 3 instructions from the ref: "Crouch" players form up and bend down to form the shape of the scrum, "bind" the two teams come into contact carefully to make sure they are lined up and in safe positions, and "set" the two teams start pushing to push each other backwards. There are also many safety rules that can result in penalties if broken, like not allowing the scrum to collapse or rotate too much. See the last 15 minutes 2023 World Cup semifinal between South Africa and England for good examples of scrum penalties being forced by the introduction of a really strong fresh player, in this case South Africa's "Ox" Nche.
I'm a big fan of both types of rugby. When I was a kid, I was obsessed with the All Blacks - just like every other Kiwi out there. Rugby Union, especially when it comes to the All Blacks, is like a religion for us. But as I grew older, I found myself drawn to the straightforward and organized style of Rugby League. In local club games (NRL), Rugby League definitely stands out for me. However, when it comes to the big international stage, there's no denying that The All Blacks and Rugby Union steal the show. Your videos really prove that point!
Watch the last few minutes of the Ireland vs New Zealand game in the current World Cup. The Irish made over 30 plays to try and get another try to win the game, so the action was non stop.
Rucks are chaotic and need a lot of discipline but still produce a number of penalties. Ball carrier doesn't release the ball - penalty. Tackler doesn't release the the ball carrier quick enough - penalty Entering the ruck, not from behind, but from the side - penalty A defender, reaching for the ball and not supporting their own body weight, or being pushed over by supporting attackers and still making a grab for the ball - penalty Defence standing forward of the back of the ruck and being offside - penalty Being trapped in the ruck and not waving your hands at the ref indicating loudly that you can't get out - penalty
Rugby is an amazing game. 80 minutes of very intense play. The Rugby World Cup semi-finals are on this weekend and the final next week, if you get the chance to watch it, I think you'll find it an eye opener. Tonight's game was won comprehensively by the New Zealand All Blacks, tomorrow is England v The South African Springboks, the winner will play New Zealand and it should be a great game.
Rugby Union did not become a professional game until 1995. However, even though amateurs,the players of the top teams were well known, and had huge followings. Because of the amateur nature of the sport, a lot of the players worked as PE teachers in local schools for their day jobs. I'm not really sports fan- but I like the continuous play in Rugby Union. The stop/ start of Rugby League would bore me, I feel. I loved the fact that in this video, he used women's games as often as mens, without comment. Women's sport has come a long way in recent years- and is followed by far more people than previously!
Rugby League was mostly played as mentioned, in working class communities in the north of England and as can be imagined players could always get injured. While teams from the South and Midlands were often played by middle class or upper class people if they got injured they would have the money to enable them to survive. If they were from the working classes they most likely had team mates who could help support them. While those playing in the north would not get paid and their families would suffer. So the northern teams asked to be compensated for playing and the Rugby Football Union voted no, so they split because they couldn't afford to keep playing. When the Rugby League was formed they considered the cost of playing and determined that they simply couldn't afford to have 15 a side so they reduced the numbers to 13. The position that was dropped was what is called the lock, they are often the two tallest players on a side and are the players that the lineout is aimed at. So no lock no real need for the lineout and that is why they don't have a lineout in Rugby League.
No, the deleted players were the “wing forwards” who hung (and indeed still hang) on the outside of the second row to add more weight, and can see much more easily when the scrum should break.
The Rugby Union World Cup is in progress at the Moment,the semi finals are playing tomorrow (Saturday Night) at 20-00 hrs B S T . Should be great games ❤
I don’t know.. the ufc has promoters and advertising doesn’t it…. Even boxing does!?! Come on we mention the word football don’t matter what type ⚽️🏈and we act like a bunch of women…. No offence to you wonderful ladies, the real ones I mean
Canadian football retains a bit more of Rugby than American football, like there’s more freedom to kick at any time and the ball remains live more often
The big difference between Rugby League and "American" Football is the speed of the game. There were an avg of over 80 sets per game thats like 120 first downs / game
Scrums are, indeed, potentially dangerous in rugby union. Necks can, and do, get broken, which is why the rules have been tightened up considerably since I last played the game at school up to 60 years ago. The referee's job now includes supervising the conduct of the scrimmage, as well as setting it according to the rules. The main danger arises when a scrum collapses. Heads are locked, but bodies can sink or suddenly swerve to one side, so heads can be jerked backwards or sideways. This is why deliberately causing a scrum to collapse is an extremely serious offence.
Yes Rugby is named after the game played at Rugby School, which is a private, fee-paying school in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, in the English midlands.
Although I watch both codes, I prefer Union. I played on and off for about 45 years. Fun fact rugby Union was an amateur sport until 1995, even at the international level, where most players tended to come from the public school (private school) system, and came from most professional grounds, doctors, lawyers, policemen, military, etc. if you are able I would recommend watching the current rugby World Cup semi final games. Today is Argentina against New Zealand, and tomorrow England play South Africa.
Rugby Union only went professional in 1995. A good beginners video on the rules is by the England Rugby Union; ruclips.net/video/FOJejnPI0p0/видео.html Rugby Union is FAR more popular and played throughout the world. The main rugby countries are the four home nations: England, Wales, Scotland & Ireland, plus France and the three southern hemisphere powers: New Zealand, Australia & South Africa. Argentina also have a good side and it's huge in several polynesian islands Fiji, Samoa & Tonga. Japan have a decent side, Italy are reasonable and up and coming sides include Georgia, Portugal, Spain, Uruguay, & Chile amongst others. The US and Canada also have okay sides though not perhaps as good as they used to be. As you may have noticed many of these countries were once part of the British Empire or had schools which were inspired by English public schools, often set up by British immigrants. Rugby Union has more variety e.g. lineouts, scrums, rucks and mauls which either don't exist or aren't a major thing in League. The major difference in Union is you have to WIN possession of the ball from the other side. It's not just given to you like in league or American Football. Very basically Players fall into two groups. FORWARDS (nos 1-8)who are the big strong guys whose job is to win possession of the ball from the opposition and the BACKS (No.s 9-15) who are the quick, skillful players.
I find the rugby games more interesting because of the flow rather than constant stopping, line changes and huddles in American football. I especially enjoy the New Zealand All Blacks. I am also surprised by the number of women’s teams as compared the American football.
Not into rugby, but i fully admire the repect players give to refs decisions. They will tower over & take a telling off from the ref humbly & earnestly. Unlike football players who will mob & scream around the ref like hysterical 'victims'! Which in turn provides a 'role model' for kids playing in the park at grass roots level, who mimic this action.
One thing that is important that was ommitted is that when the attacking player crosses the try line he doesn't alway immediately put the ball down, but may if he can move closer to the goal posts. This is because the placing of the try affects where the goal kick is taken from
13:40 Not a Rugby school, but a school in Rugby. The name of the town. Rugby in Warwickshire, England. Rugby can trace its origins back to the Iron Age, when the area was settled, but it wasn't until the Saxon times that Rugby got its name. It was first mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086 under the name Rocheberie.
No comparison. Union all the way for dynamic action and hard hits. It's just a so much better spectator sport. But I'll grant that not everybody would agree with me. I do know that when a rugby player changes codes it's more often from league to Union than visa versa. I'm also surprised that the video left out any mention of a "Maul"!
