It is easy to say that rugby and american football are similar games as they share the same origins but there is a stark difference between the two that cannot be overlooked.
Difference between rugby and football.
Both sports involve the concept of a limited number of downs tackles and scoring touchdowns tries takes clear precedence over goal kicking.
Football uses a traditional spherical ball.
Rugby vs american football.
A comparison between american football and rugby league is possible because of their shared origins and similar game concepts.
Differences worth knowing in order to have a better understanding of the sports.
We thought it was time to clear up a few things when comparing rugby to the closest alternate in the big four american football or the major competition the national football league nfl.
However that is not so.
The object of american football is to score more points than the opposing team by carrying the ball behind the opponents touch line called a touchdown.
First off the game of rugby requires a much wider field compared to football.
Rugby league is arguably the most similar sport to american football after canadian football.
American football is a game played between two teams and consists of 11 players in each of the two teams with unlimited substitutions.
In both sports two competing teams of players try to advance an inflated oblong ball down the field and across the opposing team s goal line or kick it through goalposts.
Rugby has a field of 15 players who stay on the pitch for the entire game whereas in american football there are only 11 players on the pitch at any one time.
The first and most obvious difference between american football and rugby union is the number of players on the field.
American football vs rugby comparison.
Rugby has a similar objective but the ball must be carried behind the opposing team s touchline and then placed down this is.
Rugby and american football are similar sports in nature but are played using rules that are quite different from each other.
Rugby is known for its unusual elongated ball designed for.
This is not unsurprising when you realise that american football and rugby are related with american football developing from rugby in the 19th century.
American football is a game of intense physical play with complex strategy to score points by advancing the ball to the.
Teams can also score points by kicking the ball between the posts this is known as a field goal.
The rugby world cup wound up just over a year ago in japan with south africa defeating great britain in the final.
At a glance you might even have thought that both rugby and american football are the same game.