Pro Rugby Vs. Nfl Players, Who's tougher, better? Options

[Tony42077]

I've been getting into it with some europeans in the politics section, so I decided to rib them a bit in the pro sports section.


Who are tougher, better athletes?

Who would win at each others sports, first?


I think that the U.S. born NFL players would win them all, I am just trolling for some classic european (or rugby player) excuse why they are better.

[rugbycanada]

In terms of pure sporting aspect, comparing football (american) and rugby is like comparing Butter and Plastic, they are one molecule appart. Yet you don't ask for a knife and a piece of plactic to put of your toast in the morning. Do you?!?!

As far as compraing UFC to boxing goes: its true, boxers might be more fit (football) but NEVER in all athletic areas (pure strength, strength endurance, cardio endurance, mental capacity to perform, agility, speed, technique, attitudinal and knowlege). UFC (rugby) requires all of the above.

A perfect example of the hightened requirements of being a professional rugby player follows the below 2 month training regimen:

Jason Eaton has packed on eight kilograms.
Mils Muliaina is five kilograms heavier than he was in December.
The seams of Keven Mealamu's shirts appear to be having a hard time holding back the advancing mass of muscle
Ali Williams, once a sapling, looks more an oak tree.

"If you took a guy off the street and put him through the same programme as the All Blacks, he would make some improvements. But he would be starting from a much lower base so he would maybe go from being at 40 per cent of his athletic potential to say 60 per cent," Blair told the Herald.

"But with the All Blacks, who already have been doing a lot of training, they are probably starting at 80 per cent. "


If we took the NZ All Blacks, Indianapolis Colts and the Italien Soccer team and threw them into a "neutral" activity testing pure athleticism and not specific skills, NZ would undoubtedly come out ontop.

Soccer has by far the greatest cardio (arobic fitness), football the greatest emphasis on technique, maturity and correct performance, meanwhile rugby has a high quality requirement for anaerobic to arobic transitioning (for 90 minutes continuous), knowledge and adversity, and ofcourse pure and endurance based strength.

Rugby evolved from Soccer as soon as strength and techniques needed to be perfected in order to create a more competitive and high excellence game. Football (American) was last to follow by been developed due to urban pressure for aggresivness and Ad compaigning.