Union / League

[Bazile]

Rugby is not my sport , so could someone please advise me what is the difference between Rugby Union and Rugby League

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/34710721


from the article
/"The England coaches didn't seem to have a plan for him. It's technically so hard to go from league to union //

[Svejk]

No scrum in RL, I would say.

[ichkeria]

League does have scrums, for knock ons and forward passes and also where Union has line outs tho you don't kick for touch : scrums are really uncontested devices for getting the ball out to the backs.
There are of course 2 fewer players, and you have something called play the ball after each of the first 5 tackles by a defending team. There are no rucks or mauls therefore
Also scoring is different with 4 points for a try and 1 for a drop goal

All in all it is significantly different especially at the top level I'd say

[Davemano]

They are both team games, mainly for men with odd shaped balls.

[Sqad]

^^^^LOL.

Although both games are played by women, but the balls are the same shape.......so they tell me.

[jno]

the games aren't hugely different, but to play at the top level you have to be really good; and being really good in one sport doesn't mean you will be in another. It probably takes a couple of years to hone your new skills and he only had one year. Other RL players have done well in RU (eg Sonny Bill Williams of NZ, who's extremely good at both and is a successful heavyweight boxer too) but they've had more time.

Part of the problem was that his RU club played him in one position but in the England RU team he was played in another, so that didn't help.

[Bazile]

jno
//..It probably takes a couple of years to hone your new skills and he only had one year. //

So , what exactly are these new skills that's required in Union that's not there in league ?

[Sqad]

\\\\So , what exactly are these new skills that's required in Union that's not there in league ?\\\

In league with the scrum being only a method of restarting a game and possession of the ball being the important factor, the mechanism of scrummaging is simple.
In union, the shape , number of players and the function of the scrum is far more important and hence the rules of scrummaging are more complex........in fact they are often a shambles and interpretation and misinterpretation are often a matter of sheer luck.

Possession is more important in League and territory more important in Union, although that has become less so in the last few years which means that in League the ball is in hand more of the time and off loading in the tackle has become an art, which the Union boys have yet to master.

That is the main difference.

Sam Burgess played no part in the performance of the England team.....they were never going to get to the knock out stage on the performances shown in the warm up matches.

[dannyk13]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_rugby_league_and_rugby_union

[ichkeria]

The differences between the codes are fascinating. Personally I find League absolutely boring, but I can appreciate that for many it is fast and exciting, whereas Union can seem over-complicated, as sqad says.
I guess each appeals to different types of person.

[Quizmonster]

If you're tackled and brought to the ground in League, it seems you have to hold onto the ball and wriggle frantically under the tackler until he lets you up, at which point you just back-heel the ball to a team-mate. Very odd!

[jourdain2]

I prefer League; it is faster and more exciting with fewer stops for scrums (which are quick affairs when they happen). The rules in both are esoteric and most of the players in each discipline don't understand them all. One big difference is that you have to count the tackles in League because on the 7th the ball goes to the opposing team, best to get rid of it by kicking.

Watch a few of each. Best match I ever saw was League World Cup final between England and N.Z. - last year, I think it was.

Poor old Sam Burgess, Union never really gave him a chance - but I'm glad he's back in league. He and several brothers (all good players) hail from Filey, not too far from me. Glad I didn't have to feed them!

Received information is that players move from League to Union when they're getting on a bit and need a bit of an easier life - OK, I'm heading for the bomb shelter....

[ichkeria]

"One big difference is that you have to count the tackles in League because on the 7th the ball goes to the opposing team"

Sixth tackle surely? Unfortunately that's the rule I find a bit idiotic.
Rugby League doesn't have wing forwards, which to my mind makes it a poorer game, but as the scrum is bit like a subbuteo table rugby scrum (!) then I guess they aren't needed
But the point maybe is not to do what I'm doing: just enjoy each game for what it is without comparing and contrasting too much with the other code.
I just think that these days the very top Union, as played by the Southern Hemisphere especially, gives you all the exciting bits of passing and running that used to be lacking in Union quite often

[joeluke]

Am not a fan of Egg-Chasing either

In Union why are you allowed to lift your team-mate up in the air at line-outs? Once upon a time players jumped for the ball on merit and he who jumped highest got the ball