Rugby League v Rugby Union

[DarloRich]

In order to stop this thread:http://www.railforums.co.uk/showthread.php?t=120482&page=31

getting bogged down I have started us a new space to argue which code is best! Which one is it?

I have played and watched both codes and like then both. I played union for years and tried to play league when at university. Being Northern I ought to choose League i suppose but i spent so long playing union i really cant.

I prefer playing Union as it isn't as intense, constant or painful as League but prefer watching League as it is quicker, much more intense, still more physical and their is a much better and more rowdy atmosphere within the crowd with none of that bloody awful swing low rubbish!

Anyway over to you!

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

There are less players in the sides that play the league game and other differences such as only six game plays by a league side before having to hand-over. In the union game, line-outs are a feature of play that is not replicated in the league game.

 

[Oswyntail]

.. League as it is quicker, much more intense, still more physical ..

At the top, I would say Union is quicker, more intense and more physical.
I like watching both, only having played union, but I find the extra fluidity of union the more attractive. What I do really love is good, hard forward play in union, the "contested" scrum, the maul. The last few minutes of S.Africa v Japan were incredibly exciting for me, with the immense effort on both side, immovable object v irresistible force - in League the hand-over would have ruined it.
Yes - I was a prop.

 

[Tetchytyke]

I prefer playing Union as it isn't as intense, constant or painful as League but prefer watching League as it is quicker, much more intense, still more physical and their is a much better and more rowdy atmosphere within the crowd with none of that bloody awful swing low rubbish!

I'm surprised you say that, I always found union more physically intense. I found the hits were harder and you don't get the same respite that you do in league at the tackle. If you're clinging on to a lead in league you just slow playing the ball right down, that simply isn't an option in union. That said, it's a lot easier to change defence into attack in league so mentally you have to be a lot more switched on than you do in union.

The intensity of Wales v Australia, where the Aussies were clinging on with 13, isn't something you'd see in league because of the handover. It was brutal and it was brilliant to watch. But union can get a bit tedious when it gets bogged down in the kick and clap.

Being a Yorkshireman born in Sydney I prefer league. I always joke that there's nothing wrong with union that wouldn't be solved by changing to 13 a a side, a maximum of six tackles and awarding four points for a try. But actually I really enjoy both codes for what they are, trying to compare them really is difficult as they are very different.

I think it is a shame that league doesn't have the global reach of union, though. Especially as all the best union players started out in league

I will say that I always enjoy seeing England rugby union lose (see the Yorkshire and the Aussie for further details), mostly because seeing people like Vainikolo or Henry Paul playing for England was an absolute joke.

 

[DarloRich]

At the top, I would say Union is quicker, more intense and more physical.
I like watching both, only having played union, but I find the extra fluidity of union the more attractive. What I do really love is good, hard forward play in union, the "contested" scrum, the maul. The last few minutes of S.Africa v Japan were incredibly exciting for me, with the immense effort on both side, immovable object v irresistible force - in League the hand-over would have ruined it.
Yes - I was a prop.

I agree with the part about forward play. I was a front rower

I'm surprised you say that, I always found union more physically intense. I found the hits were harder and you don't get the same respite that you do in league at the tackle. If you're clinging on to a lead in league you just slow playing the ball right down, that simply isn't an option in union. That said, it's a lot easier to change defence into attack in league so mentally you have to be a lot more switched on than you do in union.

The intensity of Wales v Australia, where the Aussies were clinging on with 13, isn't something you'd see in league because of the handover. It was brutal and it was brilliant to watch. But union can get a bit tedious when it gets bogged down in the kick and clap.

Being a Yorkshireman born in Sydney I prefer league. I always joke that there's nothing wrong with union that wouldn't be solved by changing to 13 a a side, a maximum of six tackles and awarding four points for a try. But actually I really enjoy both codes for what they are, trying to compare them really is difficult as they are very different.

I think it is a shame that league doesn't have the global reach of union, though. Especially as all the best union players started out in league

I will say that I always enjoy seeing England rugby union lose (see the Yorkshire and the Aussie for further details), mostly because seeing people like Vainikolo or Henry Paul playing for England was an absolute joke.

