I played rugby for 15 years and have to say that your explanation was very well put together and insightful. Do you have an American football explainer for rugby players? 😀
Thats going to be a longer video😀. American football is so intricate but when understood very exciting. I think its a great match of physicality and strategy with chance making an underdog win possible.
@@britjohnson1990 I enjoy it but it's difficult for someone like me who didn't grow up with it or play it to understand what the different players are doing and why. Especially at the scrimmage line!
@@bbbb98765 Do you mean general task or technique? Because if you mean the first, then I'll try to help. Quarterback (QB)- He calls the play for the offense in the huddle, reads the defense and can change the entire play or a player's task in it. Then after the ball is snapped, almost always he gets it from the center. Based on the play called, he'll try to pass it to one of the receivers or hand it off to one of the running backs. He needs to be very perceptive and knowledgeable to read the defense before and during the play, mentally and physically tough to deal with getting hit and he also has to have an accurate and strong throw. If he is athletic enough to run with the ball himself, that's a bonus, but necessary. Running back/halfback (RB/HB)- Usually he gets the ball during a running play. He needs good explosiveness, agility and ability to read blocks and defenses during the play to see where he should run with the ball. He also needs to be a good pass blocker for the passing plays and a good receiver so he could serve as an emergency receiver if need be. Fullback (FB) - It is a lesser used position nowadays because the rules make running plays less and passing plays more lucrative. This player lines up between the offensive line and the running back and is an extra blocker for the RB. Wide receiver (WR) - this player lines up outside, near the sidelines. If the QB called a running play, he blocks. If it's a passing play, he runs the route the QB asked him to and tries to beat the defensive player opposite him to get open and catch the ball. Offensive line (OL) - this is a collective for five players who line up on the line of scrimmage Tackle - guard - center - guard - tackle The center calls the protection to the other offensive linemen, he reads the defensive front before the play and predicts what they'll do and gives tasks to the other OL to exploit or at least counteract that. He also snaps the ball to the QB at the start of every offensive play. During the plays all 5 OL have a similar task, blocking the defensive players to prevent them from getting to the ball carriers. All 5 players have to be incredibly strong man mountains, you rarely see a player here below 6'1 and 300 pounds. Obviously, the tackles have to be more nimble on their feet because they have to cover the perimeter. Tight end (TE) - the last offensive position is something of a combination. He usually lines up outside one of the tackles. He is half-offensive line, half-receiver. Smaller and weaker than the giants in the OL, but still have to be big and strong enough to be an effective blocker. Bigger and slower than the sprinters at WR, but still athletic enough to beat the defensive player covering him and be a receiving threat. Defensive line (DL) The players who line up opposite the offensive tackles are called the (defensive) ends. The player(s) who line up between the ends and opposite the offensive center and guards are the defensive tackle(s). If the offense calls a running play, these guys try to occupy the offensive blockers and make space and time for the players behind them to make a tackle or make the tackle themselves. During a passing play, these guys try to phyiscally, athletically and/or technically overwhelm the offensive line and tackle the quarterback before he gets a chance to release a pass, or at least rush him into making a decision. Linebackers (LB) These guys line up before the start of the play behind the defensive line. Usually one of them is the defensive captain who calls the defensive plays. They are slightly smaller but more athletic than the defensive linement, have to be versatile players and have to have good instincts to predict and follow where the ball is going and tackle the ball carrier. During passing plays they also cover a zone or a man or they can join the defensive line and rush the QB, depending on the defense called. Cornerbacks (CB) These guys line up near the boundaries, opposite the WRs. These guys have to be the fastest and most agile players on the field, because they have to prevent the WRs from catching the ball in a lot of open space without knowing what route they're running. Safeties (S) As the name says, they're the last line of the defense during both passing and running plays. They have to help out the CBs in covering the receivers and tackle the ballcarriers if they've gotten through the rest of the defense. Kicker (K) He comes onto the field solely to kick field goals and make kickoffs Punter (P) He punts the ball if the offense has ran out of tries. He can also kick the ball off, depending on which player has a stronger leg. Kickoff / punt returner (KR/PR) He is designated to catch the ball on kickoffs or punts. It is usually is just a secondary task to a RB or a WR, but he can also be a specialist if he's a difference-maker enough. Hope this helps!
@@bbbb98765 I assume you already know the basics of American football (the snap, downs, incomplete passes, touchdowns, punts, etc.). If I'm incorrect, please let me know and I can explain the basics pretty succinctly. (If anyone else is reading this comment and wants a succinct explanation of the basic game concepts of American football, please reply.) In American football, there's a rule governing the offensive team's formations that says exactly seven of their players have to be along the line of scrimmage (within a yard of it), and the other four have to be at least a yard behind it. Five of the seven players who line up along the line of scrimmage--the player who snaps the ball (known as the "center") and the two guys on each side of him--are ineligible to receive passes, and are basically just there to form a protective wall in front of the quarterback (the player who receives the snap) so he doesn't get tackled before he has a chance to get rid of the ball by passing or handing it off. The quarterback has to be very tactically-adept, since it's his job to decide who gets the football next, either by passing it or handing it off. The other two players along the line of scrimmage, along with anyone who starts out in the backfield, are allowed to receive a pass. Often, one or two players (or even more) will line up "out wide" away from the five linemen, and run downfield as soon as the ball is snapped to receive a pass. (Forward passes are legal in American football as long as they're thrown from behind the line of scrimmage, and the offsides rule only disallows players from crossing the line of scrimmage _before_ the ball is snapped.) The better the offensive line protects the quarterback, the longer he can hold onto the ball and wait for the receivers to run downfield! If a player other than the 5-man offensive line lines up close to the linemen, he's called a "tight end" and can either receive a pass or help block for the quarterback. Tight ends have to be really versatile. Defensive formations are not governed by any rules, so they can line up however they want. This channel did a video about common defensive formations. They can do three things: Defend against passing plays by man-marking receivers, defend against running plays by being ready to tackle a runner, or try to rush the quarterback (which involves trying to get through or around the offensive line) to sack him.
Important point regarding the use of the punt as an offensive weapon (like a forward pass, as you've put it) - for it to be legal for a teammate to catch a punt, that player must be BEHIND the kicker at the point at which the ball is kicked. If he is in front, then he is offside and not eligible to catch the punt.
I always thought the receiving player must have BEEN behind the kicker at some point between the kick and receiving the ball. As I'm sure I remember a tactic from school of kicking the ball towards a team mate in empty space then running like hell down the field to bring them on side before the ball got to them.
This is one of the rules that Canadian Football maintained from it's rugby roots. It only rarely comes up but it manages to confuse the heck out of American viewers.
@@richcbri Yes that's correct. The kicker can put teammates onside by running in front of them after the kick. However usually the kicker is stationary or moving much more slowly than the chasers, who will often be sprinting in anticipation of the kick, so it would be very difficult to put them onside, unless it's a high short kick close to the try line, where they're just trying to get under it.
The *conversion* (the extra-points kick after a touchdown) is taken from an imagined line straight backwards from the place the ball was touched down, and at any distance the kicker chooses. This is why a player who has crossed the try line will often keep playing to try to get the ball near the posts before touching it down, why players still get tackled in the in-goal area, and why some kicks are taken from near the touch-line (the edge of the playing field.) (Mentioned since I have been asked recently by NFL fans.)
@@choch2727 If he still touches it down, he scores. But if the ball is held up (the defending team get under it so it can’t be touched down) or is dispossessed of the ball and a defending player grounds it, the ball is dead and play is restarted by a goal line drop-out (a player of the defending team drop-kicks it from the goal line).
@@SpeckleKen Thanks! I am watching the womens match suggested by the video creator. Never watched the sport before but learning the basics now I find myself watching the whole match. One more questions, someone failing to touch down during a try attempt (stopped by the defense) would be considered, I am assuming, a boneheaded play? like if they were trying to move closer to the posts?
If any Americans are interested, the Six Nations Championship is ongoing at the time of this video, and is one of the premier competitions within the northern hemisphere, held every year between France, Italy, Ireland, and the three British teams of England, Wales, and Scotland. A similar story about the rise of professionalism in Northern England and the split between the amateur south and professional north exists in soccer, and some of the original competitions that arose from that split, like the Southern and Isthmian leagues, still exist today!
@@SportsExplained the 6 nations is always fun. I do think there should be a rugby union version of the euros like there is in football. But even if that got created, I'd still want the 6 nations to keep existing. Every rugby fan does, I'm sure. There's a reason rugby fans call it "merry sixmas" when it starts again every year.
@@SportsExplained oh yeah and definitely please do a video on the history of professional players in rugby, and how it led to the split and creation of rugby league, and how rugby union players only began to get paid to play in 1995 which is nuts. And the first World Cup only happened in 1987. All very very recent. Until the 80s and 90s, rugby union had been entirely an amateur sport, and great union players would go play rugby league instead in order to actually get paid. Whereas these days they don't have to do that.
@@duffman18 something like the Euros does exist. It's called the Rugby European International Championship and it's held every year between tier 2 and tier 3 nations. You just can't make the 6 Nations trams play against them because the difference in quality is abysmal. Georgia and Romania, who dominate at that level, can barely compete at the World Cup level
It's also worth mentioning that rugby brings both the Republic and Northern Ireland together as one team, and did even through the dark times of the troubles. That alone should be proof that rugby is different class to most other sports.
A bit of trivia, the US is the reigning Olympic champions in 15's Rugby, being the gold medalists in Paris 1924 when it was last played as an Olympic sport. Rugby returned to the Olympic arena in Rio 2016, but in the 7's format. Fiji won the inaugural gold medal in that event.
That gold for Fiji was the first Olympic medal Fiji had won! (My brother lives in Fiji, and he said the nation went nuts. The government declared a national holiday.)
@@occamraiser the 7's competition is professional, but it's a very different game to 15's rugby. The field is more open with 7-a-side, so players with a certain physique do well in this format. Only a handful of players are able to play both forms of rugby. So far this year, there have been 5 different winners in the HSBC tournament - NZ, South Africa, Samoa, Argentina, Australia.
@@harri3020 also rugby 7s games are very very short. They only have 7 minute halves, unlike normal rugby union which has 80 minute matches of two 40-minute halves. So the teams play multiple games on the same day and a competition can be held over a weekend. I find that a bit odd personally. But it does make it very different to normal rugby union at least, which is what they're going for.
As an Australian, I don't think I have ever heard such a succinct and accurate explanation of the two Rugby codes. And it took an American to do it! Thank you for an excellent video - I will now check out your cricket one.
South Africa here, I agree it's very articulate and a pricise analogy of what is going on in the two codes. There is a third code of it played in Australia on an oval pitch where kicking not passing dominated that code. In Australia it actually supercedes union in player involvement and spectatorship. Pls don't ask me what it's called as they have a basketball style of bouncing the ball aswell
@@RicksPhatPharm-vw2lbThe 'third code of rugby' you're talking about is not a form of rugby at all. It's called australian rules football, often referred to by Australians as 'aussie rules footy' or 'footy'. I'm not Australian, but as I understand it, the rules have been developed through the years by people having ideas for playing a ball game on a cricket pitch. It's also said that this sport was derived from neither football nor rugby. However, this could be a question of debate, because there is an Irish sport quite similar to this that is probably considered to be derived from both rugby and association football/soccer, which is called gaelic football. And I believe that Irish migrants in Australia had some influence on the game that became australian rules football. These two sports are even similar enough for there to exist a hybrid code called international rules football, of which test matches are played between Australian and Irish national teams on a rectangular pitch of approximately the same size as a rugby pitch. Aussies, feel free to chime in on the history of australian rules football, because you certainly know more about it than I do. As a Dutch guy, I hear and see too little about it. Our tv channels don't even pay any attention to this game. Eurosport did some broadcasting of one match a week and highlights from the AFL for a while, but even that is gone now.
@@williamwilting I am an Australian Rules football fan and I will chime in. The game is designed to be played on a cricket oval. Cricket ovals have many shapes but in AFL usually measure 155 metres long (170yd) and 130 metres wide (142yd). The inventor of the game is Tom Wills, a private schooler from England who went to Rugby School and played cricket also. Wills has a complicated history I will not elaborate on here. The game has FALSE history of being designed to "keep cricket players fit during winter" as cricket (similar to baseball) is only played during dry summer conditions. The TRUE history is that the "birthplace" of Australian Rules Football is the Melbourne Cricket Ground (160m x 140m) which is owned by the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC). Like most cricket clubs which are proud and would never share its playing area with another (more barbaric) sport, the MCC did the same for the MCG. Luckily for Australian Football, the MCG was a rare piece of clear ground so close to Melbourne's centre and the local government "forced/permitted" AFL to be played there in the winter months. The similarity of Gaelic football to Australian Rules Football is coincidental. The two sports began separately and they have borrowed from each other (the most being Gaelic adopting the concept of catching a kicked ball "Mark"* from Australian Football.) Anyone suggesting either sport owes its origin to the other is incorrect. Additionally there were different versions of Australian Football being played in the different colonies/states of Australia. These versions differ as little as later Sheffield rules differed to Soccer, Rugby Union to League, and Canadian Football to American Football. That last one might shock some fans of those sports but the similarity is there.
As a South African (where rugby is practically a religion) this is one of the best, concise explanations of the game that I've ever come across, well done SE.
I played against a couple of touring sides from SA as a schoolboy. They were physically ahead of us and better drilled... those were long afternoons! 😀
Despite being played in something like 80 odd countries, there are only three places in the world where Rugby is considered a religion, South Africa, New Zealand and Wales... Georgians may disagree with this assessment. 😁 (That's European Georgia, not the State)
I'm from South Africa (one of the major rugby playing nations in the world), and I must congratulate you on an excellent explanation of the game as I know it (Rugby Union). I also unexpectedly learned about Rugby League which does not have much traction here. Thank you, this was well worth watching.
Good explanation, worth noting in Union territory is more important than possession (because every tackle is a potential turnover and the ball cannot be advanced to a player already ahead of the ball) for example: a team would almost always prefer the opposing team to have the ball at midfield than have it themselves near their own goal line.
That's a good point, and it also explains why sometimes you get an exchange of long kicks from one end to the other, with each fullback testing each other's handling, positioning and kicking abilities, trying to force an error to gain territory.
Good point, that´s why when teams are close to the goal line they will allways kick it away to advance in the field, some times it´s a back and forth affair with both teams kicking it to each other
@@SportsExplained There is also a good chance to win the ball, a penalty, or a free kick defending a line-out. Getting a penalty, or free kick, will often result in a line-out 50+ metres up the field from the first clearing kick.
Well done. As a New Zealander who has been brought up on rugby I don't think that you got anything wrong. I think it was extremely useful to incorporate the history of the games. Hope people in the USA switch on to Rugby as it is the game that is played in heaven.
Fun fact, there are 4 football codes in Australia that are popularly played - rugby league, rugby union, Aussie rules football, and soccer. So the phrase "watching the footy" carries quite different meanings depending on which state you're in. In 2010 they held an inter-code 100m sprint match for the giggles, and on that occasion Lachie Turner from the Queensland Reds (rugby union) came out on top
It is impossible to understand what someone means by the word "football". It should be wholly discarded as a reference for any sport without an appendage (e.g. American football, Gaelic football).
@@harryeast95 That is exactly what happened where I grew up in northern Australia as many people played several sports all year round. So people would specify which sport they played; league or union (rugby), aussie rules, soccer and gridiron (american football).
I would have liked to play back then I’m 30 now and I play pickup basketball like every other day. I played football in HS all four years but never a rugby team
@@deneguil-1618 ah the old tired "safety rugby" joke. The hits are bigger, the NFL is crazy. As someone who loves both sports, trust me, most Rugby players aren't trying to suit up & take a full speed collision with your average NFL player.