I think I remember when lifting first came in, because my dad never approved and complained it was a South African tactic they brought in after the boycott ended
I don’t know why he keeps referencing Australia when England was where Rugby was founded. Also in league it’s 6 tackles to get the full length of the field. In American football it’s 4 downs to get 10 yards so making it 6 would be ridiculously easy to get the 10 yards
I tried to watch American football, but it drove me mad. All the stopping and starting plus changing players for no reason that I could see. But each to their own, I love real Football and Rugby football, Union first league second. And if I get the chance Australian rules, those men are brutal lol.
As regards to the split of Rugby Union and Rugby League it took place in a meeting at the George Hotel in Huddersfield, my home town. I was taken to my first Rugby League match by my dad as a 5 or 6 year old seventy years ago. The Huddersfield Rugby League club has a rich history and was known as Fartown by locals after the district of Huddersfield where the stadium was situated. It is now known as Huddersfield Giants and has a far less illustrious history but is still in the top tier of the Rugby League.
Rugby Union players are on the field for the full 80 mins of of the game and no advert breaks. Need to be VERY fit. Plus no helmets and pads. Great game.
Great reaction thanks. There are no "rules" in rugby, they are called "Laws." Any transgression of the laws then the referee will sanction you and not a single player will argue with the ref ( it's where the respect for the officials and your opponents starts unlike other sports.) As someone else mentioned it is a ""hooligans game played by gentlemen" which fosters a great sense of community, friendship and humanity between players and fans alike.......says me that has all the scars from when rucking was brutal.
When I first started playing, I said, in the clubhouse "I'm not sure of all the rules yet" behind me a soft Scots voice said "There are nae rules laddie ainly laws" Whenever I hear the word rules applied to RU I still hear his voice.
In school, aged 12/13 we had one classmate whose neck was broken in a scrum ..... resulting in several months in hospital, and nearly a year away from school.
When was that? In the school I work at there are no contested scrums (oldest are 13, year 8s) and no lifting in the line out. It is my understanding that if a front row forward has to come off they must be replaced by another front row forward or the scrums have to become uncontested.
Yes, a friend of mine (hello Gareth!) had his neck broken in a rugby match - not a scrum as far as I know, I think it was a high tackle - but that was the early 80s too.
The rules have changed a lot in recent times, lifting at a line out was illegal originally as was putting the ball into the scrum towards your own team, it had to be put in square to give both teams an equal chance at hooking back to your own side, l personally think that was much fairer as with the modern way makes the scrum pointless and a lot of time is wasted in resetting it. However the Union and original game is by far the best and most exciting.
New Zealand v Argentina today 3:00 EST in the World Cup union, tomorrow England v South Africa 3:00 EST (N Zealand v Africa will therefore b the final) on Peacock apparently.
I used to play for my high school. Long before the modern Ruck came in. The older ruck you could use your hands and feet, regardless of the damage you were doing to your opponent. Had stud marks, not just down the front oc my body, but down my back as well. Happy days. Still love the modern version. Great video. Look forwards to your next one.
I like both versions of the game. League (as it's commonly called in New Zealand and Australia), tends to be a faster game, whereas Rugby (union), tends to be more like a game of chess. Both codes are great in their own right.
Rugby for this kiwi is so emotional and your right its considered kind of warlike. Maori took to it with a passion and toured Britain Warbrick's team in 1885 20 years before the national team did in 1905, just one of those crazy facts.
To put things in context, the exchange rate in 1955 was £1 = $2.80. My father played Rugby League and was paid £3 ($8.40) for a win and £1 ($2.80) for a loss. The average working mans wage back then was £3-45 ($9.66) so pay was comparable to a weeks wages.
One thing the video didn't go into is the division of the teams into 'forwards' and 'backs', which are not the same as American offense and defense. They are all on the pitch together. The (typically heavier built) forwards take part in scrums and lineouts and do much of the heavy tackling and scrambling. The (typically leaner, swifter) backs do much of the running, passing and kicking/ punting, although everyone in fact runs, passes and tackles at various times. There are more detailed positions, like specific places in the scrum, for example, and the 'full back' who most often kicks penalties and conversions, but roles are far more fluid than in American football. I much prefer Rugby Union myself (strictly watching these days, my playing days are long gone😊 ) and thoroughly recommend catching the final stages of this year's World Cup.
At school we used to play murderball during the summer on Fridays, which was basically like the old medieval football. No rules, just get the ball to the other end by any means. For some reason, it was always 4th year (10th grade) vs 5th year (11th grade), meaning about 50-80 players on each side. One team being one year older than the other team made for an interesting dynamic. Officially it wasn't allowed, but games were never broken up or interfered with until the end of the lunch break, by the deputy headmaster. I don't remember anyone getting seriously injured, but there were a lot of minor injuries.
You would get used to the physicality of Rugby Union after a while. I started as a kid and gave up a year ago at age 59... There are various specialities of positions you could watch, particularly with forwards and backs... Being only 5'7 I was a back (winger) most of the time but I have played all of positions when the need arises.... luckily I never broke any bones but I did have a few muscle tears and a couple of concussions (in training). Some of the 2nd row forwards get to about 7 feet tall and most male teams have people over 6'8"
I played a position called lock, the locks are usually the tallest players in the team I'm 6'6 so truthfully a little small, I get lifted in the lineouts and second row in the scrum. You get taught how to play your position so there is danger but you mitigate it as much as possible. It can be fun but it also hurts, the older I get the more it hurts.
We have the semi finals this weekend first is Argentina vs New Zealand 2nd is England vs South Africa its really is a Southern Hemisphere game this year. Union is my 1st love but I enjoy League as well
Rugby Union became professional in the UK during my lifetime (I'm 57 now). When I was a kid, Rugby Union players were all amateur, so they all had other jobs. Because it's the more 'upper class' game, they were generally well paid jobs (lawyers, doctors, etc) which allowed them to be able to play for clubs and internationally. Back in the day there were several talented and well known Union players who switched codes to Rugby League in order to get paid to play! Jonathan Davies springs to mind as a high-profile player who switched.
Always weird how american footballers (American Rugby really,lol) call it a touch down when they don't actually touch it down, they just drop it over the line, childs play
Wiki says: The term touchdown is a holdover from gridiron's early days when the ball was required to be touched to the ground as in rugby, as rugby and gridiron were still extremely similar sports at this point. This rule was changed to the modern-day iteration in 1889.
As someone who is a fan of Rugby Union, League and American Football, and played both codes of Rugby, I would suggest starting with league first before delving into union. League is faster paced, more running, more action and bigger hits. It’s a good introduction to the sport as it gives you a decent knowledge of the basic skills of Rugby as a whole, while keeping you constantly engaged the whole 80 minutes. Try watching a State of Origin game between New South Wales and Queensland. This is the pinnacle of Rugby League and is 80 minutes of non stop action, by far the fastest pace rugby out of both codes. Union is more of a grind, much more kicking and set play based, but much more strategic than league is. It’s a fantastic game to watch once you know what you are watching, seeing the strategic possession/territory battle play out live is beautiful. But until you really have an understanding of the game it can seem like a chaotic mess, and at times it is. Any game that NZ plays is a good introduction to the game as they are consistently the best team over the history of the sport.
