Tell me does anyone agrre that chasing an egg shaped ball around the field and trying to take it from one end to the other is worth getting knee reconsructions,broken necks,broken legs,concussion,back injuries…which leads to time off work which means loss of income which means financial hardship…which can lead to marital disharmony which can lead to divorce and seapartion from children which can lead to depression and loss of self esteem and confidence…is it worth it…ofcourse proffesionally it might be worth it but if your not a paid proffessional…is it worth it…I think not…its extremely risky:eek:
Why limit an egg shaped ball to rugby … why not include union, Aussie Rules, American football … or why limit it to an egg shaped ball not include soccer and basketball and why not include all those weird sports where you whack a ball as far as you can then chase after it?
Why not do the 24/7 couch potato veg out? That’s be much better for self esteem and confidence. Life’s so much better when you’re wrapped in cotton wool.
Sounds like you’ve just been scrapped off the bottom of a scrum with stud marks down you back … don’t be a wimp, grab the ball and get back in there.
I read your post several times trying to spot the General Question. Finally, I succeeded.
The answer is, “yes”.
Most things in life are risky.
To what extent is the key.
Most play the game without any of the risks you mention occuring.
Rugby is not for the unfit couch potato type.
Former college rugby Hooker
If you know what a hooker is, you’ll know why they called me
Jesus Christ:)
As for the OP. Yes.
I never needed surgery, or anything like that. 10 years later I only have a slight lisp and barely detectable minor tic. 
Wouldn’t this be more appropriately posted in IMHO?
Former college second-row man here.
In my experience, many Americans don’t know how to play Rugby properly. Most players come into the game with football experience. Unfortunately, you’re not wearing a helmet and shoulder pads in rugby, so leading with your head when you tackle is simply not smart. If you watch international players, they tackle in a completely different manner than most American amateurs.
The GQ forum is for questions with factual answers. This is more a matter of opinion, so I’ll move this thread to IMHO.
bibliophage
moderator GQ
Hmm… sounds like somebody knows someone who just got a serious rugby injury.
IMO-- rugby is not any different than any other sport. You don’t go into it expecting to get hurt. But it can happen.
Technically you could use the same risk for something as innocuous as driving. After all while driving you can also get seriously injured causing all the same devestations that you describe. Should we not take the risk? Why not walk then? Oh, thats right, you can also get seriously injured while walking.
Hell I had a good friend die while out on a jog. (True story, they never found out what happened. Somehow or other he fell off the side of a road down a cliff. They’re not sure if he slipped, got shoved off somehow, a car came by and forced him off or what.)
My point is, everything… EVERYTHING contains risk of some sort. You can’t dig your head in the sand. You can only deal with the stuff that happens as it happens.
(BTw-- I meant to say… “You could use the same argument for something as innocuous as driving…”)
…and to add to what Lizard said, rugby is a game that can have longish periods of continuous play whereas American football seem to have distinct phases with time to rest in between.
Those trying to move from football to rugby wear themselve out too quickly, their fitness is not appropriate for this style of game, and their techniques for playing without padding are often poor.
When you look at rugby, you have to realise that up until recently it was an amateur sport too, that the strength and fitness levels were not as high as they could be for many player, and that the physical make up required to play at the highest standards was not there.
Look at the proffessional Rugby League version and you find that those players who are very much more robust, their physiques are developed differantly and they are generally able to take the stress of tackling much better.
It will take time, but rugby union players have not yet developed the upper body strength required to take on an opposing player and take them down in one hit in the same way as the rugby league players do.
I speak as someone who played 4th-grade suburban rugby, and after two years suffered a minor back injury that’s niggling enough sufficient to stop me playing. I also suffered four concussions, dislocated a shoulder twice and was knocked out once. I played tight-head prop, but shifted to loose-head because my left shoulder couldn’t take the strain.
I should point out that the grade I played was basically the lowest grade running around in Sydney, and as such I (193 cm, 140 kg) was running around against others who were similarly chronically unfit. Chain smokers were playing two grades above us.
Why did I do it? Because it’s fun. My team was more a social club than anything else, and I enjoyed the run around the park each week. Training, not so much, but that’s one of the prices you pay.
There were strains on the body. Probably more on the obese props than anyone else, but most people would suffer substantial injuries at some point. Broken fingers were very popular, as were lost teeth, concussions and broken collarbones. One guy on our team lost a nipple because he forgot to tape over his ring before taking the field. For what it’s worth, they grow back.
It’s worth noting, however, that the risk of a permanent injury - one that wouldn’t heal - is not that great. Broken bones heal. Torn muscles recover.