Very well put together. A couple of historical points. Rugby League's break away from Rugby Union was at least in part over the fact that RL was a more working class game than RU. Games were played on a Saturday and a working class man was more likely to work a 6 day week. Playing meant giving up a day's pay. So players wanted to be compensated for that. RU's strictly amateur ethos didn't allow for that. Also - you mentioned the difference in field markings. That actually owes itself to American Football. For many years, RL and RU field marking was the same. The Australian RL wanted to refresh their game and studied the commercialisation in America and both adopted the field markings and the habit of giving teams names - Brisbane Rugby League Football Club became the Brisbane Broncos. The UK soon followed - Wigan RLFC became the Wigan Warriors. One thing I would say to any American viewer. Never call them rules - they're laws. And don't worry if you don't understand the laws. I played RU for 35 years and I swear half the people I played with didn't understand them either 🙂
I'm a Texan who likes Rugby and other sports. One thing I would explain to novices about conversions is they don't always kick them from the center of the field, but rather it's kicked from where you grounded the ball. To cut down on the angle, he can kick it from farther back if need be.
That makes sense. It also sounds like it's made reasonable by the fact that it's an uncontested free kick, unlike the NFL extra points where the other team is allowed to try to blitz the kicker and block the kick.
@@philipmcniel4908 The conversion can, and often is contested, just like in the NFL, but I can only recall one time seeing one actually being blocked in my 40 years of watching rugby (France's Thierry Lacroix against England for the 1995 RWC 3rd place game if my memory serves me right). Only an attempted penalty kick cannot be contested. On the other hand, if the ball bounces off the woodwork after a penalty kick then it's game on whereas if the same happens on a try conversion kick then it's back to the half way line.
@@branlotin Interesting--I'd noticed that some videos of Rugby conversion attempts seemed slower-paced than in American football, and I'd seen one Diane Jennings reaction video to American football where she remarked on the same thing--how American football kickers were taking their kicks immediately while the rugby players took a bit of time.
@@branlotin Small correction. In Rugby League, conversions are always uncontested. In Rugby Union the conversion can be contested, but isn't always. But the contest can only start once the player starts the kicking motion. (ie his setup, placing the ball etc must keep the player behind the try line.
@@jamesahibbard Yes indeed, I wanted to add the precision about having to wait for the kicker to start his kicking motion. I didn't know the rule about league as I don't watch it. I am from France and league is really small here, it is limited to a little triangle area between Perpignan, Foix and Narbonne and you never see it on telly. I also should have added that for it to be game on when an attempted penalty kick bounces off the woodwork the ball has to come back into play and not just be deviated towards the try zone.
I’ve watched your other explanation videos and as a UK based rugby fan and player of both codes, I think this is an excellent video and does a brilliant job of explaining both codes without getting lost in the weeds and nuances. I would also say that this seems an excellent time to mention that it is because of the full names of these sports, (Rugby Football League and Rugby Football Union) that the term soccer was created by the British to distinguish between them and association football. Not the US as the majority of ill informed UK soccer fans will have you believe.
@@DjPyro2010 And yet it is an English term, the word soccer is a shortened form of association football (unlike what the OP wrote). It was coined at Oxford University to distinguish it from "rugger" as rugby was known as there.
Thanks for recommending the Women's World Cup final, probably the best final that there's even been, men or women. The most dominant team world rugby has ever seen (England) vs the most-talented players who spent the last 2 years in crisis (NZ). Expansive rugby vs set-piece dominance. Game-changing (and correct) refereeing decisions. The tournament being decided by one final play - it has everything.
Yeah, he picked a cracker here. I would add that it could be easier for a beginner to understand rugby union by watching women's rugby than men's, because it is less dominated by power. It looks a lot like men's rugby union did before it turned professional and they could spend all day in the gym.
@McSnapples The All Blacks' professional golden age was incredible because it was over an entire generation of players and featured all kinds of victories, from drubbings to last-minute comebacks (Ireland in 2013 comes to mind). England Women's was impressive as, other than against France and the semi-final against Canada, they steamrolled any and all opposition for 30 straight games. It's all semantics, really.
I love that you not only included womens games but also recomended a match. They have been overlooked for such a long time because it was at a lower level than the mens but now there's finally some funding going towards them and they prove that their game is exciting and worth the watch
I think one small extra thing worth noting is a field goal has to be from a drop kick where the ball touches the ground before the player makes contact to kick it, not just a punt
@@domurtag1978 Yes, it's a drop-kick, but I think Tomahawk was referring to the American Football name for it so that US readers could understand what he was talking about.
@@domurtag1978 Certainly is in league. "Drop Kick" is referred to the type of kick which hits the ground before it is kicked. For example, a goal-line drop out is a drop kick, but it's certainly not a field goal.
@@domurtag1978 in Australia drop goal and field goal are used interchangeably in rugby league. In both codes, field goals used to mean goals scored by kicking the ball off the ground (ie not from the hand) in open play, but this was abolished in the 20th century. I assume that American football inherited the term field goal from rugby, as it was still part of the game when gridiron broke away and became a separate sport
Slight correction - In Rugby League. The Zero tackle is a extra bonus tackle, meaning that the set of six has 7 tackles. It was brought in to keep the game flowing. If Team A drops the ball and the Team B dives on it and is immediately tackled, rather than stop the game for a scrum like they did in the past, team B is given a zero tackle and play continues. BTW this is a good video.
I'm the target market and found this very useful The differences between league and union sound more pronounced than the differences between American and Canadian football, but same general idea of broadly similar sports I'd add that in the US Walter Camp of Yale instituted rules changes in the 1880s that made the American game distinct, likewise for the Burnside rules in Canada in 1903
I’ve been playing rugby for 16 years in America, and this is an excellent video. I hope this inspires my fellow Americans to visit their local rugby club and try it out. It is truly a lifelong sport that can take you around the world and build your local community.
It won’t. Too much running around and not enough padding for the average football player. Nobody else wants to get hit except hockey players, and rugby on ice - amazing as it would be - would just be a bloodsport with all those blades flashing around. 😆
@@weebleman6 You don't have to be full on contact for the entire life. Young kids grades now days a low impact and golden oldies post senior grade are also. There regular stories of 90 yr olds playing here in New Zealand. What you also missed is that Rugby's basic grassroots organisation is the local community club, and people belong to these more often than not for life. People who have stopped playing competitively, will become coaches, administrators, referees, fundraisers, caterers, drivers, jersey washers, etc etc. The meaning of 'Team' has a much more wider application at the community rugby club level than at the professional sport franchises that dominate American sporting structures.
I think it’s great that you use lots of women’s rugby clips and highlight the women’s competition as an example. Women players need more exposure and deserve more respect!
I do watch both mens and womens soccer, which got me used to watching womens sports, so glad to see that myself (golf, tennis, basketball I don't much care for whatever the gender). Though it seems ironic since I had the impression of rugby as a big muscleman sport)
Just watched the 2015 NRL Grand Final, WHAT. A. GAME! Never watched a full rugby match in my life, but I ended up waking up my roommate cheering so loud at the end. Looking forward to watching more rugby league thanks to your video!
the considered pinnacle of nrl is State of Origin. Fought with passion. On the east coast during State of O week, you choose Blues or Maroons.indecision is not allowed. The ulimate clash of Tribes. ua-cam.com/video/H5b0LZZXlqc/v-deo.html&pp=ygUlc3RhdGUgb2Ygb3JpZ2luIDIwMjMgZ2FtZSAyIGZ1bGwgZ2FtZQ%3D%3D
Then you should watch the 2023 NRL Grand Final between the Penrith Panthers and the Brisbane Broncos. The Broncos had a comfortable lead 24-8 with 18 minutes left to play. They looked every inch the winners. But then the incredible happened. The Penrith captain, halfback Nathan Cleary, almost singlehandedly orchestrated a comeback for his team, which resulted in 3 converted tries. Cleary scored the last one himself, with Penrith finishing 26-24 winners. Have to agree with others here. The commentary explaining the difference between the two rugby codes on this You Tube video was first class!!!!. Well done!
@@colmoynihan724 so funny enough I became a broncos fan prior to the start of the season where this was the finals, I’ve got a friend from Brisbane so figured I’d cheer for ‘em. Then they have an amazing season just for it to end so tragically haha great game though looking forward to this season!
Thanks for including a lot of footage of the women's rugby in this video. Women's rugby is awesome to watch, and is growing and doing well in both codes and it's great to see the ladies getting a good showing in videos like this.
Another thing of note, is that, at least in France, the commentaries of women's rugby matches are much more "beginner friendly" than the men's. Basically, there are less assumptions that you already know most of the rules (as opposed to just the basics) and the curriculum vitae of the players in women's rugby matches here than in men's rugby, so they'll spend a little more time explaining the rules, the terms or the player's positions as things happen on the field, so you can start watching a match knowing very little about rugby and still understand most of what is going on without feeling left out or requiring a friend to explain the weird things that happen because the commentators already do. Men's rugby is getting better at introducing a new audience to the sport as it was when I was a kid, I think, at least based on the current world cup (in particular, the little cards which appear underneath the score to tell you which error was made by which team are nice, they probably aren't super new, but didn't exist when I was younger), but I remember being pleasantly surprised when I followed the 2017 women's world cup by how easy it was to follow, even for family members who didn't play and seldom watched. I'm guessing it depends on the popularity of the sport in each country, but still, for people who are trying to discover rugby and who don't know where to start, checking women's rugby is really worth it.
So I am an American and have been watching rugby for over 25 years now. I started watching it because of two people, Jonah Lomu(New Zealand) and later George Gregan(Australia). These two guys set up the foundation for me to become a fan still to this day. In terms of the video, Im glad you mentioned the differences between League and Union as I feel too that an American who might be an NFL fan could find themselves better coming into rugby through watching League. As it is more structured and easy to follow. I would also suggest watching the USA Eagles Sevens teams(men and women) as a good startup for an American fan, as both teams are very good and with there being only 7 players, there's more space and more action(look up Carlin Isles and Perry Baker). Plus, quite a few Sevens players came directly from college football...some even the NFL. In all, the biggest thing about rugby, much like any sport, is that it just takes time to get better at following along and finding your groove with it. Thanks to florugby, rugby pass, peacock tv...finding rugby has never been easier.
You know Jonah wasn't just a great wing, he could do it all. I saw him play in the NPC (National Provincial Championship in NZ) a bunch of times. One very wet muddy game he took a penalty (yes he could kick) from just inside half way and nearly next to the sideline, It would be nearly impossible even for a known kicker, he hit the black dot on the cross bar... So people that said he was just a great winger don't have all the facts. He could play brilliantly anywhere, a true legend and I'm so glad I got to see him play in his prime.
Awesome video. Sending it to my parents, who might be visiting New Zealand at some point soon. I'd just like to point out the word "scrummage" in one of those 19th-century American rule sets. This is clearly the missing link between the rugby scrum (and possibly the tech industry's Agile scrum) and the American football line of scrimmage (and possibly "scrimmage" as a word for an informal game of any foot + ball sport). Also, for any other Terry Pratchett fans in the audience, that history segment has made Unseen Academicals make a lot more sense.
You're right about the link, just worth pointing out that the word "scrimmage" pre-dates both rugby codes and was used in several versions of "football" that are considerably older than rugby. Some of those versions are still played, but only by a handful of players at a few English private schools with some very old sporting traditions.
In Australian Rules Football, broadcasters and. Journalists unofficially use "scrimmage" ( same as in US), but to describe a scrappy, aggressive passage of play in a small area of the field.
@@geoffaldwinckle1096 I'm curious if you've ever seen Harrow football Geoff? The ball is very different, but there are parts of the game, including the posts and long kicks which seem very similar to Australian Rules
@@tomr5785 a great point. Though Professor Geoffrey Blainey points out that early Australian Rules in the 1850s-1870s bore a closet resemblance to Rugby than it does today.
@@tomr5785 I think from memory the main goal of the framers of the Australian Rules in 1859 was the elimination of the hacking allowed under Rugby and Winchester rules, even though T.W. Wills- who helped write these 18t9 rules, had attended Rugby School.
This was really interesting to hear an Americans perspective on Rugby, I played Rugby in school in Ireland and we love it here best thing the Brits ever made.
Hi. An excellent explanation for American Football Fans re Rugby Union and League. Here are a couple of additional points: A form of Rugby Union is now back in the Olympics (for both Men and Women). This version is Rugby 7's, based on Rugby Union. Way back in the early 1920's Rugby Union was played in the Olympics and the UNITED STATES won two consecutive Gold Medals, in 1920 and 1924, using players from those Ivy Universities. The US was very good at the game. Why were they so good? Well, because Rugby Union had been introduced to the American Ivy league Universities from England in the 1800's. This was before your American Football existed. Rugby Union in the USA Colleges became very popular and attracted crowds of 50,000 to the big College games. Naturally, American sports officials saw this and decided it would make a great professional game, outside the Colleges. (Players getting paid etc) BUT, Rugby Union was strictly Amateur and the controlling world body refused to allow player payments. So, this lead to a bunch of Americans sitting down and "creating" their own version of Rugby Union, revising all the rules, team size etc to meet their requirements. This early version was known as Gridiron and they used many of the old Rugby terms ie Touchdown due to the requirement to "touch the ball down" for a try. The name was later changed to American Football then just referred to as Football, even though there was already an International game called Football (Actually Association Football, often called Soccer) In England a similar thing happened. Some people wanted the Rugby Union game, outside the Universities, to go professional with players receiving payments. Again, the controlling body of Rugby Union refused and so the "breakaway" group of clubs became Rugby League with players getting paid and also changed the rules to better suit their requirements. Here endeth the lesson! LOL. Cheers, mate.
Three things I'd like to point out. 1. Rugby 7s in the Olympics is only referred to as "Rugby" in Olympic material. This is misleading in my opinion. Americans should be aware that Rugby 7s is a very new game and is a descendant of Rugby Union. It was originally developed as a means of practice for Rugby Union teams. There are now some very popular tournaments and are often broadcast on American TV, probably because the matches are so short. 2. Rugby union has only been professional since the 1990s, almost 100 years after Rugby League went pro 3. There is professional Rugby Union played in the US. It is confusingly called Major League Rugby. It is only about two years old, but the matches for that are broadcast on American TV. This is completely different from the Rugby League.
And today there are still different rules i college football compared to the NFL (and other short-lived professional leagues.) Not fundamental differences, but definately in clock management och infractions, for instance.
You just recommended what my brother, not a Rugby fan, called "Maybe the greatest game i have ever seen" when I got him to watch the women''s world cup final. A video about Sevens might be a good thing.
The fact that your brother called not just a rugby game but a women's rugby game the greatest thing he's ever seen is amazing. Women's rugby is starting to gain traction on TV and people are starting to become interested in it..... ALSO KEEP YOUR BROTHER SAFE OMG WHAT A SIGMA IF I COULD GET MY BROTHER TO LIKE WOMENS RUGBY THAT IT WOULD BE THE SAME AS ENDING WORLD HUNGER :)
This is the video that I have been waiting for (and asking people to make) for many, many years... Thanks! Every since the All-Blacks played at Soldier Field in Chicago many years ago (which was broadcast nationally in the US), I have been curious about rugby as an American, but never really knew where to start. This gives me a good starting point. Now, to watch the matches you suggested... 👍
These videos are great. Something else they could touch on is the practical / money side of things, especially outside the main league. I often wonder about it when watching American sports, which are foreign to me. If a soccer player isn’t good enough for the premiership he plays in the championship, or abroad. It’s a bit worse quality and a bit worse money. What about American Football (Canadian Football?) the minor leagues in baseball, national teams in Ice Hockey etc? Or even the State of Origin in Rugby League, the Curry Cup in SA, etc.
This comes out of me wondering ‘what’s life like for an athlete at this sport / level’? An example is Moto GP and Moto 2, the class below it. They’re all part of the same tour, racing the same tracks the same days. But MotoGP riders get paid good money whereas Moto2 riders usually have to PAY to ride. You wouldn’t know that from watching. Not sure if the vid mentioned it specifically, but Union wasn’t professional in the UK until the 90s, and I think Irish Gaelic sports are still amateur (?)