I would say that it depends on how you most easily understand American football as to which code is more accessible. In terms of rules, field and simplicity of understanding what is going on, League is definitely the one to start with because of the tackles/downs system, but in terms of positions/roles within the team, Union much more closely resembles American football as all the positions and their roles on the team can be directly compared to an American football equivalent. I would say that union is a more technical game especially around the ruck and maul areas, however, which can be an impenetrable mess even to union fans themselves, so you have to warn a newcomer not to get disheartened by not understanding certain infringements and referee decisions as a result. The other thing that's worth noting is that while the rules of League suggest it would be more stop-start compared to consistent action in Union, this doesn't really bear out in practice, because of those technicalities in Union that means you might get longer uninterrupted flows of action in Union than you do in League (and when a team that needs to score is putting together 15-20 phases of possession it can be constant excitement), you also get more 'down-time' in Union where you have things like reset scrums, or positional kick battles where both teams punt back and forth, because not being able to block (like American football) or guarantee possession after a tackle (like Rugby League) means that taking contact is a bad idea so you get these boring phases of back and forth kicking before the game gets back into a rhythm that a novice fan can recognise and enjoy more.
@JJLAReacts It is, and all the matches are archived! The France-New Zealand and Ireland-South Africa matches in particular are great adverts for the game.
One thing not mentioned is that there are no separate teams for offence and defence. The same players are on the pitch for the entire game, unless they are carried off on a stretcher. I played rugby union at school and was knocked out cold twice and had a concussion. Most of the time you get bruises and chunks knocked out of you. It's quite common to have your hands trodden on with studs (cleats) but you don't normally worry about such trivial matters until after the game.
Indeed, being “studded” was commonplace in the 1960s at school, as was having your balls grabbed and twisted in the scrum by the opposing tight-head prop if you were the hooker, to take your mind off your job of getting possession in the scrum. It was never anything personal.
Came back here to say, JJ, you need to look up Rob Burrow's career highlights. He was arguably one of the greatest ever short and quick guys in league and he is probably more well known since his untimely death for the work he did for motor neurone disease research and charity work. He was a thoroughly awesome bloke too by all accounts, when Kevin Sinfield lifted him over the line at the marathon, i was bawling my eyes out because rOB of just how significant that moment was. Oh and he also had one of the very very best Challenge Cup (think Superbowl for rugby league) tries ever, too. The team where I grew up may be shit, but, I was lucky enough to have ROb be playing for my local bigger club. As for Union. THe Scotland/Wales match in the 2024 one. Wales nearly pulled off a 26 point comeback and were held at the goal line as the clock ran out. Karma got Scotland later on by them losing in a highly similar, controversial, manner and arguing they were robbed by the TMO (think instant replay) ruling it was not a try and Scotland kicked up a fuss about it. Both matches were incredible. Wales were down 26 at the half, came storming out and Scotland got more and more and more disorganized as the second 40 minutes went on. Oh and Duhan van der Merwe is an absolute beast of a player who qualified for Scottish selection by living there for three years and has turned into an unstoppable force. Every time he got fed the ball, he was off and going the length of the pitch it felt like and he'd usually score, and do some incredible moments to. Look up his highlights, everyone. They are incredible. Duhan is, I'd argue, one of the best wings in all of rugby union currently.ouCame back here to say, JJ, you need to look up Rob Burrow's career highlights. He was arguably one of the greatest ever short and quick guys in league and he is probably more well known since his untimely death for the work he did for motor neurone disease research and charity work. He was a thoroughly awesome bloke too by all accounts, when Kevin Sinfield lifted him over the line at the marathon, i was bawling my eyes out because rOB of just how significant that moment was. Oh and he also had one of the very very best Challenge Cup (think Superbowl for rugby league) tries ever, too. The team where I grew up may be shit, but, I was lucky enough to have ROb be playing for my local bigger club. As for Union. THe Scotland/Wales match in the 2024 one. Wales nearly pulled off a 26 point comeback and were held at the goal line as the clock ran out. Karma got Scotland later on by them losing in a highly similar, controversial, manner and arguing they were robbed by the TMO (think instant replay) ruling it was not a try and Scotland kicked up a fuss about it. Both matches were incredible. Wales were down 26 at the half, came storming out and Scotland got more and more and more disorganized as the second 40 minutes went on. Oh and Duhan van der Merwe is an absolute beast of a player who qualified for Scottish selection by living there for three years and has turned into an unstoppable force. Every time he got fed the ball, he was off and going the length of the pitch it felt like and he'd usually score, and do some incredible moments to. Look up his highlights, everyone. They are incredible. Duhan is, I'd argue, one of the best wings in all of rugby union currently.ou
Rugby Union is a great game to play but harder to watch because of technical penalties which often arise out of the set pieces like scrums and line-outs where as League is more fun to watch and play is more open!
Don't watch a highlights video, that won't give you any insight into any version of the game, only by watching a full game will give you an idea how these games are played. I grew up playing Rugby in school, and watched it on TV, my country has the best team in the world, the All Blacks of New Zealand. Also in NZ we distinguished the 2 versions by calling Rugby rugby and calling rugby league just League and unlike American football the TV coverage cannot stop play to show a commercial, I suppose the TV channel can show a commercial but the game won't stop for it like in America where the referee is told by the TV crew to stop play for commercials.
HEY! if u find rugby hard, i suggest to look for the Calcio Fiorentino a medieval game of "football" , still played in modern days in Firenze (IT). it's a ruthless mixed game of rugby / football / boxing and MMA :)
That video missed out one very important rule: Respect! Rugby players are expected to respect the opposing team by applauding both the team and the referee at the end of a match.
There is a saying in UK that football (soccer) is a gentleman's game played by hooligans while rugby is a hooligan's game played by gentlemen.
Neck breaking scream and even youth players ease off== can't really help it-== horrible thing never forget it
This is more of a Union tradition. League has more soccer energy to spectators and players.
Agreed, and the England v Argentina game is a fine example, very heated during the final minutes of the game, but as soon as that final whistle went off, it was nothing but respect for eachother
I am a North of England, working class guy who was brought up on Rugby League.
However, my Grandson (aged 13) began playing for a Rugby Union Club (Keighley) and I have grown to enjoy Union more than League.
It is more dynamic .
Both games are also played by girls/women and they are so skillful.
I have watched American Footbal and it is so boring with the stop, start, time outetc and wearing crash hats and body protection is over the top.
Each to their own I suppose, but I just watched the game between the English Roses and New Zealand ladies and it was a brilliant match.
Ellie Kildunne (who started her playing career as a junior at Keighley) scored two amazing tries, but they were ruled out due to the slightest of infringements. Plus, Ellie looks gorgeous... ❤
I remember in school when we played that you couldn't curse or insult people especially in earshot of the referee or you would get booked or sent off
2 key points not mentioned - relevant to both codes:
Players think for themselves throughout the game rather than being told by a coach on the sidelines where they're expected to run to in the next 10 seconds.
You're only allowed to tackle the player with the ball and you're not allowed to block/obstruct a non-ball carrier in the way you often see in American Football (particularly in punt returns where the ball carrier is protected from defenders by team-mates) and..
for Rugby Union - they didn't mention the Maul/Rolling Maul which is one of the best and most exciting formations to watch in action.
There are several good 'best rugby tries' compilations that may be worth a look before you get stuck into whole match reviews.
