Ohhhh, I just know I'm gonna get in trouble for this one :-) No Pads, no face guards. Rugby is the tougher sport, no doubt.

I agree, much less protection in the rugz.

I agree, I know someone who played for years. I'm amazed he doesn't have any visible scars on his face. It's a tougher sport, especially without pads, but the American football players must be much larger. Offensive and defensive lineman are over 300 lbs. I don't think Rugby players are even close to that.

Yeah!,Rugby is much much tougher and rugby flows,unlike gridiron where play goes then stops then goes then stops then goes then stops etc.

Oh yea! way tougher!!!! American football don't stand a chance in there.

yes, rugby is tougher

Yes definitley Rugby.

ok lets think about this. everyone assumes rugby is tougher because of no pads- dead wrong. first of all for the most part the pads simply make the hits harder, they are made of steal and plastic and there are no pads to protect the center of you body i.e. ribs, or most of you legs. if you wanna get really critical most guys in the nfl only where the smallest pair of shoulder pads they can find and a helmet anyway. now for the helmet issue. there is much more lowering of the head and head to head contanct in football, and while the helmets help, there are a rediculous number of concusions. you just dont get hit as hard or in the head as many times in rugby. (ive played both) for the most part football players are bigger, faster, and stronger than players in any other sport as well. try getting hit in full pads by a 235 pound linebacker who runs a 4.6 forty, and then get hit by a rugby player who may be just as big and fast (doughtfull) but even if he was as big and fast the helmet and shoulder pads made of STEAL and HARD plastic only allow you to hit harder. also many of the hits in football are anticipated by pre snap reads and great instincts, and that means your getting every bit of that 4.8 speed to go along with the 300 lbs of man.think about it, ive played both and football hurts sooooo much more.

I agree. I've played on the club level, and LOVE it!

I seem to remember asking this question eons ago along a similar vein are here it Mar 18 2007 but worded it differnt

Rugby is tougher. It can't seem to catch hold here though. Too bad. I like it.

Probably true, though I would say that Football (soccer) is much tougher in the UK than any other sport. That is the ONLY sport I know of that will cause a mass mob riot if something goes wrong.

In Rugby only the ball carrier is allowed to be tackled. So it makes sense that there are way more (serious) injuries in Football where anybody can be tackled or body-checked. That not nessesarily makes it the tougher sport. It's just a different sport. When anybody claimes that Football players are bigger remember to compare amateurs with amateurs and pro's with pro's.

rugby is way more tougher. no doubt.

I would suggest y'all just look up the injury statistics for each sport. Any of you Ruggers out there wanna play a game of Gridiron using the rules of say, 1905? Compared to the American game of that era both modern sports are total cream puffs. Anybody wanna be the "breaker" of a "flying wedge" formation circa 1880s Rugby's just painful--what with all those mauls, rucks, and scrums. It's not all that life threatening, usually. Modern Gridiron can still be life and limb threatening to a greater degree than Rugby. But Rugby's getting there, what with the professionalization of Union and all, and the larger players of this era. I personally enjoy both sports.

I will agree with the brutal part and not sure if it because of that you think it's better. Myself I care little, never played and maybe watched a total of ten entire games in my life. Some will watch three of four games a weekend which seems like a whole lot of time - but different strokes for different folks.

I think statistically American football has more injuries, especially serious ones, but rugby has more off-the-ball type incidents happening, such as punching in the scrums, stamping on the face etc. so they're probably about equal in brutality, just in different ways.

It is,Our guys wear pads, they don't.

Rugby is a lot tougher and harder on the body but It doesnt compare to american football. The ratings speak for themselves. The Superbowl is the most watched sporting event on the planet by far.

I seem to be in the minority here, but I disagree. At the amateur level, it may be that the constant motion and unpadded contact of rugby is tougher than American football. But at the professional and major college (= semi-professional) level, the size and speed American football players is astounding. Furthermore, while the padding provides *some* protection from impacts, it also allows players to hit much harder than they would otherwise. A similar thing happened in boxing. Before gloves were mandated, boxers could not hit each other too hard or they would break the bones in their hands. Once gloves became common, neurological injuries (and death) in boxing became *much* more common than when boxers fought barehanded. American football has been described as 60 minutes of car wrecks (given the impact forces involved). I suspect that rugby, though requiring more endurance and willingness to put up with flesh wounds, just doesn't produce the same physical damage as football does.

Rugby is more brutal, absolutely. Though, since I despise both sports with a passion, I must say that they both suck, so 'better' applies to neither.

coming from an American that plays rugby, rugby is way tougher than American football.i have friends who played football all there life and after one rugby game they are about to die.

no way, what u been watching, american football has so much padding And a hemet for a reason, aussie rules is also rougher than union or lueges

I do play rugby im only 12 but it is much better than american football all you have is a gum shield, some times if your a complete puffter sholder pads (foam), and if your a forward like me a head gaurd (for scrums rucs and mauls). But if you play american football you get: plastic helmate, sholder pads, cups or boxes, shin pads, gum shield and posably a few other things