@@pinkepson93 This topic of how each sport operates professionally outside of the "major" / "premiere" leagues is on my list of future video topics! In the US each sport does it differently. For the NHL (ice hockey) and MLB (baseball) there are affiliated Minor Leagues, where each affiliated minor league team has a contract with (or is owned by) a major league club. Almost every hockey & baseball player that makes it to "the show" spends at least a season or two in the minors before being called up, and there are rules in place protecting the team & players throughout this process. The NHL has a single minor league, the AHL, while MLB has a six-tiered affiliated minor league system: Rookie, A, High A, AA, AAA, and MLB, and there are also other affiliated developmental leagues like the Arizona Fall League, the Dominican Summer league, etc. There are also Independent baseball leagues that operate at around the AAA level (one step below MLB) but these are significantly less popular than MLB. These leagues often have partnership agreements with MLB where they'll test out potential new rules, but the teams themselves are independent. For American Football, there is often one attempt at any given time to launch a league that is independent of the NFL, either to compete directly or to be an off-season "minor" league. None of these have been successful, but it hasn't stopped people from trying. This spring the Fox Corporation is trying to revive the USFL brand. Before that there were various iterations of the XFL, there was the AAF, etc.
Within the structure of the NFL, there's no next level down. You've either got a contract with an NFL team or you don't. Each team has a "practice squad" that serves as its reserves and developmental system, but practice squads don't play one another. I think a lot of "almost good enough" American football players go to Canada to play Canadian football, which is similar to American football, or they just don't play football after college. It's a brutal sport. You don't have neighborhood football leagues or bar leagues or anything like that like you do for baseball and hockey and basketball. The NBA owns and operates its own minor league that is currently called the "G League." Each G League team is owned and operated by its affiliated NBA team and they usually operate in a smaller city within the same media market, or at an arena in a different part of the same city.
@@SportsExplained sounds great. I remember reading before that minor league baseball players earn barely enough to live on. As a fan you wouldn’t necessarily so. Loads of interesting comparisons
I’m a South African sports fan, so rugby (union) was like a religion growing up there. I’ve never been a huge fan of it, preferring cricket, but I understand it well enough from playing and watching for decades and think your explainer is really good. I am a bigger NFL fan than rugby, and can appreciate the similarities and the major differences. I love the pauses in play while tactics are being discussed and players are taking their instructions for the next play. The strategy is incredible and seeing it all play out and work or not work is the best part. It’s also a collision sport so I’m glad they’re fully padded and helmeted, and hope that the instances of concussions decrease more and more. Rugby doesn’t have as much impact to the head. I think videos like this are great because the more we learn, the more we can appreciate a number of sports. And what’s better than that?
I think another core difference between rugby union and league is how scrums and lineouts affect the 'body types' of the players in rugby union. Especially the forwards. why you tend to have massive front rows, or tall 'locks' for catching the ball in lineouts, or why the scrum half is usually the smallest guy in the stadium ;). Whereas in rugby league, they're more even. But overall, great explanation. waiting for the American Football for rugby followers video :)
This channel is genuinely so well produced, easily digestible, and informative. Whoever you are I hope you are proud of yourself, what a great job you’ve done with your entire video catalog.
I actually went to the Rugby World Cup final between England and New Zealand last year. I knew almost nothing about Rugby, and the match happened to be happening the day after I arrived in New Zealand for vacation. I am so glad I went. It was an amazing crowd, and a great match in general. Certainly a great beginning point for people who want to see what Rugby Union is about.
The rugby world cup gets held every 4 years and was held in 2019 the last time, meaning it will be held again this year, which means it couldn't of been last year. Also the match between Nz and England was the semi finals which Nz sadly lost. Maybe you forgot the dates in which the game happened.
@@Rafe-b7b it was the World Cup for women, which is now advertised as just "Rugby World Cup". It was suppose to be in 2021, but pushed to 2022 due to COVID. It was the exact match the video recommended
Great video! One thing to point out however; in rugby union a tackle doesn’t always result in a ruck being formed. A ruck is formed when the ball carrier is tackled to the ground. When the ball carrier is tackled and remains on his or her feet, that is called a “maul”. A maul is sometimes deliberately instigated by the ball carrying team as a way of retaining possession and moving forward (albeit slowly) with minimal risk of the opposing team gaining possession and will often result in a defending team giving away a penalty for an infraction (due to the somewhat chaotic nature of the “rolling maul” (the slow, forward progress of the maul toward the defender’s try line). However (and here’s where it can get a bit confusing to the uninitiated) because the attacking team must recycle the ball if a maul stops moving, a maul is sometimes instigated by a defending team (by holding up the tackled player and not allowing them to go to ground) as a way of forcing the attacking team to give up possession; I.e. if the attacking team forms a maul, but the ball gets trapped inside the maul and wont come out (usually when everyone in the maul falls over) the defenders get a scrum in their favour (and 9 times out of 10 possession of the ball). This is because a ruck cannot be formed after the formation of a maul. Told you it was confusing.
I grew up watching both codes of Rugby, but I now live in the home of Aussie Rules (Melbourne). I have been to Rugby League matches in Australia (in Canberra) and UK (in Bradford that was really interesting and enjoyable) as well as attending Rugby Union Tests for Australia vs New Zealand and Australia vs British Lions (in Melbourne in the 1990's & 200's, both of which were amazing matches). I think you did an amazing job explaining both codes and I think I also understand American Football a bit better!!😀
As a Kiwi and 1 of 3 million knowledgeable Rugby Fans you did a good job about explaining the CODES which is VERY VERY IMPORTANT when acknowledging BOTH Codes.
Used to play 7s, 10s and 15s rugby for 26 years. Played at local and international tournaments. Winning some of it. Had to retire one year ago because of too many injuries but sometime, I still play in friendly matches or tournament for veterans.
Fantastic video! I came across a Rugby Union game at a local park today. Having never seen a game, especially live, I decided to check it out for a while. I was instantly hooked. It was so much fun to watch even though I really didn't understand a vast majority of what was taking place. I listened to the commentary of some of the crowd around me, and was able to at least kind of understand why certain things, like scrums, were taking place. This video was a big help in explaining why certain things were happening during the game that I watched earlier.
Another excellent video! Having been brought up on Rugby (Union), I thought that your comparisons were really good and clear. As an American Football fan in Wales, I've always had to explain the games to family the other way round! Love to see some more about lineouts and scrums. I think it would be good to breakdown somethings that can end up being very complicated. And explaining the professional and amateur status of players would be very interesting.
As an American expat in Australia, this video was VERY well done. I grew up playing gridiron and took up union after more than a decade of not playing a contact sport. Oh, and I'm a supporter of the Newcastle Knights in the NRL. another recommendation for NRL games is anything State of Origin, which is even bigger than the grand final!
Excellent video. I agree with your analysis that the most fundamental difference between Rugby League and Rugby Union is what happens at the tackle. In Rugby League, the contest for possession ends once the tackle is complete. The teams re-set and play resumes. In Rugby Union, by contrast, the contest for possession begins once the tackle is complete. Once the tackled player has been released, the defender/s have the right to compete for the ball, so the attacker’s team mates have to be there to prevent a turnover.
Beautiful video, well done! Appreciate the short tangent into how all these football codes are related. Looking forward to videos on Australian Rules and Gaelic Football for American Football fans as well!
Well done, mate! Like a lot of Americans, I discovered the game in college-age years, and am still playing well into my 6th decade! (It hurts more now, but hey, everything does). You did a very good job of explaining the similarities, of which there are many, and highlighting the differences. I still enjoy US football after growing up with it, but nowadays it's a slog to get through an NFL game. 3+ hours of players encased in tons of gear, 5 seconds of action followed by a huddle or commercials, and halftime that goes on for half an hour or more while we try to sell more trucks. Zzzzzzz.... Give me the non-stop action of Union any day!
That split between union and league is fascinating reading. The southern English rugby players were all about the spirit of amateurism, like the Olympics and NCAA were, while the northern English rugby players wanted/needed extra income. It's a microcosm of the differences between southern and northern English societies today.
It may also be interesting to discuss how amateur/pro athletes are governed within a sport. Most sports afaik, you need to sign a contract with a professional team play and be paid by the said team, while sports like golf allow amateurs to play in pro tournaments, but have rules regarding their amateur status, prize money, and sponsorships. Or how the Olympics had their share of rules and even incidents regarding professional status of athletes.
There was a point in time (not too long ago) where being a professional sports player was considered even lower than being a prostitute. That's a big part of the split (this being in the late 19th century, around when the league formed)
Nice pick for an example rugby league game. I've been watching rugby league for 27 years, and I reckon the 2015 NRL Grand Final is the best game I've ever seen
The violent medieval 'football' games are still played in parts of England. An example is the Atherstone Ball Game, shown on a couple of videos on Ytube. It has been played for almost 900 years and is still very popular. A better Rugby Union game to watch in my view is the 2019 World Cup (men's) semi-final between England and New Zealand. A great, closely contested game.
the 2015 world cup final was much better to watch and far more skillful between australia and new zealand - than a semi-final where neither team won the cup that year
try watching videos of Calcio Fiorentina. Each team has something like 4 goalies, 8 backs, and 15 fighters. One teams backs gets possession of the football, then all 30 'fighters' form two lines and wade in with punches, kicks, bites, and butts on the opposition. While this is going on, the backs with the football look for a gap in the opposition line (caused by opposition players getting put to sleep or being punched, butted and bitten out of position), they then charge the gap as one, and assist the ball carrier going through the opposition backs (literally *through* , ie with their fists), before punching their way through the goalkeepers so the ball carrier can get a shot at goal. Yes its still all about goals. There are no subs, so after a goal (or a failed shot) the teams quickly try and revive any of their players who are asleep before swapping ends and kicking off again.
Just got back from my first trip to the UK where I was able to catch a couple Rugby World Cup games at the pub, such a great experience, thanks for the video!
As an American who has enjoyed rugby since I first saw Jonah Lomu with the All Blacks, I appreciate the explanation. I always enjoyed the physical skill on display, but could never discern why a scrum would happen at times of a stoppage and not others. This was very helpful, and I'll be headed to your Cricket video next, as I have just started to see the appeal of the game via an Amazon Prime show featuring the Australian Cricket team. Thanks for the informative video!
Thank you. Being American it was hard for me to understand what was going on on the field. Especially now, knowing that there are two sets of rules. For a while they was televising the All Blacks on Saturday nights. Then I'd catch it on ESPN on it didn't seem the same. Now I understand why. One was league and the other was Union.
To sum it up quicker, Rugby Union is the Rugby you would find in College in the USA and is very big in places like New Zealand, South Africa, France, etc.. Union uses rucks, scrums and mauls after being tackled. Rugby League gives the attacking team 6 tackles or downs to score a touchdown and uses a play the ball instead of the rucks scrums and mauls. Rugby league you will mostly find on the East Coast of Australia and Northern England. You’re right in saying Union is chaotic. League is much easier to follow and similar to American football in concept which is why I prefer it.
For the rugby union (or rugby at 15 as we use to say in France), watch the last ireland-france from the 6th nations tournaments. It's one the greatest match of all time. Besides, rugby (at 15) rules are very complex so when you're new to it, it may feel not really understandable. Each situation has its own rules so it's required to identify the situation for understanding what's allowed or not. Once you got into it, you love it !
Great explanation !! I learnt a lot on rugby league, and it seems some rules have been used for rugby touch (rugby without tackles). In rugby union, there's a new rule : the 50-22. Usually the team that makes the ball go out on the sides of the field, loses the ball. The opposite team will then play the touch. But with this new rule, if a kicker, in his half of field (behind the 50 line) and indirectly send the ball out behind the opposite 22 line (with a rebond inside the field first), his team will still have the ball and play the touch. This is to give advantage to the attack.
Your videos are awesome. I would definitely recommend people interested in watching rugby league to watch State of Origin matches, this is a yearly 3 match competition between NSW and QLD which is I would say even more popular than the grand final. These games are made up of the best players from the regular NRL teams. These matches are the toughest matches (imo) in rugby league, and the rules are much more lenient during these matches to keep play going.
I agree that the State of Origin games are probably the best games to watch. I'm an English Widnes fan but generally the best players are in the NRL, so the SOO games are the world's top players going head to head
The rivalry between the teams/states is also extremely fierce and the games often feature a couple of fist fights between players (possibly even between players who might play on the same team in normal competition matches). So sometimes you can get a bit of boxing thrown into your footy match as well, which is always entertaining (I wont condone it, but it is entertaining)
As an Australian I found your explanations to be very good. When the ball is kicked forward (punt) a teammate must be behind the punter, when the ball is kicked, to catch or become involved in the play, otherwise is offside.
Great video! You should put out another 2 videos about the actual rules of the 2 styles of Rugby (1 video each). For instance, in Union, what constitutes a penalty, what the rules are regarding line-outs and scrums. You also kinda forgot the maul. You should also talk about the teams themselves - the different positions and the roles they play on the field. One thing you mentioned about union is that it's "more like a scramble" - it may look that way, but there are loads of tactics and co-ordinated plays that you wouldn't believe make up that "scramble". Lastly, also possibly mention the way that regardless of what format you're watching, the Ref is always listened to, and respected - in the words of Nigel Owens: "This isn't soccer!" :)
@@DarklordZagarna IIRC the difference is whether the ball is on the ground or not. Rucks are usually pretty static because there are so many bodies around the balls that you can't really move it with feet, whereas with mauls you can have really wild shit like that one between RSA v JPN in RWC 2019. To be fair, maul really doesn't happen that often, and usually manifests as a line-out setpiece. Meanwhile, ruck is basically all of breakdowns.
For information, the name Football was derived from the fact that you play the sport with a ball on foot and not that the ball was kicked. Any sport in England historically which was played with a ball on foot was called football hence the reason we dont call football soccer as it was the original form. Alternative ball sports like polo were played on horseback. As per the vid, Rugby school agreed rules that became popular and the name was taken to differentiate the two. Great video.
I can't believe *you missed the most important rule in rugby!* If you are anywhere near a rugby field and you meet a man called *Nigel,* you will call him "Sir" and do whatever he says, because it will be right.
And the great thing about Rugby is that 6'7" 15stone 2nd row always call the 5'6" 9stone referee "Sir". A wit long ago summed up the difference between Rugby and Soccer. "Soccer, a game for Gentlemen played by Hooligans. Rugby. A game for Hooligans played by Gentlemen." And it goes for the fans too. I've lived in Wales, the deepest most nationalistic part of Wales, and spent very happy times watching the Six Nations in their pubs, and even the local Rugby clubhouse, without any rancour for being Anglo-Irish and wearing the green shirt.
I really like this video, as an Englishman I appreciate that it may be difficult for Americans to understand this sport, and this video did a great job of explaining it. However, there were a few mistakes that I noticed. 1) After a try is scored, teams can choose whether to kick or receive the ball, unsurprisingly most opt for the latter, but after every other try scored they have to kick. 2) The "In-Goal Area" you referred to is actually a Try zone
i live in the US and i’m an american football fan (go steelers). i started playing rugby about a year ago, and i wish you had made this back then because it would have been really helpful! i hope american football fans can see this and appreciate rugby more
I watched this as a Rugby Union fan (and amateur player) and learned quite a bit about both American Football and Rugby League. One thing I think is worth mentioning when discussing different football codes is the name Football itself. Football is called football not because you play it with your feet (as Association fans will argue) but because you play it On Foot, as opposed to On Horse (as you would a game like Polo)
In the original game completing a "touch down" allowed the team to "try" a kick at goal. This is the derivation of the word "try" A conversion contributed to the score, the try didn't.