I played union growing up and loved it, I also tried watching American football but couldn't take all the stoppages.
as a rugby union player the scrum is the most fun part for me a huge physical battle between all the biggest guys its super intense to be a part of
For me one of my favourite moments was being at the bottom of a ruck on our 22 and hearing my pack leader calling "DRIVE", the full power of the front row and the other lock kicking in, the ball popping out clean and fair, my fly half (scrum 1/2 was out of position) feeding the full back, who promptly raced the length of the pitch and scored under the posts. We lost the match to superior opposition, xxx to 7, and those 7 scored in the last 5 minutes (It was a total mismatch, drawn from the pool, and the opposition admitted, in the bar, that they had fielded a number of players from more senior teams), but the applause we got from the opposition as we came off the pitch sticks in my mind over 40 years later. Talking (and drinking) captain to captain afterwards, I still recall part of that discussion, "You bggrs never fckng gave up". That's Rugby.
The problem with scrums in Union these days is that, a lot of the time, teams aren't so much trying to win the ball as trying to force the other team to concede a penalty and so the scrums will often seem to be replayed ad nauseam until the referee gives one of the sides a penalty.
It was much more fun when the back row could unbind and go to the last foot. An old 7 that loved to headhunt
Was number 7 for years. Had the best of both worlds
I was a tight head, back in the day when rucking was still allowed. I still remember the tiger stripes down my back after a game LOL@@MrJonnerrs
A guy here in England studied an American football match and found that the game lasted 3 hours but there was only 11 minutes of actuall play. The rest of the time was waiting for changes and a lot of women cheerleaders dancing about
American football is a game for Jessie's though!
When the BBC had the rights to show highlights of the nfl, their highlights show had a segment where British football (soccer), rugby, both union and league players, tried to play American football against some rookies and draftees. Can't recall what happened but they were surprised by all the safety gear and wondered if it affected how they played especially as the football season is short compares to British football and rugby seasons.
The american football players then tried playing rugby against a local school team and were shocked by the lack of helmet etc and looked pretty worried.
@@hesky10 Is there any video?
Hubby did that one time, he clocked actual game time at 14 minutes on a 2.5 hour telecast
Edit: we're in Australia
That's why I find it so boring. A few seconds of play, then minutes of nothing,
8:58 It's worth mentioning that it has to be a pretty serious injury to actually stop play. Most injuries are treated as play continues, although both Union and League have rules about allowing a player to be substituted temporarily to staunch a bleeding wound. Note that the player is then expected to return to continue playing.
Rugby is a physically demanding game!
Your right, there is a great clip, guy next to touch line, have a blood wound fixed by medical staff, he see's the oposing team break away, jumps up and tackles, great clip, he was still in play,
In Australian Rules Football it’s a requirement for a bleeding player to leave the field and be treated. There was a funny incident where a player was bleeding from the face but his team was in attack so he was all “head down, stay away from the ump”. As soon as the ball was turned over “Ump! Ump! Stop the game, I’m bleeding and need treatment”.
Rugby is a small town in central England. Rugby school is still there, it is a long established private school - so it's called a Public School
They were the ones who invented the term soccer..
@@neilgayleard3842because rugby was originally called football before the Cambridge rules were created
One version of the 7 types of football. But the term soccer was invented by students at the school as a derogatory term. It's a posh insult. Just like calling people folk. It's in soccer tribe by Desmond Morris.
@@neilgayleard3842 I was taught soccer came from As(socc)iaton Football.
@@neilgayleard3842The term soccer was actually coined at Oxford University.
Union all the way - League is ok if proper rugby isn't available. I would actually recommend the New Zealand v Ireland or the South Africa v France quarter finals at this years world cup played last weekend. Seriously two of the best games I've seen and I've been watching Rugby for over 40 years.
I have a soft spot in my heart for the 1999 World Cup semi final between France and New Zealand
Oooh! "Proper" rugby, eh? Pretentious ***hole! I'm a union fan, too, but there is nothing "improper" about Rugby League: it is a sport in its own right and just as much entitled to use the term "rugby" as union.
Union is ok if you love watching the ball being kicked endlessly or scrums consistently been reset, so you might see two good games in forty years 😂
You should also watch womens rugby or react to it, they play just as hard as the men, with the same exact rules, they also have womens leagues, womens national teams that play for there country in european and world cups, Me i prefer the womens rugby to be honest, one to support them, secondly, the standard is so hi
The Rugby World cup at the moment is momentous..Brilliant.
For our american cousins, the rugby (union) world cup is available on Peacock.
Today (20th) it's Semi Final 1: Argentina (underdogs) vs New Zealand (the all blacks, legends).
Tomorrow (21st) it's Semi Final 2: England (actually doing better than people expected) vs South Africa (current champions, and favourites)
@@stuartcollins82 In fairness, England haven't had the toughest matches. Samoa were the only ones that gave us any real trouble. Definitely getting spanked tomorrow though!
@@StormhavenGamingThe joys of being seeded....
Yes these semi- finals should be epic despite a clear favourites both games …..the games have been so tight. These matches are NOT to be missed
@stephenhickman304 i mean... the argentina vs new Zealand game was not tight at all 😂😂. Argentina got incinerated
I like your reaction style, you don't comment over the content but add appropriate observations, pausing when needed and not too frequently. I really like your comparisons to American Football as it translates both ways, helping a person understanding better American football. Rugby Union is what I played, rucks and scrums are awesome. Regarding your reaction to scrums... yes necks, ears, shoulders pushing together in the scrum, then you're in the 2nd row and your arm is locked up between the legs of the person in front of you in the first row, grabbing their shirt, locking you in, holding tight. Not an every day experience, unless you play Union Rugby :D
Not only is Rugby a school it is also a town in England. Another sport named after an English place is Badmington. You should look into sports that originated in Britain. I think it's a topic you'd enjoy.
I prefer Rugby Union. It's Semi Final's weekend in the World Cup, currently taking place in France and miraculously England made it to the Semi's and play tomorrow! I doubt we will win as we are up against favourites, South Africa but I am so happy we got that far! Tonight is Argentina vs New Zealand (The All Blacks) who are probably one of the most famous teams of any sport in the world.
The Six Nations tournament starts every February. It involves Scotland, Ireland, Wales, England, France and Italy. It's a great watch.
This is all great info, thanks! Yeah, I'm going to try to catch that England v South Africa tomorrow (tonight for me ☺️) Also, yeah, great idea to check out some other British sports, thanks!!
@@JJLAReacts The Springbokke won, and the English fans are going to be salty about that for quite a while. 😂
@kjertenskarsgaard We shall see.
@kjertenskarsgaardthis comment hasn't aged well 😉
I prefer Rugby Union over League (despite being Northern)
I had a go at watching American football once. The constant stopping drove me absolutely insane. It's as though it's designed for people with a very short attention span to be honest.
Played Rugby for almost 12 years. Some of the best experiences of my life came whilst playing. Only ever had 2 injuries in all that time, a popped ankle which was my fault and a dislocated shoulder which wasn't. World Cup is on right now the semi finals are gonna be awesome 1 tonight 1 tomorrow.
Wow, only two injuries!! Congrats! I have to check out those games, thanks!!
