Talk:Comparison of American football and rugby league

Playing Surface

Under the field section should we mention playing surface? I'm not exactly sure about American footbal, but I've heard they use artificial turf somtimes. But rugby league is played exclusively on grass.--Jeff79 03:39, 13 May 2007 (UTC)

Yes, a good point. I haven't followed American football since the early 90s but back then a lot of teams used AstroTurf. It's kind of like velcro in that it gives players a better grip to the turf which results in a better running game but more injuries.GordyB 08:44, 13 May 2007 (UTC)

Rugby League is usually played on grass but not exclusively - artificial surfaces have been used in the U.S. and Russia JoelUK (talk) 20:07, 25 March 2008 (UTC)

Place Kick

I would not say that a "drop kick" in Rugby is equivalent to a "field goal" in footbal because football also has a "drop kick", which although out of favor and seldom used is still legal. A field goal is different. Field goals fall under the category of place kick.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Place_kick

Actually,ma field goal (or for that matter, a PAT) can be scored by either place kick or drop kick, although the drop kick is almost entirely obsolete for any use in American football. A few years back, Doug Flutie did make a PAT via drop kick, mostly as a "stunt" in his last game before retirement, as I recall. Wschart (talk) 17:15, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

Player Numbering

Does the way players' jerseys are numbered differ between the two sports? I'm not sure if American footballers have their individual numbers or if they just wear the number of their position as in rugby league. If it differs, might be worth a mention.--Jeff79 22:55, 4 June 2007 (UTC)

American footballers wear squad numbers but certain positions tend to have certain numbers e.g. quarterbacks wear any number between 1 and 20.GordyB 13:42, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

And in RL we don't have one universal numbering system. ESL uses squad numbers for example.

Here is the info for the NFL Uniform Numbers but again I think that is different from College football etc Mattlore 23:03, 5 June 2007 (UTC)

Oh, the Super League numbering system is different to the Australian system? I didn't realise that. But on the playing rugby league article it has the numbers under each position and no one's said anything so far.--Jeff79 03:50, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

Well SL in Europe still uses the same system that SL in Australia used in 97. That is the player is assigned a number and keeps it for the rest of the year. Mattlore 07:57, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

Super League uses squad numbers but the national leagues don't and I don't think anybody else does either.GordyB 08:38, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

So for a reader who's interested in a comparison between American football and rugby league, might we include a sentence like, "In rugby league it is common for the numbers on players' uniforms to corresond with their positions as opposed to American football where it is common for (insert suitable explanation here, I'm not sure)"?--Jeff79 19:34, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

Heres the description for college numbering, which might be a better reference than just NFL; the major distinction being between eligible (1-49 and 80-99)and ineligible numbers (50-69). However, quarterbacks in college football almost always wear numbers between 1 and 19. We really need some input from an American based wikipedian. Mattlore 22:21, 6 June 2007 (UTC)

Rugby League has the following numbers in Australian Domestic competition:

1: Fullback
2&5: Wing
3&4: Centres
6: Five-eigth
7: Halfback
8&10: Front row forward aka 'Prop'
9: Hooker
11&12: Second row forward
13: Lock 

I believe in Rugby League Internationals, the positions for numbers 13 and 9 are swapped, but cant be sure. Ironwulf (talk) 10:40, 8 February 2010 (UTC)

They aren't.GordyB (talk) 11:17, 8 February 2010 (UTC)

Shape of the ball?

Is the ball the same shape in football and rugby? I don't know, and the article doesn't tell me. THF (talk) 05:05, 8 February 2010 (UTC)

Yeah, this should go in there somewhere. I'm pretty sure the American football is slightly smaller and pointier.Jeff79 (talk) 14:31, 8 February 2010 (UTC)

Cross code games

There was a game in England in the 90s (American football was very popular at the time). Manchester Spartans against Halifax rugby league. The overall winners were Manchester.GordyB (talk) 23:58, 24 January 2011 (UTC)

"cannot be charged down"

This phrase is used twice in the Scoring section, but it is not to my knowledge an American football term, and it's meaning is not at all clarified by the context. Can someone explain or reword? MayerG (talk) 04:40, 22 August 2011 (UTC)

In rugby league a 'charge down' happens when a player kicks in general play and a defender rushes up to knock the ball down. Even if it comes off his arms, in this case it's not a knock-on (a fumble in American football I think) and the defender can re-gather the ball and play on. I think the ball has to still be rising from the kicker's boot. The same cannot be done for a kick that's flown its course and is on its way down to a defender. That would just be a straight knock-on.--Jeff79 (talk) 08:15, 22 August 2011 (UTC)

Ball is not necessarily dead on turnover

In American football. Depending on the exact code, high school, college, or NFL there are some restrictions on who can advance a recovered fumble or muff, but in general, any fumble or interception can be advanced and the play is not over until the player in possession is down, out of bounds, or scores. Wschart (talk) 17:19, 1 November 2015 (UTC)

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