It's why both terms have the name they do. If you get the ball past the end zone you could "try" to score points. If the goal kick went through the posts then you have successfully converted that try into points - hence "conversion"
The end zone itself is a product of the forward pass. Originally, there was just a goal line, and the uprights were on the goal line. The introduction of the forward pass, however, meant that the ball had to be caught short of the goal line and carried across, because the area past the goal line was out of bounds, so catching the ball there would be incomplete. The addition of the end zone added ten yards of depth where a forward pass could be caught in bounds for a touchdown. Eventually, the goal posts were moved to the back of the end zone to reduce collisions with the goal posts and make field goals more difficult, thereby encouraging teams to attempt to score touchdowns.
This is brilliant! Thank you so much for sharing this! As a proud Kiwi (New Zealander), rugby (Union) is our national game, and our national team (The All Blacks) are the most successful sports team in history! But as someone who also loves American Football, this video explaining the main differences between Football as you Americans know it, and the 2 different codes of rugby was very well thought out and delivered. So, good job, sir! Well done!
Laws in league still allow a contested scrum though, I remember the Roosters scoring a try directly off a scrum (somewhere between 2012-15, Sonny Bill was playing).
@@chambo1010 nah, They pussified the game to keep the “Soccer Moms” from taking little Billy out of League and put into soccer. That’s a fact. I’m an old man and I have kept the articles in a scrap book.
As a Finnish Person who adore American Football and never watch Rugby before this was fascinating to watch. Thank you so much making this very educational video.
Great explainer, and so glad you gave love to the women's game as well - that final was one of the most exciting sporting finals I can remember watching. It had everything! I would also say that 7s is a bit more common than I think the video makes it seem, and was the way I got into rugby in the first place - since it's so fast with 15 minute matches, it's a really easy way to give the sport a go.
I'd add two key points. First, in both Rugby codes you can only hit the ball carrier, you cannot intentionally contact someone not in possession of the ball (so no US football blocking, basically). Also, in both Rugby codes, (this is touched on but not fully explained), while you can kick the ball and it can be recovered by an offensive player that player MUST have been onside - so behind the player when they made the initial kick, to legally recover the ball. Both important clarifications.
Great video. But know this. Rugby LEAGUE fans typically NEVER refer to their sport as "Rugby"". Doing so will immediately out you as someone who doesn't know much about Rugby League. In short, it's just called "League". Referring to "Rugby"99% of the time means "Rugby Union".
A number of people have brought this up! This is very interesting, and is something I did not know. Here in the US, when I go to the “rugby”section of the sports section of my TV guide, rugby union and rugby league matches are both listed there without any separation, and we don’t have the cultural context to automatically know that the Super League matches and the Six Nations matches are not the same game. The first rugby matches I ever saw were rugby League because the NRL was on TV with some regularity about 10 or 15 years ago. I went several months thinking that any rugby game has a six tackle rule. It wasn’t until I was talking about it with a friend at a bar and someone else politely corrected me that I learned there was not a six tackle rule in the game that most people call Rugby! I will be including this in an upcoming Corrections video. Thanks for the comment!
Just want to say well done! As a Canadian with Irish ancestry I've always been fascinated by the sport but have only played Canadian football. Which you could probably also do an explainer on ;-) . My older brother was the youngest player to make the Montreal Irish back in the day and I remember him coming home after matches with his ears absolutely mashed! Years later I am starting to take an interest in the sport and this was a great primer. It came up high on the search algo so hopefully you get many more well deserved views.
As a Kiwi and a lifelong Rugby union and ALLBLACKS (NZ) supporter who is critically critical, for a short and basic roundup, it was an excellent explanation. Cheers.😍😎
The fact that women play actual full contact serious rugby, yet all we have here in the states is the LFL, which is a joke, says a lot about the sport.
Very clear explanation. Additional points on Union Rugby: you can tackle the ball carrier, but not the other players, so the opposing lines are much more fluid. Off side applies also when tackling. If the ball carrier manages to keep the ball behind him when falling, the adversary may not pass his shoulders to grab the ball. Another player of the attacking team takes it and the play goes on. Without helmet and pads, players tend to fend off opponents thrust, using the arms to surround shoulder, hips or knees rather than rushing into one another. It's also much more efficient to make the ball carrier fall without putting the ball behind him (see previous point). Seizing one foot or the neck, and torsion of members, are forbidden. When kicking the ball, you may send it as far as possible off limit or in the rear of the opponents, just to displace the game closer to the try line. But you can also send it high, and then all players of your team behind you may rush forward to be at the landing point. Game is two times 40 minutes. But at the end of the game, the match goes on as long as one team does not push the ball out nor scores. So with possibly 7 points at stake, you can have breathtaking extra time where the attacking team rush forward again and again, trying to score, but knowing that if the opponent takes the ball, the game is other. One of the best is Japan South Africa 2015 final minute (on youtube). Japan was considered the underdogs. They could have played the draw with a kick but fought 4 minutes for victory with a try.
I would only add one thing. In rugby, a player can use kick to "pass the ball forward", however, the receiving player HAS to be behind the kicker when he kicks the ball. So the kicker can not just kick the ball to a player that is positioned forward. The receiving end has to be behind him when the ball is kicked, which makes the thing a whole more difficult thing to do, and most of the time, it has to be "announced" in advance... It is not a "random" thing to do, otherwise you risk to give the ball back to the opponent, which is not a good thing to do in rugby. Rugby is very hard to explain, so many rules, and sometimes very "odd" rules. Good job in trying to do so in such a short video !
I have to say, as a fan of all sports, I really enjoyed your video and you're spot on with everything you've mentioned. There is one additional, significant difference between both codes of Rugby and American Football. There are no, Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams in Rugby, Just the 13 or 15 players on the field at any one time, who must carry out all functions, all the time. Keep up the awesome work!!!
Sort of. Both codes used to have rules of no substitutions for any reason, even if a player was injured and had to leave the field. Then both codes brought in replacements were allowed for injury, (though limited in max allowed, usually 5 max for most of 20th century), but then as the games have become more athletic and physically demanding, general, no reason needed, substitutions were introduced, though still limited in total allowed game to small number (5 general subs for Rugby union and I think a few more for League) so you still don't see the wholesale American replacement thing,
Outstanding video, my friend. Very well explained. As a longtime football (soccer) fan who moved to New Zealand, and enjoys watching rugby without fully understanding it, I can really identify with what you say. Well done.
As an American rugger, this is by far the best 'Rugby Laws" video I've ever seen. Now, as someone who has spent a lot of time explaining rugby to Americans I think it's important to cover Advantage when explaining the game. Americans are used to seeing the game stop when an infraction occurs. They see something that's supposed to be 'wrong', the Ref is right there, since there was no whistle it must not be wrong or the Ref is poor. The concept of 'delayed gratification' is often foreign to us.
Been around rugby since I was born, and this video was very well put together. One thing I felt needed maybe more clarity was on the Rucks. The "no hands in the ruck" rule is more intended for the defense to prevent them from stalling or disrupting the offense's attempt to keep the play going. The offense can pick up the ball out of the ruck as long as they are not an active member of the ruck. That may be a bit above the scale of this vid, but was maybe the only thing I had a "gripe" about. Otherwise fantastic video, will most likely use it when people ask me the differnce between rugby and football.
Excellent video. The other huge difference between rugby and American Football is that there are no separate offensive and defensive teams. Everyone on the team is on the field at once (apart from substitute players on the bench), and everyone has both defensive and offensive duties. Some positions are slightly more focused toward offence or defence, but everyone does a bit of both. In Union, you have forwards (big heavy lads who push hard and slow in the scrum, or in short, brutal bursts in open play) and backs (smaller, more agile guys who make the dramatic runs and last-ditch tackles). That's a massive simplification, because you see plenty of agile forwards as well as muscular backs, but it's a good starting point to think about the way a team fits together.
American football added rules that made it deviate from rugby football. They used to play one-platoon or iron man where players played both sides. Also the forward pass, downs, line of sctimmage are all adapted because college players kept dying while playing american football. Some ppl still play one-platoon. In fact there's a japanese anime on american football where most of the teams are iron man style. As the sport changed, positions became specialized (quarterback, halfback, fullback were all basically running backs but when passing was added to the game you needed specialized positions like wide recievers to catch the pass, and lineman to protect the passer).
Very good educational video all around! Good, relatable intro for the intended audience, and it feels like you made wise choices about which details to include and which to leave as further reading for the students. I particularly appreciate the game recommendations and plan on watching those next.
Very good description of the two rugby codes. Two areas where rugby is different from American football is refereeing and coaching during a match. In rugby union there is one referee and two assistant referees. If there is an infringement of the the rules the referee may delay calling a penalty signaling "advantage" waiting to see if the non-offending side gains any advantage in spite of the infraction. The play goes on until a penalty is finally called or if the non-offending side benefits in spite of the infringement the penalty is not invoked and play continues. The coaches in rugby are not on the sidelines(touch). They are sitting in the stands. Decisions on the field are made by the respective captains of each side. Also there is limited substitution of players.
Two other additions in rugby league in recent years are 'the bunker' and 'captain's challenge'. These tend to hold up play but are nonetheless designed to make the game fairer for both teams. The bunker consists of a match review panel in the stands who review anything considered suspect in the game that may have eluded the referee and ground officials. This could include foul play, a player losing possession of the ball etc. Their main focus is to confirm that a try has been scored legally according to the rules. Sometimes the referee will consult the bunker first to get a second opinion before making a ruling. Each team is allowed a limited number of 'challenges' during the game, if a player (in consultation with team captain) considers that a penalty awarded against them, or a change over of ball posession as ruled by the referee, was not warranted. The bunker will then check the video footage to confirm if the challenge to the referee's ruling is successful or not.
Great explanation! There are so many videos trying to suggest one is better than the other, it’s good to see an objective video of the differences / similarities. As a rugby (union) fan I still appreciate American Football and enjoy watching it. All versions are great games with their own skills and tactics.
Great video. One way I explain rugby to new players is to say you can kick forward but pass backward, and that the ball cannot travel forward from the hand in ANY way. Also an important difference to highlight is that when the ball goes into touch/out of bounds the other team gets the ball which is not the case in US football.
I have played and watched rugby union my entire life and I thoroughly enjoyed this video. So much better than the “reaction” video dross that one gets out there. Great job as a primer. And entry point into both codes. 🎉
One thing to note about the markers in rugby league, they are allowed to tackle after the the ball has been picked up from the play the ball. Awesome video mate
Any American who’s looking to watch some live rugby should see if any British or Irish pubs near them are showing 6 nations games. The 6 Nations (which are England, Scotland, whales, Ireland, France and Italy) tournament is the largest annual international rugby union tournament in the northern hemisphere. Games start at 8am and 10:30am central on Saturdays and a lot of places host watch parties. Otherwise they’re streamed live on peacock or shown as replays on NBC sports. The tournament runs through the end of March and features the two best teams and 6 of the top 12 teams in the world right now.
As a former player of both league and union (and a current fan of both) I have to say your beginner level explanation of the two codes is excellent. Well done.
As many have commented this is an excellent explanation of the different rules of the different games. I always wondered why a score in Rugby was a try that must be put down in touch, but a football touchdown need not put the ball down. It wasn’t mentioned but still is interesting. Where the ball is touched down in the touch determines where the conversion kick is attempted. Touch the ball in the middle and the conversion may be made mid way between the uprights as far back as desired. But if the ball is downed in the corner, then the kicker must come back as far as he desires but in line with spot of the touch. I’m an American that played three years of American football in high school and sustained multiple injuries including one with surgery. I was taught to lead with my head to tackle and thus the helmet became a weapon. Decrease yards gained- again more chance for an injury. Without pads and helmets players tackle with a bit less ferocity. In American football yardage gained is imperative so a tackler tries to drive the ball carrier back to minimize gains. Also many if not most injuries in American football come from blocking. There’s no blocking in Rugby hence less chance for injury. I played Rugby for 6 years on 4 clubs and never received more than bruises and scrapped knees. A bit of history that wasn’t mentioned, probably for good reason. Soccer (football) began with the Romans. After a battle, if victorious, the victors played a game of kicking around the head of one of the losers. Hence came soccer. The game became more genteel in England where a human head was substituted with an inflated pig’s skin. At Rugby College during a football test a player picked the ball and ran. Thus came Rugby. Somewhere in the 1800’s in America a coach named Amos Alonzo Stagg decided to throw the ball forward, thus came the forward pass and changed the shape of the ball to be more aerodynamic. That was at Yale if memory serves. I first played in college. We made up bumper stickers to sell. They read, “Rugby players have leather balls.” They sold well. I think it was mentioned in passing. The saying was “soccer is a gentlemen’s game played by gentlemen. Rugby is a ruffians game played by gentlemen. Football is a ruffians game played by ruffians.”
I played rugby for 15 years and have to say that your explanation was very well put together and insightful. Do you have an American football explainer for rugby players? 😀
Thats going to be a longer video😀. American football is so intricate but when understood very exciting. I think its a great match of physicality and strategy with chance making an underdog win possible.
He has a video on American Football defense but not the game in general. I imagine it will come along eventually.
@@britjohnson1990 I enjoy it but it's difficult for someone like me who didn't grow up with it or play it to understand what the different players are doing and why. Especially at the scrimmage line!
@@bbbb98765 Do you mean general task or technique? Because if you mean the first, then I'll try to help.
Quarterback (QB)- He calls the play for the offense in the huddle, reads the defense and can change the entire play or a player's task in it. Then after the ball is snapped, almost always he gets it from the center. Based on the play called, he'll try to pass it to one of the receivers or hand it off to one of the running backs. He needs to be very perceptive and knowledgeable to read the defense before and during the play, mentally and physically tough to deal with getting hit and he also has to have an accurate and strong throw. If he is athletic enough to run with the ball himself, that's a bonus, but necessary.
Running back/halfback (RB/HB)- Usually he gets the ball during a running play. He needs good explosiveness, agility and ability to read blocks and defenses during the play to see where he should run with the ball. He also needs to be a good pass blocker for the passing plays and a good receiver so he could serve as an emergency receiver if need be.
Fullback (FB) - It is a lesser used position nowadays because the rules make running plays less and passing plays more lucrative. This player lines up between the offensive line and the running back and is an extra blocker for the RB.
Wide receiver (WR) - this player lines up outside, near the sidelines. If the QB called a running play, he blocks. If it's a passing play, he runs the route the QB asked him to and tries to beat the defensive player opposite him to get open and catch the ball.
Offensive line (OL) - this is a collective for five players who line up on the line of scrimmage
Tackle - guard - center - guard - tackle
The center calls the protection to the other offensive linemen, he reads the defensive front before the play and predicts what they'll do and gives tasks to the other OL to exploit or at least counteract that. He also snaps the ball to the QB at the start of every offensive play.
During the plays all 5 OL have a similar task, blocking the defensive players to prevent them from getting to the ball carriers. All 5 players have to be incredibly strong man mountains, you rarely see a player here below 6'1 and 300 pounds. Obviously, the tackles have to be more nimble on their feet because they have to cover the perimeter.
Tight end (TE) - the last offensive position is something of a combination. He usually lines up outside one of the tackles. He is half-offensive line, half-receiver. Smaller and weaker than the giants in the OL, but still have to be big and strong enough to be an effective blocker. Bigger and slower than the sprinters at WR, but still athletic enough to beat the defensive player covering him and be a receiving threat.
Defensive line (DL)
The players who line up opposite the offensive tackles are called the (defensive) ends.
The player(s) who line up between the ends and opposite the offensive center and guards are the defensive tackle(s).
If the offense calls a running play, these guys try to occupy the offensive blockers and make space and time for the players behind them to make a tackle or make the tackle themselves.
During a passing play, these guys try to phyiscally, athletically and/or technically overwhelm the offensive line and tackle the quarterback before he gets a chance to release a pass, or at least rush him into making a decision.