In the two years I played, I only saw one critical injury in any of the games. A player was tackled legally, but landed badly and was trapped at the bottom of a ruck. He snapped his spine, ruptured several organs (including both kidneys) and fell into a coma. He played for the opposition, and I don’t know if he ever came out of it.
I don’t know how many players suffered degenerative problems because of it. I probably came out of it lightly with just two herniated discs.
But everyone who played knew the risks. We did it because we enjoyed it - for no other reason. Even when it was sleeting down, the park was such a quagmire that mud was oozing over the tops of your ankle-high boots and it was so cold that you could barely tell whether the ball was in your hands, you still wouldn’t be anywhere else.
The worst injury I’ve seen was with a visiting rugby side in highschool. The scrum went down, and the hooker (the Head Boy at the time) broke his back, and is still paralysed from the chest down.
At least in NZ, the government has implimented coach/referree training to make the game safer (particularly at scrum time and in the rucks), but you still end up with the akward tackle or head clash, and concussions in professional players aren’t unheard of.
Thanks guys I’ll invest in a decent couch and stick to swimming and jogging around the block…thanks for your replies
Got to be careful of swimming. If you do it in the surf, you can get badly injured by waves and sandbars. And jogging? You could be hit by cars, you can do your hamstrings, or your groin. And don’t even get me started on the knee reconstructions and damaged backs…
…is it worth it…ofcourse proffesionally it might be worth it but if your not a paid proffessional…is it worth it…I think not…
Some of the other posters put it more eloquently but simply put, it was worth it. I spent 1.5 seasons as a Tight Head Prop on a men’s side at uni and a half season on a womens side that I helped create before I left school. I still have the odd click in my knee or a twinge in my shoulder. However, some of the best times I had at university were spent on the pitch. My idea of a “good hair day” was when I didn’t lose clumps of it taking the electrical tape off. I consider those little aches and pains to be battle scars worn proudly rather than reminders of youthful foolishness.
So when my daughter comes to me and says she’s not let do something because she’s a girl, I have the experience (as well as scars) to show her that whoever said that was totally and utterly wrong.
G.
I’d agree with that. One thing I did notice, in retrospect, is that blown knees are much rarer in rugby than American football. having played both, I think it’s because of the different natures of the games themselves. There is no blocking in rugby, since all of the ball carriers’ teammates must be behind him. In American football, the vast majority of knee injuries occur when someone is getting blocked.
People still get bum knees in rugby, but the risk isn’t as high. To me, that alone is a good reason to play rugby instead of football.
I have played rugby for the past 13 years at a variety of levels, schoolboy, representative and club. After beginning my career at flanker/No 8, my distinct lack of height led to my placement at prop, one of the riskier positions in terms of spinal/neck injuries. The only serious injury that I have sustained in my time was a broken femur at the age of 13, my first year. This injury occured at training. I have had other minor injuries such as a broken hand and some fractures in my feet (usually caused by unco 2nd-rowers).
When playing colts (U20) a few years ago, the opposition scrum collapsed when we were going for a pushover, leaving our hooker with a prolapsed disc in his neck. He is lucky to be walking today, with a titanium implant.
Rugby is a dangerous sport, but I do recall seeing studies that injuries occur at a lower rate than in other sports (soccer/AFL). The flip side is that you are more likely to get seriously injured playing rugby than soccer or AFL.
If you are worried about injuries, then you probably shouldn’t be playing the game.
Rugby is a great game, both to play, and due to the social contacts that you make. I have no doubt that if I were to travel almost anywhere in the world, I could find a fellow rugby player and enjoy a beer and good hospitality.
Last weed the biennial ‘Golden Oldies’ Rugby tournament was held in Brisbane. 4500 players, all over the age of 35 turned up from all over the world to play rugby against each other. There was one player, a Japanese man, who was 87 years old. I don’t think there are many sports (especially contact sports) that could engender that kind of participation. Rugby isn’t just a game, it can be a fantastic social outlet.
- Bubba.
I’d point out that rugby is an especially all-in game. If you go into a contest tentatively, you’re far more likely to get hurt than if you commit yourself entirely. If the thought that you might get hurt even crosses your mind, there’s a good chance you’ll pull up, and the contact that’s coming will be made without you getting a chance to protect yourself.
The time I hurt my back was when a scrum was collapsing, and (in an effort to save my neck and back) I tried to prop it up rather than collapsing with it. This is how a lot of front rowers snap their spines.
One of the joys of rugby is the very fact that a lack of commitment is dangerous, but if your self-preservation ever kicks in, you’re gone.