So, we've just had a season of League, and the RWC is about to be wrapped up.
I enjoy watching League but find it hard to get my head around Union. Those guys just don't seem interested in reaching the try-line.
I'd be interested in seeing what seabreezers think. Which would you rather watch: the speed, action and thrilling athletic spectacle of Rugby League; or Rugby Union with whatever its got?
Oh they are interested in reaching the try line but the defence is just too good.
Rugby league:
13 guys much the same size
Run 10m get tackled, stop, get up, play the ball, do the same for 5 sets, kick it or hope to break the line. Keep possession.
That sums up the game. No tactics, no scrums. 3 guys tackle 1 guy, try to hurt him but can't take the ball from him?
Rugby Union:
15 guys of all different sizes and shapes. There is a job for the little fat man, tall skinny man, the nimble strong man and the really fast guy.
Get to the other end of the field and score some points somehow: 3 or 5 or 7.
Contested scrums. Contested line outs. Both are opportunities for the fat guys and tall guys to show their strength and win the ball then give it to the fast guys to show their speed.
Tactics, plans, more tactics. Play for territory, not possession.
Tackle the man, but once he is on the ground you want the ball. It's all about the ball. So every tackle becomes a fight for the ball.
If you are not standing on your feet you cannot participate in the game.
Complicated game maybe but a lot more fun to play and watch.
And a game you can play well into your 40's.
League by a country mile,I do enjoy the odd game of union.If they dropped one player from each side it would open the game to more try's,jmo
Those union guys are massive and imo tougher.
womans netball..
I don't know, there's something about watching a field full of grown men stacksing on, trying to pin each other to the ground.... Seems a bit gay
From someone that's played all of the below my opinion is as such:
League: By far the best to watch on TV, the dynamics of harder clashes and ability for individual glory is definitely better to watch and yell at with your mates over beer.
Union: The best to play, as mentioned above. It's a real team sport, you're nothing without your team supporting you. More strategy, more skill possibly. Probably a more educated mans game on the field.
Just for the hell of it: AFL: Crap on Telly, I'd rather play Union but UNBEATABLE live. I am still blown away by my recent trip to the MCG.
Hello elmo in rugby league there are 5 downs that means 5 goes to get a try if your 5 downs are gone the other team get the ball
But in Rugby union there are no downs.
God bless and goodnight
Agreed: AFL boring on TV, great show live.
League: disagreed there are no tactics. First 2-3 runs are mindless alright, but it's setting up the play for runs 3-4 and the 5th. There's plenty of tactics there, esp. at a high level like state of origin.
More of a grinding game though...
A good game of Union can be as good or better than a good game of League.
How ever - there aren't many good games of Union so League wins
Wathcing the world cup I'd like to see 3 things
Field goals and penalties worth less points. A team can beat there opposition on penelties and field goals alone that has scored a try.
Less rules - far out how complicated can you make a bunch of guys running around hitting each other be
less kicking and more running
), but there's no reason why the same things can't happen in Union. That's not a play which is uncommon to either code, just that particular one was true poetry.
league without a doubt. if rugby fans call trying to milk penalties so they can kick a 3 point penalty all day strategy good luck to you. if the other half of your game is trying to kick 3 point field goals,good luck to you as well pfffft...................... ice hockey is the coolest game in the world
Right up front I admit I don't know much about Union, so I very much stand to be corrected. I watch a few games each year (test etc.), and of course the RWC. My partner's a Kiwi and she loves it (Bledisloe Cup is fun in our house). However I find myself mentally switching off soon after kickoff , which is a bit of a problem as I'm moving to NZ in a few months!!! 
(I hope I can get NRL on Sky)
As a Union outsider my observations are:
So much of what's going on is a mystery - I reckon you'd have to have played a bit to really understand what they are trying to achieve. It looks like some sort of private school boys' ceremony out there at times. 
Far too many stoppages. Penalty after penalty ... on an on it goes (but that's an old complaint).
As someone else said, far too much reward for penalty goals etc. It's a complete disincentive to scoring trys. Why would you – all you have to do is get into the opposition half and wait for some sort of penalty to be awarded. It's a very negative way to score points at best and downright boring at worst.
Too many players - it's too easy to defend with the ground that crowded further reducing incentive to attempt scoring trys. Looks like a Myer's boxing day sale out there at times.
Reduced scope for individual athletic brilliance (see Israel above) - in fact I don't think I've ever seen attacks into the corners from cross field kicks in Union (happy to be corrected on this) and can't see why they shouldn't/couldn't.
Too little running with the ball. Too few attacks on the try-line that have any chance of success. Too little action in general.
And I think saying that all league players are the same size is probably a little bit of an exaggeration. They're just a much fitter bunch than Union players 'cause they have to run more, tackle more, etc…. 
Come off it, i have watched little johnny kick 4 goals for the poms and without haveing one try and win by 4 points.
zzzzzzzzzz 
Guess it's what you grew up with. For me it's unfathomable for someone to prefer league, but then I never played it for any purpose other than training.
Living in WA i jump all over the chance to watch either. Would really like to see the Force do a little better. Surely if they were to well enough for a while we might get just some rugby on tv.
WA will never get over AFL but NETBALL
>??? We had hundreds which felt more like f***ing thousands of netball matches on free to air tv for some tournament last year. Yet we are lucky to get 1 or 2 games of league a week on at 1am in the morning. Go figure.
There's always gonna be more spectacular runs/breakaways in league because there's no need to worry about what happens when you're tackled. The need for support play and dedicated teamwork is a plus for union imo.
I definitely agree that field goals should be 1point, but I'd be wary of reducing the 3 points for a penalty. Really don't wan't to see scrambling defending teams blatantly slowing down the ball happy to concede just the one point. There needs to be a harsh enough penalty to stop teams ruining the attacking ball. Perhaps 1or2 point penalties, but then 3-5 ruck infringements for the team is an immediate sin bin..
Missing the world cup already. Four more years of having to watch rugby union at the pub. Could probably have paid for foxtel on beer money alone lol.
Edit - And scrums really need to go back to crouch-touch-engage. Paaauuuse/pause/paaaaaaauuuuuuuuuse?? no wonder the poor forwards can't get it right.
Fundamentally different games, despite thier apparent similarities. I have played both by the way.
League is a game of individuals focused on individuals getting as far as they can before tackled. Individual brilliance can shine in league and be rewarded.
Union is a team game focused on retaining or retrieving the ball. Individual brilliance is a positive but an individual will get nowhere (or worse) without his team solidly behind him.
I would agree that unwashed masses will gravitate to League as it is easy to watch. Union rules around the ruck is complex and is difficult to interpret unless you have played it.
It is unfortunate that the World Cup style of play is so boring to watch considering it is the event that so many non followers see. If you watched some of the Super 15 reds games and the tri nations games this year you would have seen games that in my opinion were far superior as attacking and open games than any league game I have ever seen.
>??? We had hundreds which felt more like f***ing thousands of netball matches on free to air tv for some tournament last year. Yet we are lucky to get 1 or 2 games of league a week on at 1am in the morning. Go figure.