Linebackers (LB)
These guys line up before the start of the play behind the defensive line. Usually one of them is the defensive captain who calls the defensive plays. They are slightly smaller but more athletic than the defensive linement, have to be versatile players and have to have good instincts to predict and follow where the ball is going and tackle the ball carrier. During passing plays they also cover a zone or a man or they can join the defensive line and rush the QB, depending on the defense called.
Cornerbacks (CB)
These guys line up near the boundaries, opposite the WRs. These guys have to be the fastest and most agile players on the field, because they have to prevent the WRs from catching the ball in a lot of open space without knowing what route they're running.
Safeties (S)
As the name says, they're the last line of the defense during both passing and running plays. They have to help out the CBs in covering the receivers and tackle the ballcarriers if they've gotten through the rest of the defense.
Kicker (K)
He comes onto the field solely to kick field goals and make kickoffs
Punter (P)
He punts the ball if the offense has ran out of tries. He can also kick the ball off, depending on which player has a stronger leg.
Kickoff / punt returner (KR/PR)
He is designated to catch the ball on kickoffs or punts. It is usually is just a secondary task to a RB or a WR, but he can also be a specialist if he's a difference-maker enough.
Hope this helps!
@@bbbb98765 I assume you already know the basics of American football (the snap, downs, incomplete passes, touchdowns, punts, etc.). If I'm incorrect, please let me know and I can explain the basics pretty succinctly. (If anyone else is reading this comment and wants a succinct explanation of the basic game concepts of American football, please reply.)
In American football, there's a rule governing the offensive team's formations that says exactly seven of their players have to be along the line of scrimmage (within a yard of it), and the other four have to be at least a yard behind it. Five of the seven players who line up along the line of scrimmage--the player who snaps the ball (known as the "center") and the two guys on each side of him--are ineligible to receive passes, and are basically just there to form a protective wall in front of the quarterback (the player who receives the snap) so he doesn't get tackled before he has a chance to get rid of the ball by passing or handing it off. The quarterback has to be very tactically-adept, since it's his job to decide who gets the football next, either by passing it or handing it off.
The other two players along the line of scrimmage, along with anyone who starts out in the backfield, are allowed to receive a pass. Often, one or two players (or even more) will line up "out wide" away from the five linemen, and run downfield as soon as the ball is snapped to receive a pass. (Forward passes are legal in American football as long as they're thrown from behind the line of scrimmage, and the offsides rule only disallows players from crossing the line of scrimmage _before_ the ball is snapped.) The better the offensive line protects the quarterback, the longer he can hold onto the ball and wait for the receivers to run downfield!
If a player other than the 5-man offensive line lines up close to the linemen, he's called a "tight end" and can either receive a pass or help block for the quarterback. Tight ends have to be really versatile.
Defensive formations are not governed by any rules, so they can line up however they want. This channel did a video about common defensive formations. They can do three things: Defend against passing plays by man-marking receivers, defend against running plays by being ready to tackle a runner, or try to rush the quarterback (which involves trying to get through or around the offensive line) to sack him.
Important point regarding the use of the punt as an offensive weapon (like a forward pass, as you've put it) - for it to be legal for a teammate to catch a punt, that player must be BEHIND the kicker at the point at which the ball is kicked. If he is in front, then he is offside and not eligible to catch the punt.
I always thought the receiving player must have BEEN behind the kicker at some point between the kick and receiving the ball. As I'm sure I remember a tactic from school of kicking the ball towards a team mate in empty space then running like hell down the field to bring them on side before the ball got to them.
Great spot, important rule when watching a game
This is one of the rules that Canadian Football maintained from it's rugby roots. It only rarely comes up but it manages to confuse the heck out of American viewers.
@@richcbri Yes that's correct. The kicker can put teammates onside by running in front of them after the kick. However usually the kicker is stationary or moving much more slowly than the chasers, who will often be sprinting in anticipation of the kick, so it would be very difficult to put them onside, unless it's a high short kick close to the try line, where they're just trying to get under it.
Ah so the offsides rules are really inline with soccers version(just calling it that for clarity sake)?
The *conversion* (the extra-points kick after a touchdown) is taken from an imagined line straight backwards from the place the ball was touched down, and at any distance the kicker chooses.
This is why a player who has crossed the try line will often keep playing to try to get the ball near the posts before touching it down, why players still get tackled in the in-goal area, and why some kicks are taken from near the touch-line (the edge of the playing field.)
(Mentioned since I have been asked recently by NFL fans.)
In the early days, a try wasn't worth any points, you just got a free kick at goal (a try at goal).
@@anon17472 I've never heard that before, awesome, thanks for sharing.
What happens if a player is tackled before he can touch the ball down in the in-goal area? As he tries to get the ball nearer the posts
@@choch2727
If he still touches it down, he scores. But if the ball is held up (the defending team get under it so it can’t be touched down) or is dispossessed of the ball and a defending player grounds it, the ball is dead and play is restarted by a goal line drop-out (a player of the defending team drop-kicks it from the goal line).
@@SpeckleKen Thanks! I am watching the womens match suggested by the video creator. Never watched the sport before but learning the basics now I find myself watching the whole match. One more questions, someone failing to touch down during a try attempt (stopped by the defense) would be considered, I am assuming, a boneheaded play? like if they were trying to move closer to the posts?
If any Americans are interested, the Six Nations Championship is ongoing at the time of this video, and is one of the premier competitions within the northern hemisphere, held every year between France, Italy, Ireland, and the three British teams of England, Wales, and Scotland.
A similar story about the rise of professionalism in Northern England and the split between the amateur south and professional north exists in soccer, and some of the original competitions that arose from that split, like the Southern and Isthmian leagues, still exist today!
Seconded! It’s been fun and I’ve learned ton more about rugby just in the last couple weeks.
@@SportsExplained the 6 nations is always fun. I do think there should be a rugby union version of the euros like there is in football. But even if that got created, I'd still want the 6 nations to keep existing. Every rugby fan does, I'm sure. There's a reason rugby fans call it "merry sixmas" when it starts again every year.
@@SportsExplained oh yeah and definitely please do a video on the history of professional players in rugby, and how it led to the split and creation of rugby league, and how rugby union players only began to get paid to play in 1995 which is nuts. And the first World Cup only happened in 1987. All very very recent. Until the 80s and 90s, rugby union had been entirely an amateur sport, and great union players would go play rugby league instead in order to actually get paid. Whereas these days they don't have to do that.
@@duffman18 something like the Euros does exist. It's called the Rugby European International Championship and it's held every year between tier 2 and tier 3 nations. You just can't make the 6 Nations trams play against them because the difference in quality is abysmal. Georgia and Romania, who dominate at that level, can barely compete at the World Cup level
It's also worth mentioning that rugby brings both the Republic and Northern Ireland together as one team, and did even through the dark times of the troubles. That alone should be proof that rugby is different class to most other sports.
A bit of trivia, the US is the reigning Olympic champions in 15's Rugby, being the gold medalists in Paris 1924 when it was last played as an Olympic sport. Rugby returned to the Olympic arena in Rio 2016, but in the 7's format. Fiji won the inaugural gold medal in that event.
That gold for Fiji was the first Olympic medal Fiji had won! (My brother lives in Fiji, and he said the nation went nuts. The government declared a national holiday.)
do they allow professionals in that competition? If so, I'm astonished that it isn't NZ,Aus,SA,England,Ireland or France
@@occamraiser the 7's competition is professional, but it's a very different game to 15's rugby. The field is more open with 7-a-side, so players with a certain physique do well in this format. Only a handful of players are able to play both forms of rugby. So far this year, there have been 5 different winners in the HSBC tournament - NZ, South Africa, Samoa, Argentina, Australia.
@@harri3020 also rugby 7s games are very very short. They only have 7 minute halves, unlike normal rugby union which has 80 minute matches of two 40-minute halves. So the teams play multiple games on the same day and a competition can be held over a weekend. I find that a bit odd personally. But it does make it very different to normal rugby union at least, which is what they're going for.
@eclectic tyrone That year only about 3 teams turned up. Major union nations had Test commitments and didn't appear.
As an Australian, I don't think I have ever heard such a succinct and accurate explanation of the two Rugby codes. And it took an American to do it! Thank you for an excellent video - I will now check out your cricket one.
South Africa here, I agree it's very articulate and a pricise analogy of what is going on in the two codes. There is a third code of it played in Australia on an oval pitch where kicking not passing dominated that code. In Australia it actually supercedes union in player involvement and spectatorship. Pls don't ask me what it's called as they have a basketball style of bouncing the ball aswell
Most Brits and Aussies talk for 20 minutes before getting to the point. You're welcome.
@@RicksPhatPharm-vw2lbThe 'third code of rugby' you're talking about is not a form of rugby at all. It's called australian rules football, often referred to by Australians as 'aussie rules footy' or 'footy'. I'm not Australian, but as I understand it, the rules have been developed through the years by people having ideas for playing a ball game on a cricket pitch. It's also said that this sport was derived from neither football nor rugby. However, this could be a question of debate, because there is an Irish sport quite similar to this that is probably considered to be derived from both rugby and association football/soccer, which is called gaelic football. And I believe that Irish migrants in Australia had some influence on the game that became australian rules football. These two sports are even similar enough for there to exist a hybrid code called international rules football, of which test matches are played between Australian and Irish national teams on a rectangular pitch of approximately the same size as a rugby pitch.
Aussies, feel free to chime in on the history of australian rules football, because you certainly know more about it than I do. As a Dutch guy, I hear and see too little about it. Our tv channels don't even pay any attention to this game. Eurosport did some broadcasting of one match a week and highlights from the AFL for a while, but even that is gone now.
@@williamwilting I am an Australian Rules football fan and I will chime in.
The game is designed to be played on a cricket oval. Cricket ovals have many shapes but in AFL usually measure 155 metres long (170yd) and 130 metres wide (142yd).
The inventor of the game is Tom Wills, a private schooler from England who went to Rugby School and played cricket also.
Wills has a complicated history I will not elaborate on here.
The game has FALSE history of being designed to "keep cricket players fit during winter" as cricket (similar to baseball) is only played during dry summer conditions.
The TRUE history is that the "birthplace" of Australian Rules Football is the Melbourne Cricket Ground (160m x 140m) which is owned by the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC).
Like most cricket clubs which are proud and would never share its playing area with another (more barbaric) sport, the MCC did the same for the MCG.
Luckily for Australian Football, the MCG was a rare piece of clear ground so close to Melbourne's centre and the local government "forced/permitted" AFL to be played there in the winter months.
The similarity of Gaelic football to Australian Rules Football is coincidental.
The two sports began separately and they have borrowed from each other (the most being Gaelic adopting the concept of catching a kicked ball "Mark"* from Australian Football.)
Anyone suggesting either sport owes its origin to the other is incorrect.
Additionally there were different versions of Australian Football being played in the different colonies/states of Australia.
These versions differ as little as later Sheffield rules differed to Soccer, Rugby Union to League, and Canadian Football to American Football.
That last one might shock some fans of those sports but the similarity is there.
My teacher used to play rugby and he’s from NY
As a South African (where rugby is practically a religion) this is one of the best, concise explanations of the game that I've ever come across, well done SE.
I played against a couple of touring sides from SA as a schoolboy. They were physically ahead of us and better drilled... those were long afternoons! 😀
Despite being played in something like 80 odd countries, there are only three places in the world where Rugby is considered a religion, South Africa, New Zealand and Wales... Georgians may disagree with this assessment. 😁 (That's European Georgia, not the State)
Both South Africa and Rugby are pointless.
@@stevenhearnden6103 As a South African, I can only agree with the former.
@@stevenhearnden6103 seethe more
I'm from South Africa (one of the major rugby playing nations in the world), and I must congratulate you on an excellent explanation of the game as I know it (Rugby Union). I also unexpectedly learned about Rugby League which does not have much traction here. Thank you, this was well worth watching.
Thanks!
Good explanation, worth noting in Union territory is more important than possession (because every tackle is a potential turnover and the ball cannot be advanced to a player already ahead of the ball) for example: a team would almost always prefer the opposing team to have the ball at midfield than have it themselves near their own goal line.
This is great, and helps me understand the game a lot better!
That's a good point, and it also explains why sometimes you get an exchange of long kicks from one end to the other, with each fullback testing each other's handling, positioning and kicking abilities, trying to force an error to gain territory.
Good point, that´s why when teams are close to the goal line they will allways kick it away to advance in the field, some times it´s a back and forth affair with both teams kicking it to each other
@@SportsExplained There is also a good chance to win the ball, a penalty, or a free kick defending a line-out. Getting a penalty, or free kick, will often result in a line-out 50+ metres up the field from the first clearing kick.
"every tackle a potential turnover" - League used to be the same. The marker is no longer allowed to contest in the play the ball.
Well done. As a New Zealander who has been brought up on rugby I don't think that you got anything wrong. I think it was extremely useful to incorporate the history of the games. Hope people in the USA switch on to Rugby as it is the game that is played in heaven.
They'll have a good reason to learn, as the World Cup will be heading Stateside in a few years!
I hope so, I hope they both just become acceptable in the parts of the world where they aren't
Fun fact, there are 4 football codes in Australia that are popularly played - rugby league, rugby union, Aussie rules football, and soccer. So the phrase "watching the footy" carries quite different meanings depending on which state you're in. In 2010 they held an inter-code 100m sprint match for the giggles, and on that occasion Lachie Turner from the Queensland Reds (rugby union) came out on top
I'm guessing Lachie is a winger? 😀
There's a decent presence for American Football ("gridiron") there as well. Who knows, maybe there'll be a fifth!
It is impossible to understand what someone means by the word "football". It should be wholly discarded as a reference for any sport without an appendage (e.g. American football, Gaelic football).
@@bbbb98765 Yeap
@@harryeast95 That is exactly what happened where I grew up in northern Australia as many people played several sports all year round. So people would specify which sport they played; league or union (rugby), aussie rules, soccer and gridiron (american football).
As an American who's been playing rugby for about half my life (as well as refereeing), this was really well done!
Agreed
I would have liked to play back then I’m 30 now and I play pickup basketball like every other day. I played football in HS all four years but never a rugby team
American football is like if you designed rugby for the explicit purpose of fitting as many commercials in as possible.
Really. Compared to rugby, American football is sooooo SLOOOOWWWW……
Yes definitely! After watching rubby, American football looks more like it is made for TV! ...and now for a word from our sponsor!
and for cowards needing armors
@@deneguil-1618 You are making fun of a sport for keeping the players safe. Just stop.
@@deneguil-1618 ah the old tired "safety rugby" joke. The hits are bigger, the NFL is crazy. As someone who loves both sports, trust me, most Rugby players aren't trying to suit up & take a full speed collision with your average NFL player.
Very well put together. A couple of historical points.
Rugby League's break away from Rugby Union was at least in part over the fact that RL was a more working class game than RU. Games were played on a Saturday and a working class man was more likely to work a 6 day week. Playing meant giving up a day's pay. So players wanted to be compensated for that. RU's strictly amateur ethos didn't allow for that.
Also - you mentioned the difference in field markings. That actually owes itself to American Football. For many years, RL and RU field marking was the same. The Australian RL wanted to refresh their game and studied the commercialisation in America and both adopted the field markings and the habit of giving teams names - Brisbane Rugby League Football Club became the Brisbane Broncos. The UK soon followed - Wigan RLFC became the Wigan Warriors.
One thing I would say to any American viewer. Never call them rules - they're laws. And don't worry if you don't understand the laws. I played RU for 35 years and I swear half the people I played with didn't understand them either 🙂
I'm a Texan who likes Rugby and other sports. One thing I would explain to novices about conversions is they don't always kick them from the center of the field, but rather it's kicked from where you grounded the ball. To cut down on the angle, he can kick it from farther back if need be.
That makes sense. It also sounds like it's made reasonable by the fact that it's an uncontested free kick, unlike the NFL extra points where the other team is allowed to try to blitz the kicker and block the kick.
