its called football because the ball they play with is 1ft long.

:usehead:

and handball is a olympic sport too.

damn oh well still most (american)footballs i've seen are only 9-10 inches long

would anyone mind explaining the differences between rugby and american football?
i know a couple of things, in rugby you can't throw the ball forward with your hand , only with your foot, you can only pass it backwards with your hand....but that's about it....

The main different is the passing backwards instead of forwards , also in rugby to score a try you need to have your hand on the ball as it touches the ground.

Rugby League is the closest to American football , you have 5 tackles to score a try , once you hit the ground with the ball thats one tackle gone,After the last tackle you either have to kick the ball forward or score. In rugby union you can play the ball on the ground as long as you are not touching it & you have as many attemps at scoring as you like.

The Difference between 'Union' & 'League' codes.

It's been said that, Rugby Union is a hooligans game, played by gentlemen and Rugby League is a gentleman's game, played by hooligans.

i've always heard that there was a difference between the 2

Urban explained the difference. I believe American Football is rubbish, in a real mans sport they shouldn't need padding or helmets. Let them play Rugby and we'll see how well they size up.

Rugby has no forward passing, no fumbling without penalty and no offsides i.e the players on a team can't be ahead of the guy with the ball. You get 5 points for a "touchdown" and 2 for the conversion. You get 3 points if you kick a penalty.

League there are 6 plays of the ball, where the 6th is usually a kick to the opposition to gain territory. 4 points for a "touchdown" and 2 points for a conversion. Same rules apply to Union as they do to league except a few things such as "lineouts", which only Union has.

I actually prefer candian football to american football myself.

I knew even you liberal brits had it in you to be as big headed as your american sons. Welcome to the downfall of your nation.

:afro: