Rugby: is it any good?

[Titanic]

Rugby: is it any good?

Yes - it's a great game to play, watch, coach or be involved in at any level.

My boy plays for Horsham U14's - against Brighton at Waterhall this morning. Pretty competetive fixture - close fought but Brighton just shaded it.

After the game the boys had a meal together (our lot in shirts and ties) and the parents (mainly Dad's!) had a beer in the very decent clubhouse.

 

[Knightsworld]

Rugby League for me.

There is too much time kicking in Union and it gets boring.

 

[¡Cereal Killer!]

Only if England are playing

Playing it is alright, only if it is not cold and not playing against the school rugby team. Only fun if playing with my mates who a lot of are smaller than me so I can take them out easy!

 

[Robbie G]

Rugby League for me.

Not keen on rugby league, as have to play the ball back after every tackle. Rugby Union just seems to have more fluency

 

[DJ Leon]

How can any game where kicking the ball out of play is applauded be fluent.

Rugby League is by far the more fluent game.

 

[Robbie G]

Well it just seems that the play gets broken up much more in League as you have to get up from every tackle. But yeah i do agree, Union isnt amazingly fluent, with all the kicking into touch

 

[perth seagull]

I prefer rugby league as well, it's a lot faster and you don't get unlimited possession of the ball which leads to a lot of time wasting in Union. Also, you're more encouraged to play for tries in RL, the points for a goal kick is too high in Union.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

I prefer rugby league as well, it's a lot faster and you don't get unlimited possession of the ball which leads to a lot of time wasting in Union. Also, you're more encouraged to play for tries in RL, the points for a goal kick is too high in Union.

must say was not a fan of league till saw roosters play live, still rate union above league tho

 

[Brovion]

I used to prefer League but I do like the continuity of Union and the different phases of play - and I really like the multi-faceted aspect of the game; kicking, running handling and the physical strength required to win rucks, mauls and scrums. As the French say it's a game for piano players and piano shifters. League I find too one-dimensional, the constant run-bash run-bash with the game stopping at every tackle.

Having said that Union can be boring too if it's just kick, line-out, scrum, kick line-out scrum. Mind you football can be tedious as well. I watched England v South Africa and GB v New Zealand on Saturday, I enjoyed them both but the Union game is just a better sport, even though as a match it was more one-sided.

Oh, and the reason the penalty is worth so much is to discourage people from infringing. If you don't want to conceed the points then don't commit the offence.

 

[Scarface]

Used to play rugby and go to Twickenham until the price of tickets went up to £50 Love to see a good fight on the pitch and most of the time they will buy each other a pint after the game and forget about it. If the fight at west ham happened in a rugby match I doubt anyone would have even seen a yellow card! Its a proper physical sport.

 

[Wilka]

I f***ing hate rugby!

 

[caz99]

i love rugby and i have to say i was more emotional watching england win the world cup than if i had seen the footy team. they seem to show more passion than some of our football friends sometimes

 

[wehatepalace]

i love rugby i used to play at a fairly high level until recently, i now play for crawley rfc, rugby is a gentlemans sport we beat hell out of each other on the pitch then go and have a drink together and laugh about it afterwards
there is much more respect for the match officials in rugby eg: we always address the referee as sir, dissent is highly frowned upon and is not tolerated at any level !
i'm sure football could learn many things from us egg chasers !
but saying that i'm albion through and through and i do find it extremley hard to share my time between the two !

 

[Icy Gull]

I love rugby union and the fact that England, France, Wales (at last), New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Argentina and Ireland all have good teams at the moment makes every game, even the current round of friendlies exciting. It doesn't even have to be a game involving England to be worth watching either. When was the last time an England football friendly or for that matter, any football friendly, had you out of your seat in excitement at the game

 

[Kev the Ape]

Handball.

 

[keaton]

Rugby Union is the only sport that bears comparison with football as a great all-round game and I prefer watching england rugby games much more than us play football.
Rugby league, though, is a waste of time.

 

[Scarface]

even the current round of friendlies exciting.

No such thing as a 'friendly rugby match!'

 

[bathseagull]

I've always kept an open mind about rugby - never slated it or jumped on the world cup bandwagon but never enjoyed playing it.

I should enjoy watching it as its a team sport with high levels of fitness and good tactical awareness.

I spent 2 years at Bath uni and watched a few games there and have just moved to Twickenham and went to the game on saturday.

Jesus tho i find it boring - there's just too many breaks in play. Every time the game stops for a line out, foul, scrum, something else i don't understand (which seems to be very often), i find my eyes wandering round the stadium then i miss something and it all goes wrong from there. It just doesn't flow well enough for me. I do need to understand the rules more, I admit.

As far as the fans go - i like the fact that the opposing fans get on and the atmosphere around a rugby ground is friendlier than at a football match but i like the banter and edge between rival football supporters you only get at football.

 

[Mr Popkins]

All fans sit together-

does this mean there is not the same passion in the game as football?.

I think it does.

 

[Dick Knights Mumm]

My boy plays for Horsham U14's - against Brighton at Waterhall this morning. Pretty competetive fixture - close fought but Brighton just shaded it.

After the game the boys had a meal together (our lot in shirts and ties) and the parents (mainly Dad's!) had a beer in the very decent clubhouse.

ditto. My lad plays for Pulborough (U15's), and although in rugby terms they have poor facilities the lads sit together for a meal after the match (in shirts and ties). Football could learn a lot.

It isn't easy to watch if you don't know the game. But I am starting to understand it. Watching it live is okay, but for me it is a bit like going to see a football match without supporting either team. There's not much passion.