Only two? I lost count of the number of times I broke a rib or a finger, busted my collarbone once, torn ACL too. I certainly wasn't the biggest guy on the pitch by any means though
@@rogu3rooster Yup lucky sod right here. The dislocated shoulder was fun tho. I was a prop got grabbed and thrown by my arm. Heard the pop, but, continued to play the last 20 mins, including a few scrums too, before going to hospital to get it popped back in. Still got the stretch marks to this day. Rugby players are a different breed.🤣
@@martinsear5470 Worst for me was getting a testicular torsion, that really hurt!
I've played rugby league and never got injured,my son who plays it now,has broke his thumb on the growth plate area,had concussion,needed physio on his leg,but he loves playing the game
Highly recommend Cricket Explained for Baseball Fans by the same channel
I've seen that one and, yes, it's a really good video.
Yes. I thoroughly enjoyed that video
We only played Union at our school (in England) and it was always winter, so the pitch would be churned up and then frozen solid. Tackles were BRUTAL. The field was like a frozen cheese grater. We prayed for summer and the cricket season.
@emdiar6588 It was the same for us in a very wintery Glasgow, the ground was rock hard and as I played for the schools footy team for my year all the guys who were in the schools Rugby team was it as open season on us. I just booted the egg away any time it came near me.😂 Love watching Rugby but playing it was a nightmare. Actually where we played(or tried hard not to😁) is now home to Glasgow Warriors.
Although it suggests otherwise in the video, the ball is "in play" a lot more in league than union. Stoppages are more common and the game is generally considered slower in union whereas the speed of a league ruck alongside quicker restarts when a ball goes out of play means a league game flows better in my opinion. You should definitely watch a full match of each for a better understanding. May I also suggest watching highlight videos of big hits or great trys (touchdowns)
You call it a UNIFORM. We call it a KIT.
In rugby there are no " special teams" like in American Football. The whole team is on the pitch at the same time (apart from substitutes).
The Rugby World Cup is on at the moment. It would be worth you trying to see some of it.
Oh wow! I didn't realize most of the team is playing the whole time. Yes! I'm going to try to watch some Rugby World Cup, thanks!!!!
A good place to watch a couple of good Rugby union matches for the first time would be the semi finals of the world cup happening right now . England V's South Africa at 8pm UK local time tomorrow should be a good one. As an Englishman I hate to say that we have scraped through so far and I'm dreading the possibility we may get totally outclassed tomorrow. Never stop trying though, I love it.
That was a good game.
Class
One point is one point! 😛
I'm from the north on England and love rugby but I prefer rugby union more than rugby league.
This is because I like a more fast pace, free flowing game. It has also never made any sense to me that in rugby league or indeed American football that if you can't score after so many plays then you have to give up possession of the ball. That in my book doesn't encourage people to contest the ball as your thinking "oh well, it will be our turn with the ball soon". With rugby union you have to put effort into the game otherwise your team could go all the game with virtually zero possession of the ball.
Whenever I've played rugby myself I have always found rugby union to be more violent so that's another reason I prefer that code. It is good for getting out all of your frustrations. After a good game of rugby union your too tired and beat up to do anything but rest.
Well there's always the beer to drink wit the opposing team, before you go home and collapse.
I live in New Zealand, where rugby union is the national sport (those players wearing black in the video? That's our national team, the "All Blacks"). Rugby league is often just called league. I'm guessing that lifting in a lineout would be illegal in American football - it's only been legal in rugby for the last 30 years. There have been bad injuries in the scrum and it's been made safer over the years. The video mentioned scrums and rucks but didn't mention another similar common move, the maul - which is where one team's scrum pack spontaneously forms to push the other team back. BTW, the final of the Rugby Union world cup is happening next weekend in France (New Zealand vs either England or South Africa) - well worth trying to watch if you can.
Hi pall home your well, The scrum as you rightly said i brutal, neck and back your not wrong, you find they suffer with there ears, you will notice as you watch rugby, that some guys tape around there head and ears to keep ears flat in scrum, some will wear a scrum cap soft material to protect there ears, you will also see alot of rugby players have cauliflower ears, The deformed ears you see on boxes
Worth noting that in League it’s 6 tackles to score rather than just move the ball 10 yards (or metres), so you have to move the length of the field in that time
When I played Rugby in early High School (secondary school here) we were very specifically and carefully taught exactly how you form up in a scrum, where to put your shoulders/ears for the safest form.
Agree. It looks a bit chaotic but actually is very structured when learned from young . Fewer injurious than one might expect with correct technique.
Rugby Union the best. I went to Twickenham and watched England Vs New Zealand. I support England of course but watching the Hakka (New Zealands pre game war chant) is fantastic. I recommend watching the Haka it lasts for about a minute.
Haka. Just to let you know.
@@almostyummymummy ha ha I know prediction text…but thank you
@@Burglar-King Kiwi / Boks final. As it should be.
Yay, right?
@@almostyummymummy My family are from NZ so I’ll be watching supporting the All Blacks, As England are not there. It was a sad ending for us but hey that’s why the Springboks are world champs.
Rugby union scrums are made up of 8 of the largest players on the field from each team and can be close to a ton of meat from each team going head to head thru the three men from each team who meet
Have you ever seen the Marx Brothers film "Horse Feathers", its a fun comedy and a relatively good guide to early American Football
With league there are only 6 tackles without a foul and the ball goes to the opposition, so if you start from your goal line you have to go the length of the field in the six plays
Some changes to the rules of Union over the last 50 years make the 70's games look a little different to modern games
And no tackling above the shoulder, shoulder level usually a yellow (sin bin) card, contact to the head without extenuating circumstances usually a red (gone from the game) card, recently checks for foul play have become background checks by video referees while play continues
Regarding Rugby Union scrums. The way the scrum is formed and engaged has changed several times to reduce injuries. Initially, the teams would form up and just slam into each other to engage. The latest version has 3 instructions from the ref: "Crouch" players form up and bend down to form the shape of the scrum, "bind" the two teams come into contact carefully to make sure they are lined up and in safe positions, and "set" the two teams start pushing to push each other backwards. There are also many safety rules that can result in penalties if broken, like not allowing the scrum to collapse or rotate too much. See the last 15 minutes 2023 World Cup semifinal between South Africa and England for good examples of scrum penalties being forced by the introduction of a really strong fresh player, in this case South Africa's "Ox" Nche.
I'm a big fan of both types of rugby. When I was a kid, I was obsessed with the All Blacks - just like every other Kiwi out there. Rugby Union, especially when it comes to the All Blacks, is like a religion for us. But as I grew older, I found myself drawn to the straightforward and organized style of Rugby League. In local club games (NRL), Rugby League definitely stands out for me. However, when it comes to the big international stage, there's no denying that The All Blacks and Rugby Union steal the show. Your videos really prove that point!
Watch the last few minutes of the Ireland vs New Zealand game in the current World Cup. The Irish made over 30 plays to try and get another try to win the game, so the action was non stop.
Also the South Africa VS France match in the same tournament.
Both these games were absolute nail-biters, with incredible plays from all sides.
Rucks are chaotic and need a lot of discipline but still produce a number of penalties.
Ball carrier doesn't release the ball - penalty.
