Rugby v Football - both sides of the war-of-the-codes debate

One might say that the complexity of Rugby Union should be more of a minus than a plus than James' article states. The beauty of Football is the old "a minute to learn, a lifetime to master" aspect. Professional Rugby Union players often profess ignorance as to why certain penalties are given, so how many of the gigantic law-book should part-timers and social players be expected to memorise. Rugby League's penalties are of three simple types; foul play, loss of ball control or slowing the game unnecessarily. Unlike Football, it has the intense physicality that distinguishes a collision sport from a contact sport. The skill levels are spectacular, as are the impacts, while the noisy passion of the spectators does not (with the occasional exception) preclude the family-friendly atmosphere. That's why it eventually became my sport of choice, having followed (and dabbled in playing) both Football and Rugby Union for many years.

Good article, James, which sums up the arguments fairly comprehensively. But it is always a pointless exercise debating which is the 'best' code. Like our tastes in music, comedy, art, etc. it ultimately boils down to exactly that - taste. As a rugby league fan myself, I have always been fascinated by the basic paradox of football, that, in my opinion, it's greatest weakness as a spectacle is its greatest strength. For people like me, though I watch and enjoy football fairly frequently, there is not enough scoring. We've had some cracking games in both the Premiership and the F.A Cup this year containing six or seven goals, but these are the exception, and at top level for a final to be decided on the artificial lottery of the penalty shoot-out shows how much defence has overtaken attack. But, as James has suggested in his article, it is precisely this low scoring element which leads to much more potential for close games than either rugby codes can ever hope for. Once a much inferior team's resistance has been broken in rugby, the rendency is for the floodgates to open and embarrassing scores to be on the cards. In football, however, the hardest job on the field is getting the ball in the net, so it is possible for a Premiership team to dominate totally one of the 'minions' only to lose by a single goal. In rugby union and league, there is virtually no chance nowadays of a 'giant killing'.