By Joseph Plunkett
Each country has its own preferred contact sports, and the UK’s Rugby Union has is often compared against America’s NFL due to similar origins and concepts. But when you put the two together, how do they stack up against one another?
The best difference to begin with is how points are scored, considering that’s what the whole game is based around. In rugby, a goal – known as a ‘try’ – is scored when a player places the ball down in the in-goal area (which NFL fans would know as the end zone), whereas a goal – or ‘touchdown’ – in NFL is scored any time the ball is advanced to the end zone, without the need for it to be placed down.
Aside from the core differences in gameplay, there are loads of fun facts about the teams and scores that give an interesting insight into how the two sports compare to each other. SBO.net has created an infographic comparing exactly that, with little bits of trivia perfect for whipping out at the bar the next time a game is on.
Comparing the two most popular teams from each sport, the Philadelphia Eagles and England National Rugby Team, you mightn’t be surprised to know the Eagles outweigh the Three Lions by double. Those brawny Americans come weighing in at 8,560kgs, double that of the Brits at 4,663kgs.
The UK squad are more of a consistent team in terms of their winnings, with more trophies and points won across the board. The Eagles have more superstar moments though, with star players like David Akers and Harold Carmichael coming through with higher individual scores than Three Lions greats.
A fact that probably won’t make you smarter but is a fun bit of info for fanatics is how much each team weighs in their corresponding mascot. The Eagles team weigh as much as 1,358 Bald Eagles, while it would take 3,885 bunches of red roses to even the scales on the National Rugby Team.
Please include attribution to SBO.net with this graphic.