Tackler doesn't release the the ball carrier quick enough - penalty
Entering the ruck, not from behind, but from the side - penalty
A defender, reaching for the ball and not supporting their own body weight, or being pushed over by supporting attackers and still making a grab for the ball - penalty
Defence standing forward of the back of the ruck and being offside - penalty
Being trapped in the ruck and not waving your hands at the ref indicating loudly that you can't get out - penalty
Rugby is an amazing game. 80 minutes of very intense play. The Rugby World Cup semi-finals are on this weekend and the final next week, if you get the chance to watch it, I think you'll find it an eye opener. Tonight's game was won comprehensively by the New Zealand All Blacks, tomorrow is England v The South African Springboks, the winner will play New Zealand and it should be a great game.
Rugby Union did not become a professional game until 1995. However, even though amateurs,the players of the top teams were well known, and had huge followings.
Because of the amateur nature of the sport, a lot of the players worked as PE teachers in local schools for their day jobs.
I'm not really sports fan- but I like the continuous play in Rugby Union. The stop/ start of Rugby League would bore me, I feel.
I loved the fact that in this video, he used women's games as often as mens, without comment. Women's sport has come a long way in recent years- and is followed by far more people than previously!
Rugby League was mostly played as mentioned, in working class communities in the north of England and as can be imagined players could always get injured. While teams from the South and Midlands were often played by middle class or upper class people if they got injured they would have the money to enable them to survive. If they were from the working classes they most likely had team mates who could help support them. While those playing in the north would not get paid and their families would suffer. So the northern teams asked to be compensated for playing and the Rugby Football Union voted no, so they split because they couldn't afford to keep playing. When the Rugby League was formed they considered the cost of playing and determined that they simply couldn't afford to have 15 a side so they reduced the numbers to 13. The position that was dropped was what is called the lock, they are often the two tallest players on a side and are the players that the lineout is aimed at. So no lock no real need for the lineout and that is why they don't have a lineout in Rugby League.
No, the deleted players were the “wing forwards” who hung (and indeed still hang) on the outside of the second row to add more weight, and can see much more easily when the scrum should break.
They dropped the flankers rather than the locks/second rowers. The lock in rugby league is positioned at the back of the scrum.
The Rugby Union World Cup is in progress at the Moment,the semi finals are playing tomorrow (Saturday Night) at 20-00 hrs B S T . Should be great games ❤
In fact Argentina-New Zeland are playing today, in a few hours.
England v South Africa today as well
Which is rugby union, we’re there is rugby league the two have slightly different rules if anyone didn’t know…
But imagine if American football adopted some Rugby Union rules, advertisers would abandon the sport
I don’t know.. the ufc has promoters and advertising doesn’t it…. Even boxing does!?! Come on we mention the word football don’t matter what type ⚽️🏈and we act like a bunch of women…. No offence to you wonderful ladies, the real ones I mean
I would be boring
Rugby is a game played by men with oddly shaped balls.
Rugby is a town in England.
Canadian football retains a bit more of Rugby than American football, like there’s more freedom to kick at any time and the ball remains live more often
The big difference between Rugby League and "American" Football is the speed of the game. There were an avg of over 80 sets per game thats like 120 first downs / game
Scrums are, indeed, potentially dangerous in rugby union. Necks can, and do, get broken, which is why the rules have been tightened up considerably since I last played the game at school up to 60 years ago. The referee's job now includes supervising the conduct of the scrimmage, as well as setting it according to the rules. The main danger arises when a scrum collapses. Heads are locked, but bodies can sink or suddenly swerve to one side, so heads can be jerked backwards or sideways. This is why deliberately causing a scrum to collapse is an extremely serious offence.
just to add to that, each pack in first class rugby weighs more than 800 kg
Yes Rugby is named after the game played at Rugby School, which is a private, fee-paying school in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, in the English midlands.
Although I watch both codes, I prefer Union. I played on and off for about 45 years. Fun fact rugby Union was an amateur sport until 1995, even at the international level, where most players tended to come from the public school (private school) system, and came from most professional grounds, doctors, lawyers, policemen, military, etc. if you are able I would recommend watching the current rugby World Cup semi final games. Today is Argentina against New Zealand, and tomorrow England play South Africa.
Rugby Union only went professional in 1995. A good beginners video on the rules is by the England Rugby Union;
ruclips.net/video/FOJejnPI0p0/видео.html
Rugby Union is FAR more popular and played throughout the world. The main rugby countries are the four home nations: England, Wales, Scotland & Ireland, plus France and the three southern hemisphere powers: New Zealand, Australia & South Africa.
Argentina also have a good side and it's huge in several polynesian islands Fiji, Samoa & Tonga. Japan have a decent side, Italy are reasonable and up and coming sides include Georgia, Portugal, Spain, Uruguay, & Chile amongst others. The US and Canada also have okay sides though not perhaps as good as they used to be.
As you may have noticed many of these countries were once part of the British Empire or had schools which were inspired by English public schools, often set up by British immigrants.
Rugby Union has more variety e.g. lineouts, scrums, rucks and mauls which either don't exist or aren't a major thing in League. The major difference in Union is you have to WIN possession of the ball from the other side. It's not just given to you like in league or American Football.
Very basically Players fall into two groups. FORWARDS (nos 1-8)who are the big strong guys whose job is to win possession of the ball from the opposition and the BACKS (No.s 9-15) who are the quick, skillful players.
I find the rugby games more interesting because of the flow rather than constant stopping, line changes and huddles in American football. I especially enjoy the New Zealand All Blacks. I am also surprised by the number of women’s teams as compared the American football.
Change, surprised to , appalled. Like women's football it turns into a comedy.
Not into rugby, but i fully admire the repect players give to refs decisions. They will tower over & take a telling off from the ref humbly & earnestly. Unlike football players who will mob & scream around the ref like hysterical 'victims'! Which in turn provides a 'role model' for kids playing in the park at grass roots level, who mimic this action.
Have u been to watch any ameatur games? They can be awesome to watch
One thing that is important that was ommitted is that when the attacking player crosses the try line he doesn't alway immediately put the ball down, but may if he can move closer to the goal posts. This is because the placing of the try affects where the goal kick is taken from
13:40 Not a Rugby school, but a school in Rugby. The name of the town. Rugby in Warwickshire, England.
Rugby can trace its origins back to the Iron Age, when the area was settled, but it wasn't until the Saxon times that Rugby got its name.
It was first mentioned in the Domesday Book in 1086 under the name Rocheberie.
No comparison. Union all the way for dynamic action and hard hits. It's just a so much better spectator sport. But I'll grant that not everybody would agree with me. I do know that when a rugby player changes codes it's more often from league to Union than visa versa.
I'm also surprised that the video left out any mention of a "Maul"!
I think I remember when lifting first came in, because my dad never approved and complained it was a South African tactic they brought in after the boycott ended
I don’t know why he keeps referencing Australia when England was where Rugby was founded.
Also in league it’s 6 tackles to get the full length of the field. In American football it’s 4 downs to get 10 yards so making it 6 would be ridiculously easy to get the 10 yards
I tried to watch American football, but it drove me mad. All the stopping and starting plus changing players for no reason that I could see. But each to their own, I love real Football and Rugby football, Union first league second. And if I get the chance Australian rules, those men are brutal lol.
I'm so glad the video didn't mention a maul. That would've destroyed the host's understanding of sports.
check the "calcio storico" in Florence (italy) ..is the real first version of all of this stuff back in the roman empire.😁
Can you just read the dictionary and occasionaly give a thought on a word. 5 ours long on a 24 hour repeat, Help me sleep amd learn at the same time
As regards to the split of Rugby Union and Rugby League it took place in a meeting at the George Hotel in Huddersfield, my home town.