@@philipmcniel4908 The conversion can, and often is contested, just like in the NFL, but I can only recall one time seeing one actually being blocked in my 40 years of watching rugby (France's Thierry Lacroix against England for the 1995 RWC 3rd place game if my memory serves me right). Only an attempted penalty kick cannot be contested. On the other hand, if the ball bounces off the woodwork after a penalty kick then it's game on whereas if the same happens on a try conversion kick then it's back to the half way line.
@@branlotin Interesting--I'd noticed that some videos of Rugby conversion attempts seemed slower-paced than in American football, and I'd seen one Diane Jennings reaction video to American football where she remarked on the same thing--how American football kickers were taking their kicks immediately while the rugby players took a bit of time.
@@branlotin Small correction.
In Rugby League, conversions are always uncontested.
In Rugby Union the conversion can be contested, but isn't always. But the contest can only start once the player starts the kicking motion. (ie his setup, placing the ball etc must keep the player behind the try line.
@@jamesahibbard Yes indeed, I wanted to add the precision about having to wait for the kicker to start his kicking motion. I didn't know the rule about league as I don't watch it. I am from France and league is really small here, it is limited to a little triangle area between Perpignan, Foix and Narbonne and you never see it on telly.
I also should have added that for it to be game on when an attempted penalty kick bounces off the woodwork the ball has to come back into play and not just be deviated towards the try zone.
I’ve watched your other explanation videos and as a UK based rugby fan and player of both codes, I think this is an excellent video and does a brilliant job of explaining both codes without getting lost in the weeds and nuances. I would also say that this seems an excellent time to mention that it is because of the full names of these sports, (Rugby Football League and Rugby Football Union) that the term soccer was created by the British to distinguish between them and association football. Not the US as the majority of ill informed UK soccer fans will have you believe.
If the UK invented the term then how come everybody who complains about it being called soccer only blame the US?
@@DjPyro2010 And yet it is an English term, the word soccer is a shortened form of association football (unlike what the OP wrote). It was coined at Oxford University to distinguish it from "rugger" as rugby was known as there.
Damn right! Watching soccer rots the brain, so it's not their fault :)
Thanks for recommending the Women's World Cup final, probably the best final that there's even been, men or women. The most dominant team world rugby has ever seen (England) vs the most-talented players who spent the last 2 years in crisis (NZ). Expansive rugby vs set-piece dominance. Game-changing (and correct) refereeing decisions. The tournament being decided by one final play - it has everything.
Yeah, he picked a cracker here. I would add that it could be easier for a beginner to understand rugby union by watching women's rugby than men's, because it is less dominated by power. It looks a lot like men's rugby union did before it turned professional and they could spend all day in the gym.
Brave honest refereeing making the culmination barely bare able.
@McSnapples The All Blacks' professional golden age was incredible because it was over an entire generation of players and featured all kinds of victories, from drubbings to last-minute comebacks (Ireland in 2013 comes to mind). England Women's was impressive as, other than against France and the semi-final against Canada, they steamrolled any and all opposition for 30 straight games. It's all semantics, really.
Simp
I love that you not only included womens games but also recomended a match. They have been overlooked for such a long time because it was at a lower level than the mens but now there's finally some funding going towards them and they prove that their game is exciting and worth the watch
Blah blah blah
it was a fun match to watch in-person
Women's rugby is just as entertaining as men's rugby honestly. Glad it's getting the love it deserves
It's still a lower level. No need to pretend otherwise.
@@scottrobinson4611 don’t talk rubbish
I think one small extra thing worth noting is a field goal has to be from a drop kick where the ball touches the ground before the player makes contact to kick it, not just a punt
I've never heard it referred to as a "field goal" in rugby. The term "drop kick" is always used
@@domurtag1978 Yes, it's a drop-kick, but I think Tomahawk was referring to the American Football name for it so that US readers could understand what he was talking about.
That would explain why they are referred to as Drop Goals. TIL.
@@domurtag1978 Certainly is in league.
"Drop Kick" is referred to the type of kick which hits the ground before it is kicked. For example, a goal-line drop out is a drop kick, but it's certainly not a field goal.
@@domurtag1978 in Australia drop goal and field goal are used interchangeably in rugby league. In both codes, field goals used to mean goals scored by kicking the ball off the ground (ie not from the hand) in open play, but this was abolished in the 20th century. I assume that American football inherited the term field goal from rugby, as it was still part of the game when gridiron broke away and became a separate sport
The explanation is 1) accurate, 2) clear, 3) useful, and 4) great! It's a pity, there are no more new videos here.
Slight correction - In Rugby League. The Zero tackle is a extra bonus tackle, meaning that the set of six has 7 tackles.
It was brought in to keep the game flowing. If Team A drops the ball and the Team B dives on it and is immediately tackled, rather than stop the game for a scrum like they did in the past, team B is given a zero tackle and play continues.
BTW this is a good video.
I'm the target market and found this very useful
The differences between league and union sound more pronounced than the differences between American and Canadian football, but same general idea of broadly similar sports
I'd add that in the US Walter Camp of Yale instituted rules changes in the 1880s that made the American game distinct, likewise for the Burnside rules in Canada in 1903
I’ve been playing rugby for 16 years in America, and this is an excellent video. I hope this inspires my fellow Americans to visit their local rugby club and try it out. It is truly a lifelong sport that can take you around the world and build your local community.
Lifelong sport? My body says otherwise 😅
Mileage may vary 😂😂
It won’t. Too much running around and not enough padding for the average football player. Nobody else wants to get hit except hockey players, and rugby on ice - amazing as it would be - would just be a bloodsport with all those blades flashing around. 😆
@@weebleman6 You don't have to be full on contact for the entire life. Young kids grades now days a low impact and golden oldies post senior grade are also. There regular stories of 90 yr olds playing here in New Zealand.
What you also missed is that Rugby's basic grassroots organisation is the local community club, and people belong to these more often than not for life.
People who have stopped playing competitively, will become coaches, administrators, referees, fundraisers, caterers, drivers, jersey washers, etc etc. The meaning of 'Team' has a much more wider application at the community rugby club level than at the professional sport franchises that dominate American sporting structures.
I think it’s great that you use lots of women’s rugby clips and highlight the women’s competition as an example. Women players need more exposure and deserve more respect!
Yeah: unlike women's soccer, the female players in rugby are actually damn good!
Yeah, so pleased to see that! The Women's game has come a long way, and more exposure can only be a good thing
I do watch both mens and womens soccer, which got me used to watching womens sports, so glad to see that myself (golf, tennis, basketball I don't much care for whatever the gender). Though it seems ironic since I had the impression of rugby as a big muscleman sport)
Just watched the 2015 NRL Grand Final, WHAT. A. GAME! Never watched a full rugby match in my life, but I ended up waking up my roommate cheering so loud at the end. Looking forward to watching more rugby league thanks to your video!
the considered pinnacle of nrl is State of Origin. Fought with passion. On the east coast during State of O week, you choose Blues or Maroons.indecision is not allowed. The ulimate clash of Tribes. ua-cam.com/video/H5b0LZZXlqc/v-deo.html&pp=ygUlc3RhdGUgb2Ygb3JpZ2luIDIwMjMgZ2FtZSAyIGZ1bGwgZ2FtZQ%3D%3D
Then you should watch the 2023 NRL Grand Final between the Penrith Panthers and the Brisbane Broncos. The Broncos had a comfortable lead 24-8 with 18 minutes left to play. They looked every inch the winners. But then the incredible happened. The Penrith captain, halfback Nathan Cleary, almost singlehandedly orchestrated a comeback for his team, which resulted in 3 converted tries. Cleary scored the last one himself, with Penrith finishing 26-24 winners.
Have to agree with others here. The commentary explaining the difference between the two rugby codes on this You Tube video was first class!!!!. Well done!
@@colmoynihan724 so funny enough I became a broncos fan prior to the start of the season where this was the finals, I’ve got a friend from Brisbane so figured I’d cheer for ‘em. Then they have an amazing season just for it to end so tragically haha great game though looking forward to this season!
Thanks for including a lot of footage of the women's rugby in this video. Women's rugby is awesome to watch, and is growing and doing well in both codes and it's great to see the ladies getting a good showing in videos like this.
Another thing of note, is that, at least in France, the commentaries of women's rugby matches are much more "beginner friendly" than the men's.
Basically, there are less assumptions that you already know most of the rules (as opposed to just the basics) and the curriculum vitae of the players in women's rugby matches here than in men's rugby, so they'll spend a little more time explaining the rules, the terms or the player's positions as things happen on the field, so you can start watching a match knowing very little about rugby and still understand most of what is going on without feeling left out or requiring a friend to explain the weird things that happen because the commentators already do.
Men's rugby is getting better at introducing a new audience to the sport as it was when I was a kid, I think, at least based on the current world cup (in particular, the little cards which appear underneath the score to tell you which error was made by which team are nice, they probably aren't super new, but didn't exist when I was younger), but I remember being pleasantly surprised when I followed the 2017 women's world cup by how easy it was to follow, even for family members who didn't play and seldom watched.
I'm guessing it depends on the popularity of the sport in each country, but still, for people who are trying to discover rugby and who don't know where to start, checking women's rugby is really worth it.
Having being invlolved with Rugby Union for 25 years and my daughter playing for England, I like that you included womens rugby in your vid.
So I am an American and have been watching rugby for over 25 years now. I started watching it because of two people, Jonah Lomu(New Zealand) and later George Gregan(Australia). These two guys set up the foundation for me to become a fan still to this day. In terms of the video, Im glad you mentioned the differences between League and Union as I feel too that an American who might be an NFL fan could find themselves better coming into rugby through watching League. As it is more structured and easy to follow. I would also suggest watching the USA Eagles Sevens teams(men and women) as a good startup for an American fan, as both teams are very good and with there being only 7 players, there's more space and more action(look up Carlin Isles and Perry Baker). Plus, quite a few Sevens players came directly from college football...some even the NFL. In all, the biggest thing about rugby, much like any sport, is that it just takes time to get better at following along and finding your groove with it. Thanks to florugby, rugby pass, peacock tv...finding rugby has never been easier.
You know Jonah wasn't just a great wing, he could do it all. I saw him play in the NPC (National Provincial Championship in NZ) a bunch of times. One very wet muddy game he took a penalty (yes he could kick) from just inside half way and nearly next to the sideline, It would be nearly impossible even for a known kicker, he hit the black dot on the cross bar... So people that said he was just a great winger don't have all the facts. He could play brilliantly anywhere, a true legend and I'm so glad I got to see him play in his prime.
I think you need a law degree to understand the game. Sometimes I'm left scratching my head as to what's going on and I've watched Rugby for 60 years.
Awesome video. Sending it to my parents, who might be visiting New Zealand at some point soon.
I'd just like to point out the word "scrummage" in one of those 19th-century American rule sets. This is clearly the missing link between the rugby scrum (and possibly the tech industry's Agile scrum) and the American football line of scrimmage (and possibly "scrimmage" as a word for an informal game of any foot + ball sport).
Also, for any other Terry Pratchett fans in the audience, that history segment has made Unseen Academicals make a lot more sense.
You're right about the link, just worth pointing out that the word "scrimmage" pre-dates both rugby codes and was used in several versions of "football" that are considerably older than rugby. Some of those versions are still played, but only by a handful of players at a few English private schools with some very old sporting traditions.
In Australian Rules Football, broadcasters and. Journalists unofficially use "scrimmage" ( same as in US), but to describe a scrappy, aggressive passage of play in a small area of the field.
@@geoffaldwinckle1096 I'm curious if you've ever seen Harrow football Geoff? The ball is very different, but there are parts of the game, including the posts and long kicks which seem very similar to Australian Rules
@@tomr5785 a great point. Though Professor Geoffrey Blainey points out that early Australian Rules in the 1850s-1870s bore a closet resemblance to Rugby than it does today.
@@tomr5785 I think from memory the main goal of the framers of the Australian Rules in 1859 was the elimination of the hacking allowed under Rugby and Winchester rules, even though T.W. Wills- who helped write these 18t9 rules, had attended Rugby School.
This was really interesting to hear an Americans perspective on Rugby, I played Rugby in school in Ireland and we love it here best thing the Brits ever made.
Hi. An excellent explanation for American Football Fans re Rugby Union and League. Here are a couple of additional points: A form of Rugby Union is now back in the Olympics (for both Men and Women). This version is Rugby 7's, based on Rugby Union. Way back in the early 1920's Rugby Union was played in the Olympics and the UNITED STATES won two consecutive Gold Medals, in 1920 and 1924, using players from those Ivy Universities. The US was very good at the game. Why were they so good?
Well, because Rugby Union had been introduced to the American Ivy league Universities from England in the 1800's. This was before your American Football existed. Rugby Union in the USA Colleges became very popular and attracted crowds of 50,000 to the big College games. Naturally, American sports officials saw this and decided it would make a great professional game, outside the Colleges. (Players getting paid etc) BUT, Rugby Union was strictly Amateur and the controlling world body refused to allow player payments. So, this lead to a bunch of Americans sitting down and "creating" their own version of Rugby Union, revising all the rules, team size etc to meet their requirements. This early version was known as Gridiron and they used many of the old Rugby terms ie Touchdown due to the requirement to "touch the ball down" for a try. The name was later changed to American Football then just referred to as Football, even though there was already an International game called Football (Actually Association Football, often called Soccer)
In England a similar thing happened. Some people wanted the Rugby Union game, outside the Universities, to go professional with players receiving payments. Again, the controlling body of Rugby Union refused and so the "breakaway" group of clubs became Rugby League with players getting paid and also changed the rules to better suit their requirements.
Here endeth the lesson! LOL. Cheers, mate.
The split in England was a lot earlier of course; 1895.
Three things I'd like to point out.
1. Rugby 7s in the Olympics is only referred to as "Rugby" in Olympic material. This is misleading in my opinion. Americans should be aware that Rugby 7s is a very new game and is a descendant of Rugby Union. It was originally developed as a means of practice for Rugby Union teams. There are now some very popular tournaments and are often broadcast on American TV, probably because the matches are so short.
2. Rugby union has only been professional since the 1990s, almost 100 years after Rugby League went pro
3. There is professional Rugby Union played in the US. It is confusingly called Major League Rugby. It is only about two years old, but the matches for that are broadcast on American TV. This is completely different from the Rugby League.
I had no idea that rugby league and gridiron came about from the same thing! That's really cool!
@@InnerProp Yes. Spot on Mate. Cheers.
And today there are still different rules i college football compared to the NFL (and other short-lived professional leagues.) Not fundamental differences, but definately in clock management och infractions, for instance.
You just recommended what my brother, not a Rugby fan, called "Maybe the greatest game i have ever seen" when I got him to watch the women''s world cup final. A video about Sevens might be a good thing.
The fact that your brother called not just a rugby game but a women's rugby game the greatest thing he's ever seen is amazing. Women's rugby is starting to gain traction on TV and people are starting to become interested in it..... ALSO KEEP YOUR BROTHER SAFE OMG WHAT A SIGMA IF I COULD GET MY BROTHER TO LIKE WOMENS RUGBY THAT IT WOULD BE THE SAME AS ENDING WORLD HUNGER :)
This is the video that I have been waiting for (and asking people to make) for many, many years... Thanks!
Every since the All-Blacks played at Soldier Field in Chicago many years ago (which was broadcast nationally in the US), I have been curious about rugby as an American, but never really knew where to start. This gives me a good starting point. Now, to watch the matches you suggested... 👍
Yea!
These videos are great. Something else they could touch on is the practical / money side of things, especially outside the main league. I often wonder about it when watching American sports, which are foreign to me. If a soccer player isn’t good enough for the premiership he plays in the championship, or abroad. It’s a bit worse quality and a bit worse money. What about American Football (Canadian Football?) the minor leagues in baseball, national teams in Ice Hockey etc? Or even the State of Origin in Rugby League, the Curry Cup in SA, etc.
