It may be unpatriotic to say this, but after spending 6 months in the rugby capital of the world (New Zealand), during the Rugby world cup, I must say that Rugby is a MUCH BETTER GAME. American football players have NOTHING on Rugby players.
HEre is why:

In Rugby
-No Pads but just as much tackling
-No forward passing
-You must get through the other teams line ON YOUR OWN. Your teamates cannot block for you to create a hole.
-Just breaking the endzone is not enough. You must set down the ball and maintain control of it as you do so. Spking does not count.
-2 45+ minute halves. The halves only stop if there is a break in the game. Such as, one team scores, a foul is commited, the ball is kicked out of bounds, etc.
-No in game pauses unless a player is lying on the ground.
-NO COMMERCIAL BREAKS.

Really the only thing Football may have on Rugby is that there is more strategy involved in the play making. Rugby is 5x more exciting to watch.

i m from a top rugby country and i used to preffer american football because the athletes were more sharp and professionals (rugby was an obese sport in the 80).

but right now rugby for sure is becoming more dynamic and the guys are fast and strong.

american football is cool , the only thing is i never understood all the rules and it s damn SLOW , like baseball , all americans sports they take so long , changin teams , offensive teams , changing batter whatever... european sports are non-stop.

what makes american football is the atmosphear , it s breathtaking , those colors ,the crowd roaring, the show ,the violence the big tatooed guys , americans for sure are the best at putting a good show.

tino

My friends have trouble believing me when I tell them that France has one of the best rugby teams in the world. I have to explain that your players are also the dirtiest (in that they commit the most fouls).

Rugby is a tough sport indeed. American Football is all padding when Rugby guys go at it without.

One of the things that turn someone unfamiliar to Rugby onto it is watching the NZ All Blacks. The first time I saw the Haka opening the game, I was in an North Shore Auckland Pub, NZ was playing SOuth Africa in the second Tri Nations game. I will never forget it.

One of the things that turn someone unfamiliar to Rugby onto it is watching the NZ All Blacks. The first time I saw the Haka opening the game, I was in an North Shore Auckland Pub, NZ was playing SOuth Africa in the second Tri Nations game. I will never forget it.

Have you seen Jonah Lumo play? He was unbelievable. The NZ Rugby chant is quite intimidating :eek:

tino

My friends have trouble believing me when I tell them that France has one of the best rugby teams in the world. I have to explain that your players are also the dirtiest (in that they commit the most fouls).


yeap , but thats because the french championship rules allow things that are ruled fouls in international championships , so the players have problems adjusting.

rugby is teach in schools in france (mainly in the south west part of the country) , so the best ones are selected and trained since their youth.

there are a few teams of american football in France , they ranked quite good in the NFL europe.

dark destroyer would you please remind me who won the last encounter between france and england ? ;)

Actually, isn't IReland doing quite well right now?

Have you seen Jonah Lumo play? He was unbelievable. The NZ Rugby chant is quite intimidating :eek:


jonah lumo is over , he has a kidney disease and has nt been selected in a while.

the youngsters in the KIWIS and the ALL BLACKS are monsters , not as strong as he was but overall even better athletes.

Actually, isn't IReland doing quite well right now?

ireland is good but not a top 5 nation . nations like argentina are better

Favorite players.

Out of Europe-
Shane Williams from Wales.
Dellaglio and Wilkinson from England. Dellaglio is the only man more intimidating looking than Vinny Jones.

OUt of Australia-
Stirling Mortlock. How can a white guy RUN LIKE THAT???? Once he gets going he is ****ing UNSTOPPABLE.

Out of New Zealand-
Carlos Spencer- HE rules. The man does it all.

ireland is good but not a top 5 nation . nations like argentina are better

Didn't Ireland BEAT Argentina?
Hell, they beat South Africa too......

youre right but on world rankings ireland is no top 5 and i think they never won a continental or world title.

Favorite players.