I was taken to my first Rugby League match by my dad as a 5 or 6 year old seventy years ago.
The Huddersfield Rugby League club has a rich history and was known as Fartown by locals after the district of Huddersfield where the stadium was situated.
It is now known as Huddersfield Giants and has a far less illustrious history but is still in the top tier of the Rugby League.
Just down road from me
Rugby Union players are on the field for the full 80 mins of of the game and no advert breaks. Need to be VERY fit. Plus no helmets and pads. Great game.
I recommend France vs South Africa game it was tense
Rugby World Cup final here in UK tomorrow. And England is in there.
What reallly?! I have to watch, thanks!!!!!🍻
Don’t get ahead of yourself! Semi-final today and final next weekend. Fingers crossed for England but the Springboks are playing HARD at the moment!
Great reaction thanks. There are no "rules" in rugby, they are called "Laws." Any transgression of the laws then the referee will sanction you and not a single player will argue with the ref ( it's where the respect for the officials and your opponents starts unlike other sports.) As someone else mentioned it is a ""hooligans game played by gentlemen" which fosters a great sense of community, friendship and humanity between players and fans alike.......says me that has all the scars from when rucking was brutal.
When I first started playing, I said, in the clubhouse "I'm not sure of all the rules yet" behind me a soft Scots voice said "There are nae rules laddie ainly laws" Whenever I hear the word rules applied to RU I still hear his voice.
In school, aged 12/13 we had one classmate whose neck was broken in a scrum ..... resulting in several months in hospital, and nearly a year away from school.
When was that? In the school I work at there are no contested scrums (oldest are 13, year 8s) and no lifting in the line out. It is my understanding that if a front row forward has to come off they must be replaced by another front row forward or the scrums have to become uncontested.
@@pureholy It would have been 1980/81. He was the hooker at a time when scrums collapsed 50% of the time.
Yes, a friend of mine (hello Gareth!) had his neck broken in a rugby match - not a scrum as far as I know, I think it was a high tackle - but that was the early 80s too.
A lad in my class also broke his neck at the age of 13/14 when a scrum collapsed. Mid-late 70s.
Not a field goal. Drop goal/penalty
Not end zone(dead ball area)
The rules have changed a lot in recent times, lifting at a line out was illegal originally as was putting the ball into the scrum towards your own team, it had to be put in square to give both teams an equal chance at hooking back to your own side, l personally think that was much fairer as with the modern way makes the scrum pointless and a lot of time is wasted in resetting it.
However the Union and original game is by far the best and most exciting.
New Zealand v Argentina today 3:00 EST in the World Cup union, tomorrow England v South Africa 3:00 EST (N Zealand v Africa will therefore b the final) on Peacock apparently.
YES! Thank you! I'll be watching! Perfect timing!
The final will most likely be South Africa and New Zealand, these two teams have arguably the biggest rivalry in any sport, 3 world cups each.
The flow in Union makes for a poetic game.
Can you react to RUGBY LEAGUE? That will be more akin to American Football which may be easier to follow?
I used to play for my high school. Long before the modern Ruck came in. The older ruck you could use your hands and feet, regardless of the damage you were doing to your opponent. Had stud marks, not just down the front oc my body, but down my back as well. Happy days. Still love the modern version. Great video. Look forwards to your next one.
Bring back the ruck.
I like both versions of the game. League (as it's commonly called in New Zealand and Australia), tends to be a faster game, whereas Rugby (union), tends to be more like a game of chess. Both codes are great in their own right.
Enjoyed that...
Please react to best rugby tries.... I think you will be blown away....
Rugby for this kiwi is so emotional and your right its considered kind of warlike. Maori took to it with a passion and toured Britain Warbrick's team in 1885 20 years before the national team did in 1905, just one of those crazy facts.
Rugby union is a chess match. Rugby league is a war of attrition. Both code are very tough and both codes respect each other
To put things in context, the exchange rate in 1955 was £1 = $2.80. My father played Rugby League and was paid £3 ($8.40) for a win and £1 ($2.80) for a loss. The average working mans wage back then was £3-45 ($9.66) so pay was comparable to a weeks wages.
One thing the video didn't go into is the division of the teams into 'forwards' and 'backs', which are not the same as American offense and defense. They are all on the pitch together. The (typically heavier built) forwards take part in scrums and lineouts and do much of the heavy tackling and scrambling. The (typically leaner, swifter) backs do much of the running, passing and kicking/ punting, although everyone in fact runs, passes and tackles at various times. There are more detailed positions, like specific places in the scrum, for example, and the 'full back' who most often kicks penalties and conversions, but roles are far more fluid than in American football. I much prefer Rugby Union myself (strictly watching these days, my playing days are long gone😊 ) and thoroughly recommend catching the final stages of this year's World Cup.
At school we used to play murderball during the summer on Fridays, which was basically like the old medieval football. No rules, just get the ball to the other end by any means. For some reason, it was always 4th year (10th grade) vs 5th year (11th grade), meaning about 50-80 players on each side. One team being one year older than the other team made for an interesting dynamic. Officially it wasn't allowed, but games were never broken up or interfered with until the end of the lunch break, by the deputy headmaster. I don't remember anyone getting seriously injured, but there were a lot of minor injuries.
You would get used to the physicality of Rugby Union after a while. I started as a kid and gave up a year ago at age 59...
There are various specialities of positions you could watch, particularly with forwards and backs... Being only 5'7 I was a back (winger) most of the time but I have played all of positions when the need arises.... luckily I never broke any bones but I did have a few muscle tears and a couple of concussions (in training). Some of the 2nd row forwards get to about 7 feet tall and most male teams have people over 6'8"
The respect players have for the ref in union is amazing . Many players will refer to the ref as Sir.
I played a position called lock, the locks are usually the tallest players in the team I'm 6'6 so truthfully a little small, I get lifted in the lineouts and second row in the scrum.
You get taught how to play your position so there is danger but you mitigate it as much as possible.
It can be fun but it also hurts, the older I get the more it hurts.
Even at a short 5'11" I used to play Lock as far as I'm concerned Locks are the heart of the team.
We have the semi finals this weekend first is Argentina vs New Zealand 2nd is England vs South Africa its really is a Southern Hemisphere game this year. Union is my 1st love but I enjoy League as well
Rugby does not have rules it has laws
Rugby Union became professional in the UK during my lifetime (I'm 57 now). When I was a kid, Rugby Union players were all amateur, so they all had other jobs. Because it's the more 'upper class' game, they were generally well paid jobs (lawyers, doctors, etc) which allowed them to be able to play for clubs and internationally.
Back in the day there were several talented and well known Union players who switched codes to Rugby League in order to get paid to play! Jonathan Davies springs to mind as a high-profile player who switched.
I think Rugby Union became professional in 1995 (?).
Posts not goal
Bless you !
Always weird how american footballers (American Rugby really,lol) call it a touch down when they don't actually touch it down, they just drop it over the line, childs play
wow ok i stand corrected, you only have to cross the line, even easier and even less like it's term, touch down lol
Wiki says: The term touchdown is a holdover from gridiron's early days when the ball was required to be touched to the ground as in rugby, as rugby and gridiron were still extremely similar sports at this point. This rule was changed to the modern-day iteration in 1889.
