Rugby and football share connections through tackling, etiquette, and the player environment. Many rugby and football players often play both sports, using each sport as a chance to sharpen skills that carry over to the other.
This overlap shows up in the careers of many professional athletes, like NFL athlete Jordan Maliata, who transitioned from a rugby player in Bankstown, Australia, to an offensive tackle (OT) for the Philadelphia Eagles. With earning First Team All-Pro Honors, he came to the NFL to become one of the best OT’s, even though he had no prior experience. Countless players overlap between the two sports, developing skills that make them stronger in both.
Freshman Joseph Sanft’s rugby journey started when he was just five years old. “Rugby prepared me for the conditioning and technical aspects of football. In rugby, if you tackle too high, it’s a penalty, but in football you need to be ready to tackle anywhere. Kicking in rugby is important because it is a lot more widely used. You need to be able to drop and kick, football only the punter and kicker contribute to that aspect,” he said. Sanft joined the M-A freshman football team this year.
Junior Folau Iohea, a member of Razorhawks Rugby Club and the M-A varsity football team, noted the shared physicalities of the two sports. “You have forwards which are like the lineman basically, and defensive lineman and the backs are linebackers and all the fast positions and those are some of the similarities,” Iohea said.
“For [both] of them I get different families for each sport, you have a family for life, and you get connections too. Really, the leadership and the stamina of rugby is ongoing, and so in football, taking those little breaks is really nothing,” varsity football and rugby player freshman Spencer Ama said.
Sophomore Sione Tahaafe also plays rugby and is currently a lineman for the M-A varsity football team. “[Playing rugby and football] makes it easy to communicate on the field and classroom, if you are working on group projects, you’re opening ideas, you’re helping out,” he said.
Although there is quite an overlap between the two sports, they still differ in game technicalities, positions, and structure.
“First of all, rugby is non-stop and football isn’t. Like for example, when the opposing team scores a try, we don’t get a break,” freshman JV football player and rugby player Napa Talamoa said. He also compared the safety aspect of the two sports. “There are no pads [in rugby] to cover your body, no girdle to cover your thighs or helmet to cover your head. But despite that, rugby is still safer than football.”
Iohea also said, “In terms of learning, I’d say rugby is harder just because it has a lot more rules, especially how confusing it may seem to new players, and how after the tackle you have to form a ruck just to secure the ball,” Iohea said.
Despite their differences, the two sports both arm athletes with essential life skills. “Rugby and football have allowed me to grow my skills in communication and even group projects,” Tahaafe said.