This comes out of me wondering ‘what’s life like for an athlete at this sport / level’? An example is Moto GP and Moto 2, the class below it. They’re all part of the same tour, racing the same tracks the same days. But MotoGP riders get paid good money whereas Moto2 riders usually have to PAY to ride. You wouldn’t know that from watching.
Not sure if the vid mentioned it specifically, but Union wasn’t professional in the UK until the 90s, and I think Irish Gaelic sports are still amateur (?)
@@pinkepson93 This topic of how each sport operates professionally outside of the "major" / "premiere" leagues is on my list of future video topics!
In the US each sport does it differently.
For the NHL (ice hockey) and MLB (baseball) there are affiliated Minor Leagues, where each affiliated minor league team has a contract with (or is owned by) a major league club. Almost every hockey & baseball player that makes it to "the show" spends at least a season or two in the minors before being called up, and there are rules in place protecting the team & players throughout this process. The NHL has a single minor league, the AHL, while MLB has a six-tiered affiliated minor league system: Rookie, A, High A, AA, AAA, and MLB, and there are also other affiliated developmental leagues like the Arizona Fall League, the Dominican Summer league, etc.
There are also Independent baseball leagues that operate at around the AAA level (one step below MLB) but these are significantly less popular than MLB. These leagues often have partnership agreements with MLB where they'll test out potential new rules, but the teams themselves are independent.
For American Football, there is often one attempt at any given time to launch a league that is independent of the NFL, either to compete directly or to be an off-season "minor" league. None of these have been successful, but it hasn't stopped people from trying. This spring the Fox Corporation is trying to revive the USFL brand. Before that there were various iterations of the XFL, there was the AAF, etc.
Within the structure of the NFL, there's no next level down. You've either got a contract with an NFL team or you don't. Each team has a "practice squad" that serves as its reserves and developmental system, but practice squads don't play one another.
I think a lot of "almost good enough" American football players go to Canada to play Canadian football, which is similar to American football, or they just don't play football after college. It's a brutal sport. You don't have neighborhood football leagues or bar leagues or anything like that like you do for baseball and hockey and basketball.
The NBA owns and operates its own minor league that is currently called the "G League." Each G League team is owned and operated by its affiliated NBA team and they usually operate in a smaller city within the same media market, or at an arena in a different part of the same city.
@@SportsExplained sounds great. I remember reading before that minor league baseball players earn barely enough to live on. As a fan you wouldn’t necessarily so. Loads of interesting comparisons
I’m a South African sports fan, so rugby (union) was like a religion growing up there. I’ve never been a huge fan of it, preferring cricket, but I understand it well enough from playing and watching for decades and think your explainer is really good. I am a bigger NFL fan than rugby, and can appreciate the similarities and the major differences. I love the pauses in play while tactics are being discussed and players are taking their instructions for the next play. The strategy is incredible and seeing it all play out and work or not work is the best part. It’s also a collision sport so I’m glad they’re fully padded and helmeted, and hope that the instances of concussions decrease more and more. Rugby doesn’t have as much impact to the head.
I think videos like this are great because the more we learn, the more we can appreciate a number of sports. And what’s better than that?
I think another core difference between rugby union and league is how scrums and lineouts affect the 'body types' of the players in rugby union. Especially the forwards. why you tend to have massive front rows, or tall 'locks' for catching the ball in lineouts, or why the scrum half is usually the smallest guy in the stadium ;). Whereas in rugby league, they're more even. But overall, great explanation. waiting for the American Football for rugby followers video :)
This channel is genuinely so well produced, easily digestible, and informative. Whoever you are I hope you are proud of yourself, what a great job you’ve done with your entire video catalog.
I actually went to the Rugby World Cup final between England and New Zealand last year. I knew almost nothing about Rugby, and the match happened to be happening the day after I arrived in New Zealand for vacation. I am so glad I went. It was an amazing crowd, and a great match in general. Certainly a great beginning point for people who want to see what Rugby Union is about.
The rugby world cup gets held every 4 years and was held in 2019 the last time, meaning it will be held again this year, which means it couldn't of been last year. Also the match between Nz and England was the semi finals which Nz sadly lost. Maybe you forgot the dates in which the game happened.
@@Rafe-b7b it was the World Cup for women, which is now advertised as just "Rugby World Cup". It was suppose to be in 2021, but pushed to 2022 due to COVID. It was the exact match the video recommended
@@Rafe-b7b "...couldn't have...", not "...couldn't of...", you're welcome.
@@OwlRTA That makes more sense
@@kevinmould6979 Very astute of you to find the one thing wrong with my sentence that has nothing to do with what I am saying.
Great video! One thing to point out however; in rugby union a tackle doesn’t always result in a ruck being formed. A ruck is formed when the ball carrier is tackled to the ground. When the ball carrier is tackled and remains on his or her feet, that is called a “maul”. A maul is sometimes deliberately instigated by the ball carrying team as a way of retaining possession and moving forward (albeit slowly) with minimal risk of the opposing team gaining possession and will often result in a defending team giving away a penalty for an infraction (due to the somewhat chaotic nature of the “rolling maul” (the slow, forward progress of the maul toward the defender’s try line). However (and here’s where it can get a bit confusing to the uninitiated) because the attacking team must recycle the ball if a maul stops moving, a maul is sometimes instigated by a defending team (by holding up the tackled player and not allowing them to go to ground) as a way of forcing the attacking team to give up possession; I.e. if the attacking team forms a maul, but the ball gets trapped inside the maul and wont come out (usually when everyone in the maul falls over) the defenders get a scrum in their favour (and 9 times out of 10 possession of the ball). This is because a ruck cannot be formed after the formation of a maul. Told you it was confusing.
I grew up watching both codes of Rugby, but I now live in the home of Aussie Rules (Melbourne). I have been to Rugby League matches in Australia (in Canberra) and UK (in Bradford that was really interesting and enjoyable) as well as attending Rugby Union Tests for Australia vs New Zealand and Australia vs British Lions (in Melbourne in the 1990's & 200's, both of which were amazing matches). I think you did an amazing job explaining both codes and I think I also understand American Football a bit better!!😀
As a Kiwi and 1 of 3 million knowledgeable Rugby Fans you did a good job about explaining the CODES which is VERY VERY IMPORTANT when acknowledging BOTH Codes.
Used to play 7s, 10s and 15s rugby for 26 years. Played at local and international tournaments. Winning some of it. Had to retire one year ago because of too many injuries but sometime, I still play in friendly matches or tournament for veterans.
Fantastic video! I came across a Rugby Union game at a local park today. Having never seen a game, especially live, I decided to check it out for a while. I was instantly hooked. It was so much fun to watch even though I really didn't understand a vast majority of what was taking place. I listened to the commentary of some of the crowd around me, and was able to at least kind of understand why certain things, like scrums, were taking place. This video was a big help in explaining why certain things were happening during the game that I watched earlier.
Another excellent video! Having been brought up on Rugby (Union), I thought that your comparisons were really good and clear. As an American Football fan in Wales, I've always had to explain the games to family the other way round!
Love to see some more about lineouts and scrums. I think it would be good to breakdown somethings that can end up being very complicated. And explaining the professional and amateur status of players would be very interesting.
Thanks!
As an American expat in Australia, this video was VERY well done. I grew up playing gridiron and took up union after more than a decade of not playing a contact sport. Oh, and I'm a supporter of the Newcastle Knights in the NRL. another recommendation for NRL games is anything State of Origin, which is even bigger than the grand final!
Nice to see you back with the vids
Excellent video. I agree with your analysis that the most fundamental difference between Rugby League and Rugby Union is what happens at the tackle. In Rugby League, the contest for possession ends once the tackle is complete. The teams re-set and play resumes. In Rugby Union, by contrast, the contest for possession begins once the tackle is complete. Once the tackled player has been released, the defender/s have the right to compete for the ball, so the attacker’s team mates have to be there to prevent a turnover.
Beautiful video, well done! Appreciate the short tangent into how all these football codes are related. Looking forward to videos on Australian Rules and Gaelic Football for American Football fans as well!
I ❤️🇦🇺🏟️🏈 too! Peter from Switzerland
It'd be interesting to see Gaelic football from a foreigner's perspective
Aerial ping pong takes about 30 seconds to explain 😅
@@LittleJohnatonthis little insult is nothing anymore but go on
Well done, mate! Like a lot of Americans, I discovered the game in college-age years, and am still playing well into my 6th decade! (It hurts more now, but hey, everything does). You did a very good job of explaining the similarities, of which there are many, and highlighting the differences. I still enjoy US football after growing up with it, but nowadays it's a slog to get through an NFL game. 3+ hours of players encased in tons of gear, 5 seconds of action followed by a huddle or commercials, and halftime that goes on for half an hour or more while we try to sell more trucks. Zzzzzzz.... Give me the non-stop action of Union any day!
If you are able, I welcome you to check out League (NRL). The commentary is entertaining, especially when they're arguing about the rule book.
Yo please do that video about Pro Athletes being a new thing/concept that sounded really interesting! Your videos kick ass dude
That split between union and league is fascinating reading. The southern English rugby players were all about the spirit of amateurism, like the Olympics and NCAA were, while the northern English rugby players wanted/needed extra income. It's a microcosm of the differences between southern and northern English societies today.
It may also be interesting to discuss how amateur/pro athletes are governed within a sport.
Most sports afaik, you need to sign a contract with a professional team play and be paid by the said team, while sports like golf allow amateurs to play in pro tournaments, but have rules regarding their amateur status, prize money, and sponsorships.
Or how the Olympics had their share of rules and even incidents regarding professional status of athletes.
There was a point in time (not too long ago) where being a professional sports player was considered even lower than being a prostitute. That's a big part of the split (this being in the late 19th century, around when the league formed)
For reference, rugby union only turned professional in 1995. Unofficially, union players had been getting paid under the table for decades prior.
@@michaellinehan710 oh yeah totally, and my original comment refers to a time in the late 1800's also
Nice pick for an example rugby league game. I've been watching rugby league for 27 years, and I reckon the 2015 NRL Grand Final is the best game I've ever seen
The violent medieval 'football' games are still played in parts of England. An example is the Atherstone Ball Game, shown on a couple of videos on Ytube. It has been played for almost 900 years and is still very popular.
A better Rugby Union game to watch in my view is the 2019 World Cup (men's) semi-final between England and New Zealand. A great, closely contested game.
They play this type of game in Florence, too! Calcio Storico
the 2015 world cup final was much better to watch and far more skillful between australia and new zealand - than a semi-final where neither team won the cup that year
@@bodybalanceU2 2015? Too much cheating and not that interesting for neutrals.
try watching videos of Calcio Fiorentina. Each team has something like 4 goalies, 8 backs, and 15 fighters. One teams backs gets possession of the football, then all 30 'fighters' form two lines and wade in with punches, kicks, bites, and butts on the opposition. While this is going on, the backs with the football look for a gap in the opposition line (caused by opposition players getting put to sleep or being punched, butted and bitten out of position), they then charge the gap as one, and assist the ball carrier going through the opposition backs (literally *through* , ie with their fists), before punching their way through the goalkeepers so the ball carrier can get a shot at goal. Yes its still all about goals. There are no subs, so after a goal (or a failed shot) the teams quickly try and revive any of their players who are asleep before swapping ends and kicking off again.
Search for Ashbourne Shrovetide Football in UA-cam...
Just got back from my first trip to the UK where I was able to catch a couple Rugby World Cup games at the pub, such a great experience, thanks for the video!
Nice!
Great timing for this vid since the Six Nations is this weekend
As an American who has enjoyed rugby since I first saw Jonah Lomu with the All Blacks, I appreciate the explanation.
I always enjoyed the physical skill on display, but could never discern why a scrum would happen at times of a stoppage and not others.
This was very helpful, and I'll be headed to your Cricket video next, as I have just started to see the appeal of the game via an Amazon Prime show featuring the Australian Cricket team.
Thanks for the informative video!
Picking Australia to follow is a good choice! The national team is dominant in all formats.
Just one correction. The area beyond the 'In goal' area is called the 'dead ball zone'.
After playing rugby for basically my whole life this is a very good explanation of the game we all love.Great video keep it up
Thank you. Being American it was hard for me to understand what was going on on the field. Especially now, knowing that there are two sets of rules. For a while they was televising the All Blacks on Saturday nights. Then I'd catch it on ESPN on it didn't seem the same. Now I understand why. One was league and the other was Union.
Thanks for providing this video. I am a tragic Parramatta Eels Rugby League supporter. You did a very good job on both codes. Keep up the good work.
Love the videos man you explain the game in a respectful and clearway
I appreciate that!
To sum it up quicker, Rugby Union is the Rugby you would find in College in the USA and is very big in places like New Zealand, South Africa, France, etc.. Union uses rucks, scrums and mauls after being tackled. Rugby League gives the attacking team 6 tackles or downs to score a touchdown and uses a play the ball instead of the rucks scrums and mauls. Rugby league you will mostly find on the East Coast of Australia and Northern England. You’re right in saying Union is chaotic. League is much easier to follow and similar to American football in concept which is why I prefer it.
For the rugby union (or rugby at 15 as we use to say in France), watch the last ireland-france from the 6th nations tournaments. It's one the greatest match of all time.
Besides, rugby (at 15) rules are very complex so when you're new to it, it may feel not really understandable. Each situation has its own rules so it's required to identify the situation for understanding what's allowed or not.
Once you got into it, you love it !
Great explanation !! I learnt a lot on rugby league, and it seems some rules have been used for rugby touch (rugby without tackles).
In rugby union, there's a new rule : the 50-22.
Usually the team that makes the ball go out on the sides of the field, loses the ball. The opposite team will then play the touch.
But with this new rule, if a kicker, in his half of field (behind the 50 line) and indirectly send the ball out behind the opposite 22 line (with a rebond inside the field first), his team will still have the ball and play the touch.
This is to give advantage to the attack.
Your videos are awesome. I would definitely recommend people interested in watching rugby league to watch State of Origin matches, this is a yearly 3 match competition between NSW and QLD which is I would say even more popular than the grand final. These games are made up of the best players from the regular NRL teams. These matches are the toughest matches (imo) in rugby league, and the rules are much more lenient during these matches to keep play going.
I agree that the State of Origin games are probably the best games to watch. I'm an English Widnes fan but generally the best players are in the NRL, so the SOO games are the world's top players going head to head
The rivalry between the teams/states is also extremely fierce and the games often feature a couple of fist fights between players (possibly even between players who might play on the same team in normal competition matches). So sometimes you can get a bit of boxing thrown into your footy match as well, which is always entertaining (I wont condone it, but it is entertaining)
As an Australian I found your explanations to be very good. When the ball is kicked forward (punt) a teammate must be behind the punter, when the ball is kicked, to catch or become involved in the play, otherwise is offside.
Great video!
You should put out another 2 videos about the actual rules of the 2 styles of Rugby (1 video each).
For instance, in Union, what constitutes a penalty, what the rules are regarding line-outs and scrums. You also kinda forgot the maul. You should also talk about the teams themselves - the different positions and the roles they play on the field.
One thing you mentioned about union is that it's "more like a scramble" - it may look that way, but there are loads of tactics and co-ordinated plays that you wouldn't believe make up that "scramble".
Lastly, also possibly mention the way that regardless of what format you're watching, the Ref is always listened to, and respected - in the words of Nigel Owens: "This isn't soccer!" :)
I've watched a nontrivial number of rugby games and I still have no clue how a maul works.
@@DarklordZagarna IIRC the difference is whether the ball is on the ground or not. Rucks are usually pretty static because there are so many bodies around the balls that you can't really move it with feet, whereas with mauls you can have really wild shit like that one between RSA v JPN in RWC 2019.
To be fair, maul really doesn't happen that often, and usually manifests as a line-out setpiece. Meanwhile, ruck is basically all of breakdowns.
