Comparison of American football and rugby union: Difference between revisions

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Various forms of football have been played in England for centuries with different villages and schools having their own traditional rules. Rugby-like games were first introduced in the United States by English soldiers and colonists in the mid-1800s. However at that time a standard set of rules did not exist and teams would negotiate the rules before playing a game.

The Football Association was formed in England in October 1863. Differences of opinion about the proposed laws led to the formation of the first governing body for rugby in 1871 the Rugby Football Union. Laws were drawn up for rugby football which was now distinct from Association football (soccer).

In 1872 rugby clubs were established in the San Francisco Bay Area, which were mainly comprised of British expatriates. The first recorded rugby match in the United States occurred on May 14, 1874 between Harvard University and McGill University.

In 1876, Yale, Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia formed the Intercollegiate Football Association, a competition based on the traditional rules of rugby union. The sport of American football evolved from these intercollegiate games (see History of American football).

Back in England, a schism developed between those who favoured strict amateurism and those who felt that players should be compensated for time taken off work to play rugby. In 1895 this resulted in the formation of a break-away sport, rugby league, the rules of the two codes of rugby union and league would themselves diverge.

American football is played on a rectangular field 120 yards (110 meters) long by 53 1/3 yards (49 meters) wide. Near each end of the field is a goal line; they are 100 yards apart. A scoring area called an end zone extends 10 yards beyond each goal line. Yard lines cross the field every 5 yards, two rows of hash marks run parallel to the side lines near the middle of the field. At the back of each end zone, there are two goal posts that are 18.5 feet apart (24 feet in high school). The posts are connected by a crossbar 10 feet from the ground.

A rugby union field is a maximum of 144 metres long by 70m wide. The length from try line to try line is always 100 metres: the only varying distances on a rugby field are the width of the playing field, and the distance from try line to the dead ball line. Lines are painted at the dead ball line, try line, 22 metre line, 10 metre line (broken line) and half way. Lines are also located 5 metres away from the try line and side line and 15 metres away from the side line. At the goal line are a set of goal posts in the shape of the letter 'H', used for other forms of point scoring: field goal, penalty goal and conversion.

In American football, the team that in possession of the ball, the offense, has four downs, to advance the ball 10 yards towards the end zone. When the offense gains 10 yards, it gets another set of four downs. If the offense fails to gain 10 yards after 4 downs, it loses possession of the ball.

The ball is put into play by a snap. All players line up facing each other at the line of scrimmage. One offensive player, the center, then passes (or "snaps") the ball between his legs to a teammate, usually the quarterback.

Players can then advance the ball in two ways:

• By running with the ball, also known as rushing. One ball-carrier can hand the ball to another; this is known as a handoff.
• By passing the ball forwards to a team-mate.

A down ends, and the ball becomes dead, after any of the following:

• The player with the ball is tackled.
• A forward pass goes out of bounds or touches the ground before it is caught. This is known as an incomplete pass. The ball is returned to the original line of scrimmage for the next down.
• The ball or the player with the ball goes out of bounds.
• A team scores.

Possession may change in different ways in both games:-

1. When the ball is kicked to the opposing team, this can be done at any time but it is normal to punt on the last down / tackle.
2. Following an unsuccesful kick at goal.
3. When an opposing player intercepts a pass.
4. When the player in possession drops the ball and it is recovered by an opposition player. This is called a fumble in American football.
5. In rugby union the opposition are awarded a scrum if the player in possession drops the ball forwards or makes the ball go forwards with any part of his body other than his feet. This is called a knock-on.
6. In rugby union if the ball goes out of play, the opposition are awarded a line-out, this is called ball back. This rule does not apply to penalty kicks.
7. In American football possession changes hands following a succesful score and the team scoring must now kick off to the opposition. In contrast, in rugby union the team who conceeded the score must kick off to the team who scored.
8. In American football, an automatic handover takes place when the team in possession runs out of downs.

In both codes, tactical kicking is an important aspect of play.

A try is the rugby equivalent of a touchdown. Unlike American football, both codes of rugby require the ball to be grounded, in American football it is sufficient for the player carrying the ball to enter the end zone (in-goal area). In American football a touchdown scores 6 points; in rugby union it is worth 5 points.

In both games, following a try / touchdown, there is the opportunity to score additional points by kicking the ball between the posts and over the bar. In American football this is called an extra point (worth 1 point); in rugby union it is known as a conversion (worth 2 points). One key difference between an extra point and a conversion is that a conversion must be taken from a position in line with where the try was scored. Hence it is important to ground the ball under the posts rather than in the corner which makes for a difficult kick.

In American football teams often opt to go for a field goal (worth 3 points) rather than attempt a touchdown. The rugby equivalent is a drop goal (worth 3 points in union and only one in league). The key difference between a field goal and a drop goal is that a field goal attempt is normally kicked with a team-mate holding the ball, whereas in rugby the ball must hit the ground and be kicked from a half-volley.

A similar concept in rugby is the penalty goal. Following the award of the penalty, the attacking team may opt to kick for goal rather than advance the ball by hand or punting. This scores 3 points. The penalty goal is similar to a field goal in American football in that the ball is kicked from the ground and may be held by a team-mate, but it cannot be charged. There is no direct equivalent to a penalty goal in American football.

American football has one further method of scoring which does not exist in rugby. If a ball carrier is tackled in their own endzone (in-goal area) with the ball then this results in a safety which scores 2 points. In rugby union this does not score any points but causes the team in possession to kick the ball back to the opposition from their 22 metre line.

In American football, one team retains possession, unless there is a fumble or interception, until they have used up all four downs.

Rugby union is quite different being based on the 'right to contest possession'. A team in possession does not need to surrender possession whilst they are able to keep the ball. Whilst American footballers aren't allowed to try to disposses the ball carrier between tackles, rugby union players are allowed to win possession during open play.

In both codes, it is normal to advance the ball by carrying it in hand but tactical kicking is an important aspect of play. In American football, it is normal to punt on the last down but in rugby union with no limited tackle system a kick can take place at any phase of play.

Rugby union is a game of possession and not yardage. Players try to pass the ball before being tackled and to ensure possession is retained rather than struggling for an extra yard under the weight of several tacklers.

In rugby, forward passes are not allowed and the only form of passing is what would be called a lateral in American football. Only one pass per down may be thrown forwards in American football but any number of laterals may be thrown, in practice laterals are fairly unusual in American football.

See also American football positions, Rugby union positions

An American football team consists of an offensive team, a defensive team and a special team (involved in kicking). Only eleven players can be on the field at any time.

In both kinds of rugby the same players have to both defend and attack. There are fifteen players in a rugby union team (except in sevens). Interchange players can come onto and off the field as long as this maximum number of players is not exceeded.

Many of the positions have similar names but in practice are very different. A fullback in American football is very different from a fullback in rugby. Some of the positions are fairly similar; a fly-half carries out a similar role to a quarterback in American football.

Broadly speaking linemen and linebackers in American football correspond to forwards in rugby, and running backs, receivers, and quarterbacks have skills similar to backs in rugby.[1]

Unlike American football, rugby players often continue to participate in the game long after they have left school.

• Comparison of Canadian and American football
• Comparison of American football and rugby league
• American football
• Rugby union
• Players who have converted from one football code to another

• The Rugby Game
• HS Rugby Ban: Inattention To Safety?
• Coaching Strength or size - which is the significant component for rugby players?
• American football explained

• NFL Digest of Rules
• The Laws of Rugby Union