I was commenting on my own playing which was a decent amateur standard at union (at least until mid 20's when it was clear i wasn't good enough) and low, low level league standard. I found it easier to take a breather in union due to the stoppages for setting the scrum and line out, for the place kicking etc

In league it always seemed that the ball was live and in play. Although i did miss the physical forward play offered in union I found that general physicality in league was higher. I was playing big, hard, tough blokes in the league game and it hurt! You didn't break the tackle as much in league!

The gap in the professional game has reduced markedly in recent years and I feel we will see more rugby league shaped blokes in union with more cross code players at top level. The physicality of union is now off the scale as is the speed and so much in the attacking sense seems to have come from League to union that until the contact the styles are now v similar.

The key difference is still the ruck and maul which in my mind is the best part of the game!

 

[StarCrossing]

I wouldn't say either is better than the other. I grew up in North Wales, where union is bigger, but there's a lot of respect and a decent following for league. I now live in the south west of England where most people couldn't name a single current rugby league player!

Union is a more varied games, but league players have better basic skills (in the northern hemisphere at least). Union has a better international game, but the club game is better structured in league, and the Challenge Cup still retains a magic for me that no union competition can match.

As others have alluded to, there's nothing quite like a union team defending their own line for phase after phase, though I'd rather recall Wales vs Ireland in March this year rather than Australia vs Wales last Saturday!

It's also worth pointing out that the vast majority of people in Britain have never seen the NRL or State of Origin, which are of a higher standard than Super League. Lots of people will have seen the likes of the All Blacks though.

 

[richw]

Living in Cornwall. Rugby league isn't a known sport until 2-3 years ago. We now have a rugby league team "Cornish Rebels" who have announced a partnership with St. Helens recently with the aim of teaching it in school.

I play Union, yet no way could I play league. I'm an old fashioned lumpy forward, although saying that I played outside centre for about 10 mins in a recent game where desperation kicked in- in a squad of 17 players we had 7 or 8 front rowers. Spot the issue there!

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

I'm surprised you say that, I always found union more physically intense. I found the hits were harder.

I will have to take issue with you over the part of your post above that I have emboldened when referring to the game as played at the rugby league at Super League level. Our revered moderator Greenback who is well versed in Welsh Rugby Union did once say that Rugby League is played by some very hard men.

I think the main improvement that came about in Rugby Union at the highest club level was the improvement in fitness to what had been the case at the best Rugby League clubs. There are, of course, still many amateur teams in the lower reaches of both codes, where that very high fitness level is not reached.

 

[coupwotcoup]

Probably went to the only Grammar school that didn't chase the egg but can't stand either.... but hey, that's just my opinion.

 

[Amberley54]

I have played both, and at a fair level. I have even played as A.N. Other and Bob Bollington in the 13-a-side code.

Over the decades they have moved away from each other at an accelerating rate of knots, but both have become increasingly focused up on physicality and speed at the top level.

At the lower, unpaid, levels both codes require courage and commitment over raw speed and brute force.

On balance, Union just has it for me as an out and out hooker who loves scrummaging and the mind games at the line-out.

 

[Bevan Price]

As a spectator (only), both codes have some good points and some bad points.

1. Union. I don't like the messy brawls each time somebody is tackled - a league-style play the ball would be better. I also think that the "penalty kick" is over-valued at 3 points. There are often too few tries, so reducing the number of players per side (to 11 or 12) might improve matters.

2, League. I don't like the phoney scrums where the scrum half feeds the ball to his own side. I would prefer a return to "real" scrums where the ball had to be fed into the centre of the scrum, and getting the ball required a skilled hooker. And maybe union-style line outs could be used when the ball goes into touch.

Never played either game (too slow, and less than perfect hand to brain coordination. The latter applied to all sports, e.g. snooker - I knew roughly where to hit a ball, but it rarely went in the intended direction.)

 

[Hadders]

Has to be Union - the ultimate team sport.

Both Union and League are better than football though!