Officially,FIRST..
bless you
2 versions of the 7 versions of football.
😂
As someone who is a fan of Rugby Union, League and American Football, and played both codes of Rugby, I would suggest starting with league first before delving into union.
League is faster paced, more running, more action and bigger hits. It’s a good introduction to the sport as it gives you a decent knowledge of the basic skills of Rugby as a whole, while keeping you constantly engaged the whole 80 minutes. Try watching a State of Origin game between New South Wales and Queensland. This is the pinnacle of Rugby League and is 80 minutes of non stop action, by far the fastest pace rugby out of both codes.
Union is more of a grind, much more kicking and set play based, but much more strategic than league is. It’s a fantastic game to watch once you know what you are watching, seeing the strategic possession/territory battle play out live is beautiful. But until you really have an understanding of the game it can seem like a chaotic mess, and at times it is. Any game that NZ plays is a good introduction to the game as they are consistently the best team over the history of the sport.
I would say that it depends on how you most easily understand American football as to which code is more accessible. In terms of rules, field and simplicity of understanding what is going on, League is definitely the one to start with because of the tackles/downs system, but in terms of positions/roles within the team, Union much more closely resembles American football as all the positions and their roles on the team can be directly compared to an American football equivalent. I would say that union is a more technical game especially around the ruck and maul areas, however, which can be an impenetrable mess even to union fans themselves, so you have to warn a newcomer not to get disheartened by not understanding certain infringements and referee decisions as a result.
The other thing that's worth noting is that while the rules of League suggest it would be more stop-start compared to consistent action in Union, this doesn't really bear out in practice, because of those technicalities in Union that means you might get longer uninterrupted flows of action in Union than you do in League (and when a team that needs to score is putting together 15-20 phases of possession it can be constant excitement), you also get more 'down-time' in Union where you have things like reset scrums, or positional kick battles where both teams punt back and forth, because not being able to block (like American football) or guarantee possession after a tackle (like Rugby League) means that taking contact is a bad idea so you get these boring phases of back and forth kicking before the game gets back into a rhythm that a novice fan can recognise and enjoy more.
Peacock and FloSports stream all of the top Union leagues and international tournaments between them. If you're a fan they're a must
Awe heck yeah, I have Peacock, thanks! I've heard that the Rugby World Cup is happening now!
@JJLAReacts It is, and all the matches are archived! The France-New Zealand and Ireland-South Africa matches in particular are great adverts for the game.
One thing not mentioned is that there are no separate teams for offence and defence. The same players are on the pitch for the entire game, unless they are carried off on a stretcher.
I played rugby union at school and was knocked out cold twice and had a concussion.
Most of the time you get bruises and chunks knocked out of you.
It's quite common to have your hands trodden on with studs (cleats) but you don't normally worry about such trivial matters until after the game.
Indeed, being “studded” was commonplace in the 1960s at school, as was having your balls grabbed and twisted in the scrum by the opposing tight-head prop if you were the hooker, to take your mind off your job of getting possession in the scrum. It was never anything personal.
Rugby Union = Rugby (Traditional)
Rugby League = Rugby (Simplified)
American football is based on Rugby football, which is based on FOOTBALL. Not frikkin soccer ffs!
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Crazy right:
They don't kick the ball= Football
They don't touch the ball down= Touchdown
These bloody Yanks 🤔🤷♂🤷♂🤣🤣🤣🤣
2022 womens union (England/NZ) was a hell of a match. 🥰🏴🏴
Scrum is heaven in winter, huddled with the other forwards and kept warm and comfy
the 2022 Women's World Cup final is possibly the best game I've ever watched
Came back here to say, JJ, you need to look up Rob Burrow's career highlights. He was arguably one of the greatest ever short and quick guys in league and he is probably more well known since his untimely death for the work he did for motor neurone disease research and charity work. He was a thoroughly awesome bloke too by all accounts, when Kevin Sinfield lifted him over the line at the marathon, i was bawling my eyes out because rOB of just how significant that moment was.
Oh and he also had one of the very very best Challenge Cup (think Superbowl for rugby league) tries ever, too. The team where I grew up may be shit, but, I was lucky enough to have ROb be playing for my local bigger club.
As for Union. THe Scotland/Wales match in the 2024 one. Wales nearly pulled off a 26 point comeback and were held at the goal line as the clock ran out. Karma got Scotland later on by them losing in a highly similar, controversial, manner and arguing they were robbed by the TMO (think instant replay) ruling it was not a try and Scotland kicked up a fuss about it. Both matches were incredible. Wales were down 26 at the half, came storming out and Scotland got more and more and more disorganized as the second 40 minutes went on. Oh and Duhan van der Merwe is an absolute beast of a player who qualified for Scottish selection by living there for three years and has turned into an unstoppable force. Every time he got fed the ball, he was off and going the length of the pitch it felt like and he'd usually score, and do some incredible moments to. Look up his highlights, everyone. They are incredible. Duhan is, I'd argue, one of the best wings in all of rugby union currently.ouCame back here to say, JJ, you need to look up Rob Burrow's career highlights. He was arguably one of the greatest ever short and quick guys in league and he is probably more well known since his untimely death for the work he did for motor neurone disease research and charity work. He was a thoroughly awesome bloke too by all accounts, when Kevin Sinfield lifted him over the line at the marathon, i was bawling my eyes out because rOB of just how significant that moment was.
Oh and he also had one of the very very best Challenge Cup (think Superbowl for rugby league) tries ever, too. The team where I grew up may be shit, but, I was lucky enough to have ROb be playing for my local bigger club.
As for Union. THe Scotland/Wales match in the 2024 one. Wales nearly pulled off a 26 point comeback and were held at the goal line as the clock ran out. Karma got Scotland later on by them losing in a highly similar, controversial, manner and arguing they were robbed by the TMO (think instant replay) ruling it was not a try and Scotland kicked up a fuss about it. Both matches were incredible. Wales were down 26 at the half, came storming out and Scotland got more and more and more disorganized as the second 40 minutes went on. Oh and Duhan van der Merwe is an absolute beast of a player who qualified for Scottish selection by living there for three years and has turned into an unstoppable force. Every time he got fed the ball, he was off and going the length of the pitch it felt like and he'd usually score, and do some incredible moments to. Look up his highlights, everyone. They are incredible. Duhan is, I'd argue, one of the best wings in all of rugby union currently.ou
Rugby Union is a great game to play but harder to watch because of technical penalties which often arise out of the set pieces like scrums and line-outs where as League is more fun to watch and play is more open!
This was a brilliant watch; both the original video and your reaction and added input.
Thanks so much, great stuff!
Don't watch a highlights video, that won't give you any insight into any version of the game, only by watching a full game will give you an idea how these games are played. I grew up playing Rugby in school, and watched it on TV, my country has the best team in the world, the All Blacks of New Zealand. Also in NZ we distinguished the 2 versions by calling Rugby rugby and calling rugby league just League and unlike American football the TV coverage cannot stop play to show a commercial, I suppose the TV channel can show a commercial but the game won't stop for it like in America where the referee is told by the TV crew to stop play for commercials.
HEY!
if u find rugby hard, i suggest to look for the Calcio Fiorentino a medieval game of "football" , still played in modern days in Firenze (IT).
it's a ruthless mixed game of rugby / football / boxing and MMA :)