Is rugby the same as American football?

Answer 1

They both are almost similar, with a marginal difference.

Rugby has had a long and complicated relationship with American Football. William Gunmere of Rutgers devised the game, and based it upon American forms of Rugby and association football. Another important point is that during the 19th century, the USA was trying to develop a new national culture, independent of its English colonial roots, as it had become politically independent the previous century. This extended into the sporting arena, with the adoption and invention of American football and Basketball, and also the myth of Abner Doubleday founding Baseball, which attempted to divorce it from its English origins.

Unlike American Football, Rugby has established itself through the USA via its colleges and universities, The

comparison of American Football and the Rugby Union is possible because of the games' shared origins, despite their dissimilarities.

SignificantDifferencesare:

Blocking: In American Football, there is provision for blocking for the ball carrier, which is to say preventing a defender from tackling the player with the ball. The added contact accounts for the necessity to employ more protective equipment in the North American codes of football.

Player positioning: In Rugby Union a player in front of the ball is said to be offside; it is an offence for a player to deliberately adopt an offside position, and a player accidentally offside may not interfere with the game. In American Football this principle applies only at the very beginning of a play, when all players must be behind the line of scrimmage. Once the play has begun some (but not all) players may advance ahead of the ball.

Forward Pass: In Rugby Union, it is illegal to throw (pass) the ball in a forward direction. In American Football, a player behind the line of scrimmage (most often the quarterback) is permitted to throw the ball forward from behind the line of scrimmage, provided that no forward pass had been attempted during the current play

Apart form the above, there are also other differences like:

Composition of teams

Duration of game

Game play

Dimensions ,Lines

Goalposts
Advancing the ball
Passing
Tackles and blocks

Answer 2

They both are almost similar, with a marginal difference.

Rugby has had a long and complicated relationship with American Football. William Gunmere of Rutgers devised the game, and based it upon American forms of rugby and association football. Another important point is that during the 19th century, the USA was trying to develop a new national culture, independent of its English colonial roots, as it had become politically independent the previous century. This extended into the sporting arena, with the adoption and invention of American football and Basketball, and also the myth of Abner Doubleday founding Baseball, which attempted to divorce it from its English origins.

Unlike American Football, Rugby has established itself through the USA via its colleges and universities, The

comparison of American Football and the Rugby Union is possible because of the games' shared origins, despite their dissimilarities.

SignificantDifferencesare:

Blocking: In American Football, there is provision for blocking for the ball carrier, which is to say preventing a defender from tackling the player with the ball. The added contact accounts for the necessity to employ more protective equipment in the North American codes of football.

Player positioning: In Rugby Union a player in front of the ball is said to be offside; it is an offence for a player to deliberately adopt an offside position, and a player accidentally offside may not interfere with the game. In American Football this principle applies only at the very beginning of a play, when all players must be behind the line of scrimmage. Once the play has begun some (but not all) players may advance ahead of the ball.

Forward Pass: In Rugby Union, it is illegal to throw (pass) the ball in a forward direction. In American Football, a player behind the line of scrimmage (most often the quarterback) is permitted to throw the ball forward from behind the line of scrimmage, provided that no forward pass had been attempted during the current play

Apart form the above, there are also other differences like:

Composition of teams

Duration of game

Game play

Dimensions ,Lines

Goalposts
Advancing the ball
Passing
Tackles and blocks