[KIWIFAN]

hello from nz!!!

hi big football fan here from new zealand. i was just wondering what your opinion would be on rugby players playing in the nfl.

does anyone know if it has been tried before, as i think some of the top rugby players from over here would make excellent footballers with the right coaching of course.

the top rugby players have speed strength and skills that would probably atleast match or better the best nfl players from what i have seen.

please dont be offended by the above sentence as it is just my own personal opinion from having watched the two sports, which do i admit have alot of differences to them, but they also do have alot of similiarities too

thanks to anyone who replys with there thoughts

[rmjvol]

Welcome to GoTeamsGo, KIWIFAN

I'd agree that top rugby players have the speed & strength to compete in the NFL. And the basic skills would be there as well.

I think the reason why most would not be successful is that most NFL rookies have 20 years of experience playing American style football before they step on the profesional field. With that lifelong experience comes knowledge & insticts that a top rugby player would not have their 1st year and maybe not ever.

While there certainly would be exceptions (top rugby players who could make a successful transitin to NFL), I think most would struggle with the split second decisions that the top NFL players make on instict on every play.

Look forward to chatting with you more.

[Lefty Noob]

Hey there, Kiwifan, and welcome to GoTeamsGo. I'm fairly certain that Darren Bennett, ex-punter for the San Diego Chargers, was an former rugby player. And man, was that dude tough. Never seen a punter who could lay a lick on someone quite like he could.

[KnowBaller]

I agree that the experience factor would be huge. Rugby and American football are similar in a lot of ways, but mentally they are very different. Because football is such a stop-and-go game, playbooks are very elaborate; I imagine that rugby players need a more general sense of tactics that would be wasted in football - football players are very specialized and have to memorize individual plays instead.

[simple simon]

hey dude, welcome to the forum

as far as speed, toughness, and over all athletic ability goes id say rugby players are right up there

but i would say they would have a few short comings

2 things really

not only the experience factor (which would be huge) but also size

seems the less potential experience a position may require, the more size is important

i would say someone 7 feet tall and 350 lbs would have a better chance at being a nose tackle then someone smaller at another position if they had no experience

i hope i made sense there, just meaning the average rugby player is probably around 5 foot 8 to 6 foot tall and to make it at that size in the NFL you have to be really good and have great instincts

[KIWIFAN]

I Wasnt Saying All Rugby Players Would Be Stars I Meant That A Few Of The Top Players Could Be,

Eg A Guy That Played For The Allblacks Called Jonah Lomu Hes Was Approx 6ft 6 Roughly 270 Lbs Could Bench Far More Than He Weighed And Could Run The 100 Mtrs In A Best Time Of 10.6 Something And Was Know As A Devistating Runner,

Surely Someone Like That Would Be Worth A Try??
Actually When He Was 19 The Dallas Cowboys And The Redskins Offered Him Contracts But He Stayed With Rugby

Note: Top Rugby Players Most Well Ova 6 Ft And 230 Lbs
Thanks For Your Reply

The Reason I Ask This Is I Think Rugby Maybe An Untapped Resource For The (nfl) In Terms Of Ball Carriers

[simple simon]

Originally Posted by KIWIFAN

Surely Someone Like That Would Be Worth A Try??

absolutely he would be worth a try

im sure many of them are worth a try and dont forget about the CFL and WFL

i suppose the questions is, do they want to be big fish in a relatively little pond or maybe medium fish in a big pond

im real curious why he turned down the chance

also im curious how the rugby players would handle the press in the NFL, it can be brutal

i dont follow rugby much, how is the press there ?

imagine if they signed with the NY Giants, after a game they could be mobbed by 20 or so reporterseither happy or pissed by their performance

[KIWIFAN]

He Turned It Down Due To Family And Religion.

Yeah Your Point About Media Is A Good One, But He Is A Paid Addidas Athlete And Does World Wide Ads For Them With Football Tennis And Soccer Stars, So Someone Like Him Could Have Been Good Perhaps

Ji Just Think Rugby Could Be A Overlooked Source Of Talent For The Nfl. You Get A Skilled Rugby Player With A Bit Of Size At A Young Age And Im Sure You Will Have A Excellnt Footballer By 21 Yrs.
Rugby Players Start Playing Full Contact At Age 4 So Are Pretty Tough At A Young Age

[dixieredneck]

rugby players are very conditioned, and they might not like the stop and go play that is in football i know that rugby is stop and go to some extent but in reality play is always going

and i think it would be a great idea you wouldn't get the cockiness that comes from players like t.o. because they are used to playing just for the game and not for the money

it might be a tough switch, but i went from football to rugby and i am doing fine so far

[Blaine]

they'd make good linebackers