For information, the name Football was derived from the fact that you play the sport with a ball on foot and not that the ball was kicked. Any sport in England historically which was played with a ball on foot was called football hence the reason we dont call football soccer as it was the original form. Alternative ball sports like polo were played on horseback. As per the vid, Rugby school agreed rules that became popular and the name was taken to differentiate the two. Great video.
I can't believe *you missed the most important rule in rugby!*
If you are anywhere near a rugby field and you meet a man called *Nigel,* you will call him "Sir" and do whatever he says, because it will be right.
One correction: you said "a man" and he is actually a god.
No need to call him 'Sir', hes from West Wales after all.
And the great thing about Rugby is that 6'7" 15stone 2nd row always call the 5'6" 9stone referee "Sir".
A wit long ago summed up the difference between Rugby and Soccer. "Soccer, a game for Gentlemen played by Hooligans. Rugby. A game for Hooligans played by Gentlemen."
And it goes for the fans too. I've lived in Wales, the deepest most nationalistic part of Wales, and spent very happy times watching the Six Nations in their pubs, and even the local Rugby clubhouse, without any rancour for being Anglo-Irish and wearing the green shirt.
I really like this video, as an Englishman I appreciate that it may be difficult for Americans to understand this sport, and this video did a great job of explaining it. However, there were a few mistakes that I noticed.
1) After a try is scored, teams can choose whether to kick or receive the ball, unsurprisingly most opt for the latter, but after every other try scored they have to kick.
2) The "In-Goal Area" you referred to is actually a Try zone
i live in the US and i’m an american football fan (go steelers). i started playing rugby about a year ago, and i wish you had made this back then because it would have been really helpful! i hope american football fans can see this and appreciate rugby more
I watched this as a Rugby Union fan (and amateur player) and learned quite a bit about both American Football and Rugby League.
One thing I think is worth mentioning when discussing different football codes is the name Football itself. Football is called football not because you play it with your feet (as Association fans will argue) but because you play it On Foot, as opposed to On Horse (as you would a game like Polo)
In the original game completing a "touch down" allowed the team to "try" a kick at goal. This is the derivation of the word "try" A conversion contributed to the score, the try didn't.
It's why both terms have the name they do.
If you get the ball past the end zone you could "try" to score points. If the goal kick went through the posts then you have successfully converted that try into points - hence "conversion"
A “converted” try was, and sometimes is still, called a goal.
The end zone itself is a product of the forward pass. Originally, there was just a goal line, and the uprights were on the goal line. The introduction of the forward pass, however, meant that the ball had to be caught short of the goal line and carried across, because the area past the goal line was out of bounds, so catching the ball there would be incomplete. The addition of the end zone added ten yards of depth where a forward pass could be caught in bounds for a touchdown. Eventually, the goal posts were moved to the back of the end zone to reduce collisions with the goal posts and make field goals more difficult, thereby encouraging teams to attempt to score touchdowns.
This is brilliant! Thank you so much for sharing this! As a proud Kiwi (New Zealander), rugby (Union) is our national game, and our national team (The All Blacks) are the most successful sports team in history! But as someone who also loves American Football, this video explaining the main differences between Football as you Americans know it, and the 2 different codes of rugby was very well thought out and delivered. So, good job, sir! Well done!
The Scrum in League used to be as intense as that of Union. They changed the rules because there were too many injuries because of the League Scrum.
I have heard this. Thanks for the info 🥳
Laws in league still allow a contested scrum though, I remember the Roosters scoring a try directly off a scrum (somewhere between 2012-15, Sonny Bill was playing).
Cos they're a bit soft up north, dont like the contact!
Not correct. There were some isolated injuries that I know of. But scrum rules were changed incrementally over time essentially to speed the game up.
@@chambo1010 nah, They pussified the game to keep the “Soccer Moms” from taking little Billy out of League and put into soccer. That’s a fact. I’m an old man and I have kept the articles in a scrap book.
As a Finnish Person who adore American Football and never watch Rugby before this was fascinating to watch. Thank you so much making this very educational video.
Great explainer, and so glad you gave love to the women's game as well - that final was one of the most exciting sporting finals I can remember watching. It had everything!
I would also say that 7s is a bit more common than I think the video makes it seem, and was the way I got into rugby in the first place - since it's so fast with 15 minute matches, it's a really easy way to give the sport a go.
I'd add two key points. First, in both Rugby codes you can only hit the ball carrier, you cannot intentionally contact someone not in possession of the ball (so no US football blocking, basically). Also, in both Rugby codes, (this is touched on but not fully explained), while you can kick the ball and it can be recovered by an offensive player that player MUST have been onside - so behind the player when they made the initial kick, to legally recover the ball. Both important clarifications.
Great video. But know this. Rugby LEAGUE fans typically NEVER refer to their sport as "Rugby"". Doing so will immediately out you as someone who doesn't know much about Rugby League. In short, it's just called "League". Referring to "Rugby"99% of the time means "Rugby Union".
Interesting!
A number of people have brought this up! This is very interesting, and is something I did not know.
Here in the US, when I go to the “rugby”section of the sports section of my TV guide, rugby union and rugby league matches are both listed there without any separation, and we don’t have the cultural context to automatically know that the Super League matches and the Six Nations matches are not the same game.
The first rugby matches I ever saw were rugby League because the NRL was on TV with some regularity about 10 or 15 years ago. I went several months thinking that any rugby game has a six tackle rule. It wasn’t until I was talking about it with a friend at a bar and someone else politely corrected me that I learned there was not a six tackle rule in the game that most people call Rugby!
I will be including this in an upcoming Corrections video. Thanks for the comment!
@@SportsExplained Yup. Also loved your cricket video. You're doing a great job. How about one in reverse? NFL/MLB for Rugby/League/Cricket fans?
Just want to say well done! As a Canadian with Irish ancestry I've always been fascinated by the sport but have only played Canadian football. Which you could probably also do an explainer on ;-) . My older brother was the youngest player to make the Montreal Irish back in the day and I remember him coming home after matches with his ears absolutely mashed! Years later I am starting to take an interest in the sport and this was a great primer. It came up high on the search algo so hopefully you get many more well deserved views.
Football explained for non americans please
If you put this on rewind maybe it becomes American football for rugby fans :P
As a Kiwi and a lifelong Rugby union and ALLBLACKS (NZ) supporter who is critically critical, for a short and basic roundup, it was an excellent explanation. Cheers.😍😎
The fact that women play actual full contact serious rugby, yet all we have here in the states is the LFL, which is a joke, says a lot about the sport.
No, it only says something about culture. North Americans don't value women's sports (especially contact sports) like the rest of the world does.
As a mainly football (soccer) fan who enjoys watching other sports like rugby and tennis I found this very informative
Very clear explanation.
Additional points on Union Rugby: you can tackle the ball carrier, but not the other players, so the opposing lines are much more fluid.
Off side applies also when tackling. If the ball carrier manages to keep the ball behind him when falling, the adversary may not pass his shoulders to grab the ball. Another player of the attacking team takes it and the play goes on.
Without helmet and pads, players tend to fend off opponents thrust, using the arms to surround shoulder, hips or knees rather than rushing into one another. It's also much more efficient to make the ball carrier fall without putting the ball behind him (see previous point). Seizing one foot or the neck, and torsion of members, are forbidden.
When kicking the ball, you may send it as far as possible off limit or in the rear of the opponents, just to displace the game closer to the try line. But you can also send it high, and then all players of your team behind you may rush forward to be at the landing point.
Game is two times 40 minutes. But at the end of the game, the match goes on as long as one team does not push the ball out nor scores. So with possibly 7 points at stake, you can have breathtaking extra time where the attacking team rush forward again and again, trying to score, but knowing that if the opponent takes the ball, the game is other. One of the best is Japan South Africa 2015 final minute (on youtube). Japan was considered the underdogs. They could have played the draw with a kick but fought 4 minutes for victory with a try.
I would only add one thing. In rugby, a player can use kick to "pass the ball forward", however, the receiving player HAS to be behind the kicker when he kicks the ball. So the kicker can not just kick the ball to a player that is positioned forward. The receiving end has to be behind him when the ball is kicked, which makes the thing a whole more difficult thing to do, and most of the time, it has to be "announced" in advance... It is not a "random" thing to do, otherwise you risk to give the ball back to the opponent, which is not a good thing to do in rugby. Rugby is very hard to explain, so many rules, and sometimes very "odd" rules. Good job in trying to do so in such a short video !
I have to say, as a fan of all sports, I really enjoyed your video and you're spot on with everything you've mentioned. There is one additional, significant difference between both codes of Rugby and American Football. There are no, Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams in Rugby, Just the 13 or 15 players on the field at any one time, who must carry out all functions, all the time. Keep up the awesome work!!!
Sort of.
Both codes used to have rules of no substitutions for any reason, even if a player was injured and had to leave the field.
Then both codes brought in replacements were allowed for injury, (though limited in max allowed, usually 5 max for most of 20th century),
but then as the games have become more athletic and physically demanding, general, no reason needed, substitutions were introduced, though still limited in total allowed game to small number (5 general subs for Rugby union and I think a few more for League) so you still don't see the wholesale American replacement thing,
Outstanding video, my friend. Very well explained. As a longtime football (soccer) fan who moved to New Zealand, and enjoys watching rugby without fully understanding it, I can really identify with what you say. Well done.
As an American rugger, this is by far the best 'Rugby Laws" video I've ever seen.
Now, as someone who has spent a lot of time explaining rugby to Americans I think it's important to cover Advantage when explaining the game.
Americans are used to seeing the game stop when an infraction occurs. They see something that's supposed to be 'wrong', the Ref is right there, since there was no whistle it must not be wrong or the Ref is poor.
The concept of 'delayed gratification' is often foreign to us.
Been around rugby since I was born, and this video was very well put together. One thing I felt needed maybe more clarity was on the Rucks. The "no hands in the ruck" rule is more intended for the defense to prevent them from stalling or disrupting the offense's attempt to keep the play going. The offense can pick up the ball out of the ruck as long as they are not an active member of the ruck. That may be a bit above the scale of this vid, but was maybe the only thing I had a "gripe" about. Otherwise fantastic video, will most likely use it when people ask me the differnce between rugby and football.
Excellent video. The other huge difference between rugby and American Football is that there are no separate offensive and defensive teams. Everyone on the team is on the field at once (apart from substitute players on the bench), and everyone has both defensive and offensive duties. Some positions are slightly more focused toward offence or defence, but everyone does a bit of both. In Union, you have forwards (big heavy lads who push hard and slow in the scrum, or in short, brutal bursts in open play) and backs (smaller, more agile guys who make the dramatic runs and last-ditch tackles). That's a massive simplification, because you see plenty of agile forwards as well as muscular backs, but it's a good starting point to think about the way a team fits together.
American football added rules that made it deviate from rugby football. They used to play one-platoon or iron man where players played both sides. Also the forward pass, downs, line of sctimmage are all adapted because college players kept dying while playing american football. Some ppl still play one-platoon. In fact there's a japanese anime on american football where most of the teams are iron man style. As the sport changed, positions became specialized (quarterback, halfback, fullback were all basically running backs but when passing was added to the game you needed specialized positions like wide recievers to catch the pass, and lineman to protect the passer).
Great video, here after loving the 7s this week
Very good educational video all around! Good, relatable intro for the intended audience, and it feels like you made wise choices about which details to include and which to leave as further reading for the students. I particularly appreciate the game recommendations and plan on watching those next.
Very good description of the two rugby codes. Two areas where rugby is different from American football is refereeing and coaching during a match. In rugby union there is one referee and two assistant referees. If there is an infringement of the the rules the referee may delay calling a penalty signaling "advantage" waiting to see if the non-offending side gains any advantage in spite of the infraction. The play goes on until a penalty is finally called or if the non-offending side benefits in spite of the infringement the penalty is not invoked and play continues.
The coaches in rugby are not on the sidelines(touch). They are sitting in the stands. Decisions on the field are made by the respective captains of each side. Also there is limited substitution of players.
Two other additions in rugby league in recent years are 'the bunker' and 'captain's challenge'. These tend to hold up play but are nonetheless designed to make the game fairer for both teams. The bunker consists of a match review panel in the stands who review anything considered suspect in the game that may have eluded the referee and ground officials. This could include foul play, a player losing possession of the ball etc. Their main focus is to confirm that a try has been scored legally according to the rules. Sometimes the referee will consult the bunker first to get a second opinion before making a ruling. Each team is allowed a limited number of 'challenges' during the game, if a player (in consultation with team captain) considers that a penalty awarded against them, or a change over of ball posession as ruled by the referee, was not warranted. The bunker will then check the video footage to confirm if the challenge to the referee's ruling is successful or not.
Great explanation! There are so many videos trying to suggest one is better than the other, it’s good to see an objective video of the differences / similarities. As a rugby (union) fan I still appreciate American Football and enjoy watching it. All versions are great games with their own skills and tactics.
Great video. One way I explain rugby to new players is to say you can kick forward but pass backward, and that the ball cannot travel forward from the hand in ANY way. Also an important difference to highlight is that when the ball goes into touch/out of bounds the other team gets the ball which is not the case in US football.
I have played and watched rugby union my entire life and I thoroughly enjoyed this video. So much better than the “reaction” video dross that one gets out there. Great job as a primer. And entry point into both codes. 🎉
One thing to note about the markers in rugby league, they are allowed to tackle after the the ball has been picked up from the play the ball. Awesome video mate
In addition, they must be standing directly in front of the player playing the ball otherwise they are considered off sides.
Any American who’s looking to watch some live rugby should see if any British or Irish pubs near them are showing 6 nations games. The 6 Nations (which are England, Scotland, whales, Ireland, France and Italy) tournament is the largest annual international rugby union tournament in the northern hemisphere. Games start at 8am and 10:30am central on Saturdays and a lot of places host watch parties. Otherwise they’re streamed live on peacock or shown as replays on NBC sports. The tournament runs through the end of March and features the two best teams and 6 of the top 12 teams in the world right now.
Great job of explaining the basic differences - also love how much you included of the women’s game in your clips
As a former player of both league and union (and a current fan of both) I have to say your beginner level explanation of the two codes is excellent. Well done.
As many have commented this is an excellent explanation of the different rules of the different games. I always wondered why a score in Rugby was a try that must be put down in touch, but a football touchdown need not put the ball down. It wasn’t mentioned but still is interesting. Where the ball is touched down in the touch determines where the conversion kick is attempted. Touch the ball in the middle and the conversion may be made mid way between the uprights as far back as desired. But if the ball is downed in the corner, then the kicker must come back as far as he desires but in line with spot of the touch.
I’m an American that played three years of American football in high school and sustained multiple injuries including one with surgery. I was taught to lead with my head to tackle and thus the helmet became a weapon. Decrease yards gained- again more chance for an injury. Without pads and helmets players tackle with a bit less ferocity. In American football yardage gained is imperative so a tackler tries to drive the ball carrier back to minimize gains. Also many if not most injuries in American football come from blocking. There’s no blocking in Rugby hence less chance for injury. I played Rugby for 6 years on 4 clubs and never received more than bruises and scrapped knees.
A bit of history that wasn’t mentioned, probably for good reason. Soccer (football) began with the Romans. After a battle, if victorious, the victors played a game of kicking around the head of one of the losers. Hence came soccer.
The game became more genteel in England where a human head was substituted with an inflated pig’s skin. At Rugby College during a football test a player picked the ball and ran. Thus came Rugby. Somewhere in the 1800’s in America a coach named Amos Alonzo Stagg decided to throw the ball forward, thus came the forward pass and changed the shape of the ball to be more aerodynamic. That was at Yale if memory serves.
I first played in college. We made up bumper stickers to sell. They read, “Rugby players have leather balls.” They sold well.
I think it was mentioned in passing. The saying was “soccer is a gentlemen’s game played by gentlemen. Rugby is a ruffians game played by gentlemen. Football is a ruffians game played by ruffians.”