The Modern Day Comparison of Rugby League & Rugby Union

Today we take in Part One of Two at our look at Rugby Union & Rugby League...

Comparison of rugby league and rugby union is possible because of the games' similarities and shared origins.

Initially, following the 1895 split in rugby football, rugby league and rugby union differed in administration only. Soon, however, the rules of rugby league were modified, resulting in two distinctly different forms of rugby. After 100 years, in 1995 rugby union joined rugby league and most other forms of football as an openly professional sport.

The inherent similarities between rugby league and rugby union has at times led to the possibility of a merger being mooted and experimental hybrid games have been played that use a mix of the two sports' rules.

History 

Rugby union was originally referred to as rugby football. During the early development of rugby football different schools used different rules, on many occasions agreeing upon them shortly before commencement of the game. In 1871, English clubs met to form the Rugby Football Union . Rugby football spread to Australia and New Zealand, with games being played in the early to mid nineteenth century. In 1892, charges of professionalism were laid against Yorkshire clubs after they compensated players for missing work. A proposal to pay players up to six shillings when they missed work because of match commitments was voted down by the RFU. On 27 August 1895, prominent Lancashire clubs declared that they would support their Yorkshire colleagues in their proposal to form a professional Northern Union and the Northern Rugby Football Union, usually called the Northern Union, was formed. The rugby union authorities issued sanctions against clubs, players and officials involved in the new organisation, extending to amateurs who played with or against Northern Union sides. After the schism the separate codes were named "rugby league" and "rugby union".

In 1906, All Black George William Smith joined with Albert Henry Baskerville to form a team of professional rugby players. George Smith cabled a friend in Sydney and three professional matches were arranged between a NSW rugby team before continuing onto the UK. This game was played under the rugby union laws and it was not until the team, nicknamed the All Golds, arrived in Leeds that they learnt the new Northern Union laws. Meanwhile, in Sydney a meeting was organised to look at forming a professional rugby competition in Australia. The meeting resolved that a "New South Wales Rugby Football League"  should be formed, to play the Northern Union rules. The first season of the NSWRFL competition was played in 1908, and has continued to be played every year since.

During rugby league's 1921–22 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain, the Northern Rugby Football Union tried to arrange a match in Paris, but opposition from the Rugby Football Union-aligned French Rugby Federation made it impossible. In France rugby league split from rugby union in the 1930s. In 1948 the French instigated the formation of the International Rugby League Board as the world governing body for rugby league. France, New Zealand, Britain and Australia  were the founding countries. The International Rugby Football Board  had formed prior to the schism in 1886 and remained the international governing body for rugby union, although it originally only consisted of England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland. Australia, New Zealand and South Africa joined the IRFB in 1948, France in 1978 and Argentina, Canada, Italy and Japan in 1991.

On 26 August 1995 the IRFB, now known as the International Rugby Board, declared rugby union an "open" game and thus removed all restrictions on payments or benefits to those connected with the game. According to The New York Times at the time, "Thirteen-man rugby league has shown itself to be a faster, more open game of better athletes than the other code. Rugby union is trying to negotiate its own escape from amateurism, with some officials admitting that the game is too slow, the laws too convoluted to attract a larger TV following".

Naming 

Although both rugby codes are forms of football, in many places, it could cause confusion as "football" is understood to mean Association football, Gridiron football, Gaelic football or Australian rules football depending on the country . In much of the rugby union playing world, the sport of rugby league is infrequently played and rugby union is commonly known simply as "rugby"; in countries where both codes are played, there is a need to distinguish between the codes of rugby.

In the United Kingdom, rugby union or rugby league fans rarely refer to their sport as "football" as in most cases this would refer to association football. Across the United Kingdom, rugby union is usually referred to simply as 'rugby' but in the North of England, the word 'rugby' could refer to either sport, but usually means "rugby league". The nickname "rugger", which developed in England's elite schools, almost always refers to rugby union.

In Australia and New Zealand, rugby league is usually known as "league" or "football" with the latter term potentially confusing as Australian rules football and Association football could also be called football. Rugby union is often simply referred to as "rugby" without the ambiguity that this term carries in the UK.

In France, rugby union is called rugby à quinze  or simply "rugby" whilst rugby league is known as rugby à treize  or jeu à treize or treize.

Gameplay  

Since the 1895 schism, changes have taken place to the laws of both rugby union and rugby league football so that now they are distinct sports. The laws of rugby league football have been gradually changed with the aim of creating a faster, more entertaining and spectator-friendly sport. Player numbers were reduced to thirteen a side, creating more space for attacking play, and rucks and mauls were replaced with a play-the-ball restart. Changes to the laws of rugby union have been less extreme, although there have been adjustments in scoring as the game became more try-oriented rather than focusing on goals. In 2009 major law changes were implemented with the aim of making union simpler and more open. Rugby league historian Tony Collins has written that since turning professional in the mid 1990s, rugby union has increasingly borrowed techniques and tactics from rugby league.

Rugby union has more laws than rugby league and it has been described as being a more complex game. Rugby league in turn has been described as a simpler game that is easier for spectators to understand. Mat Rogers, an Australian dual-code rugby international player, has said "Rugby  is very complicated and rugby league is much more simple in comparison". England's Chris Ashton, also a dual international, has said that union has "more of a tactical side, more that can happen in a game". Ireland's Tom Court, has said "Rugby Union is a complex game with certain closed skills like scrummaging and line-out lifting and rugby league requires a higher level of fitness to compete at the highest level".

Similarities between the two codes 

 

The two forms of rugby share the same basic rules of the game and use a similar shaped ovoid ball. The aim is to score more points through tries, conversions, penalty goals and drop goals than the opposition within the 80 minutes of play.

Goals are scored when the ball is kicked between the two posts and over the cross-bar either during open play or as the result of a penalty. A try is scored when the ball is touched down on or beyond the defending team's goal-line. The try scoring side is given the chance to score two additional points by kicking a conversion similar to a penalty goal attempt.

The ball can be taken forward in three ways—by kicking, by a player running with it or as the result of a set-piece. The ball can be passed from hand-to-hand between team-mates in a backward or sideways direction; it may not be passed forwards although it can be kicked forwards. Dropping the ball in a forwards direction results in a scrum, a set-piece that restarts the game.

Only the player holding the football may be tackled. A rugby tackle is an attempt to bring the ball carrier to the ground or to stop his forward progress. Play restarts with the ball being transferred to another player.

The playing positions are divided into "backs"—generally faster and more mobile who score most of the points and the larger, stronger "forwards" who are involved in the more physical aspects of rugby.

Part Two coming tomorrow.

Tipster Street.