Out of Europe-
Shane Williams from Wales.
Dellaglio and Wilkinson from England. Dellaglio is the only man more intimidating looking than Vinny Jones.

OUt of Australia-
Stirling Mortlock. How can a white guy RUN LIKE THAT???? Once he gets going he is ****ing UNSTOPPABLE.

Out of New Zealand-
Carlos Spencer- HE rules. The man does it all.

wilkinson is as gifted for rugby as floyd mayweather is for boxing.

True.

But right now they are right up there. I heard that their back line has really made a difference. O'Dricoll is one of them.....I can't remember the other guy.

wilkinson is as gifted for rugby as floyd mayweather is for boxing.

Well as a flyhalf anyways......His boot is amazingly accurate. His boot won me 75 bucks when they played France in the Rugby world cup.

real test will be the 6 nation tournament this year .

if they beat france and or england they sure are world champions material.

real test will be the 6 nation tournament this year .

if they beat france and or england they sure are world champions material.

When does it begin?

The only way for me to watch it is on Fox Sports World.

ROUND ONE
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 5th 2005
FRANCE :: SCOTLAND
STADE DE FRANCE, PARIS
14.00 GMT

WALES :: ENGLAND
MILLENNIUM STADIUM, CARDIFF
17.30 GMT

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 6th 2005
ITALY :: IRELAND
FLAMINIO STADIUM, ROME
14.30 GMT

ROUND TWO
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 12th 2005
ITALY vs WALES
FLAMINIO STADIUM, ROME
13.30 GMT

SCOTLAND vs IRELAND
MURRAYFIELD STADIUM, EDINBURGH
16.00 GMT

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 13th 2005
ENGLAND vs FRANCE
TWICKENHAM, MIDDLESEX
15.00 GMT

ROUND THREE
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 26th 2005
SCOTLAND vs ITALY
MURRAYFIELD STADIUM, EDINBURGH
14.00 GMT

FRANCE vs WALES
STADE DE FRANCE, PARIS
16.00 GMT

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 27th 2005
IRELAND vs ENGLAND
LANSDOWNE ROAD, DUBLIN
15.00 GMT

ROUND FOUR
SATURDAY MARCH 12th 2005
IRELAND vs FRANCE
LANSDOWNE ROAD, DUBLIN
13.30 GMT

ENGLAND vs ITALY
TWICKENHAM, MIDDLESEX
16.00 GMT

SATURDAY MARCH 13th 2005
SCOTLAND vs WALES
MURRAYFIELD STADIUM, EDINBURGH
15.00 GMT


ROUND FIVE "SUPER SATURDAY"
SATURDAY MARCH 19th 2005
ITALY vs FRANCE
STADE DE FRANCE, PARIS
13.00 GMT

WALES vs IRELAND
MILLENNIUM STADIUM, CARDIFF
15.30 GMT

ENGLAND vs SCOTLAND
TWICKENHAM, LONDON
18.00 GMT

France will be dfending her title.

I am rooting for Wales and Ireland.

I couldn't help but become a fan of SHane Williams when he ALMOST singlehandedly defeated the ALL Blacks in the Rugby World Cup.

dont miss france VS england in twickenham , it s gonna be a blood bath (did you see that i gave you the schedule page 2 ?)

Yes I did and I thank you.

I probably won't see it until 2 days after though. Cuz Fox Sports World delays broadcasting them in the states.

i ll try to see one or two live in the "stade de france" , but tickets are so hard to obtain.

How long has Scotland sucked so bad?

they ALWAYS sucked but right now italy is the weakest of the 6 teams

Well, England has shown they are completely impotent without Wilkinson. So they better keep him in a bubble until the tournament starts.

he is prone to injury and the opposite team will try to break him everytime they can

They way you guys play. Wouldn't be suprised if he does get broken.

i hope he does ....

Roy Jones jr. plays Rugby..

Really? Respect.