I played 4 years of high school American football and am now in my first year of rugby on a university club team. Rugby is an incredibly tough sport, but the common assumption that it is tougher because you don't wear pads is misguided. read more
Rugby. I’ve played 10 seasons of football, and I’m currently in my 9 season of rugby. Football is not an easy sport, but Rugby is much tougher. Everyone on a rugby team must be good at tackling, catching, passing, and rucking. In football, you can be a hall of fame player without being able to tackle, pass, or block. read more
Lola’s view: American football 0, Rugby 1; Just one piece of equipment recommended: mouthguard! This by default makes rugby players badasses on the field. Criterion 3: Tackling. Chrystine’s view: American football 1, Rugby 1; Call this a draw, because rugby organizes their scoring drives by number of allowed tackles. read more
Define "tougher". If you mean which is more likely to get you killed or crippled, then American football. The contact in American football is more violent, simply because that is the nature of the downs-for-distance system. Or do you mean more "difficult". read more