Types of Rugby

[Stickman]

I'm a rugby fan, I think it's one of the most underrated sports in North America (along with lacrosse). But lately, I'd be watching Rugby on TV and I see games where there's no rucking or mauling, you get tackled and you're let up to roll the ball backwards with your foot. A scrum is like 3 guys per team. What the fuck is that shit! Rugby is supposed to have 30 men on the feild, not like 14 or 24 or whatever. My question is this: Is real rugby (15 aside) being over thrown by this shit that's all over television nowadays or is real rugby still King and always king?

[Bad Company]

Your talking about Rugby League, it's played by 13 Players, and is popular in Australia, England, and New Zealand. It's probably more popular than Rugby Union in Australia.
Rugby league got really big in the late 80's-Mid 90's, but then everyone realised it was shite, and started watching Union again. Thank god.

[Downunder]

League is played in the north of England, the east cost of Australia and by 11 maoris in New Zealand. It doesn't even compare to proper Rugby.

[Chico]

Rugby league started in the late 1800s after working class rugby players from the north of England broke away from the union because they weren't getting compensated for playing. They started their own rebel league soon after, and the game later spread to other countries.

Still not as good as rugby though.

[Stickman]

So Rugby league is the crap all over TV that isn't real rugby? We used to play that shit as warmup during practice, why, cuz it's shit.

And real rugby is still the more popular type of game?

[Impeccable]

Yeah Rugby League was seen as an alternative to Rugby Union, but really has gone down in quality and prominence in England since around the 1999 Rugby Union World Cup.

Sky Sports tried to save it by turning it from a winter sport to a summer game, to catch the fans of both. They also tried to commercialise it like American sports, turning then supreme champions Wigan into Wigan Warriors, and giving most teams clever names.

They tried to make a "European Super League", dubbing it Super League, but only one French team competed, called Paris St. Germain (like the "soccer" club). After being given two seasons in which they could not be relegated (in order to make it more attractive for them to compete regularly), they were relegated....and stopped competing regularly.

Only this season has a return of a foreign team to Super League been seen, as Catalan Dragons have joined the league, and they too have two seasons (or three, I'm not sure which), where they are exempt from relegation.

It still suffers though, as the stars tend to "switch codes", from League to Union. It's like when a small time, indy fed makes a star and they then jump to WWE...

hope that helps with the british rugby scene.

I prefer Rugby Union, following my local team, The Rotherham "Earth" Titans.

[Team Sheep]

Yeah Rugby League sucks. It's too one dimensional, not enough going on, apart from the hard tackles I'll give it that. But my favourite part about Rugby Union is rucking and mauling so without that it does nothing for me.

[Stickman]

Yeah Rugby League sucks. It's too one dimensional, not enough going on, apart from the hard tackles I'll give it that. But my favourite part about Rugby Union is rucking and mauling so without that it does nothing for me.

That's what rugby is. Nothing better than a good march down the field with rucking and mauling half the way. Also, real scrums are the way to go

[Team Sheep]

Yeah. Scrums in league are just an excuse to get the forwards out of the way temporarily. There's no chance of the opposition winning any off the head.

[Bad Company]

Yeah, league has some massive hits. Then again, when you've got 10m and a few seconds to line someone up, it'd be alot easier.I don't mind watching ARL if the warriors are playing. Was a massive fan back when I was a kid, cause league was huge, and alot of our rugby stars were going to league. Thank god all that nonsene stopped. Used to like Manly, cause they had geoff Thoovey, and Brisbane with Kevin and Kerrod Walters.

[Cuzziebro]

I support the Warriors whenever they are playing but The All Blacks are much better they actually win more than they lose.
Stacy Jones is diffinitely my favourite league player, he's actually a cousin of mine, and it's a shame he doesn't play anymore. Carlos Spencer or Doug Howlett are my favourite union players.

[Bad Company]

stacey jones is playing for the Superleague kiwis this weekend vs great Britain.
He's a legend.