USA sports fans in awe of Rugby League hits

[The Future is League]

https://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/nrl/nrl-2020-america-freaks-over-savage-hits-in-eels-bulldogs-games/news-story/928c4fcfe909dd4226a3eb4c0e8a7b07

[Lowdesert]

Certainly were some good hits.  

Teddy didn't back down though.

[fighting irish]

Lets hope it whets their appetite for more. 

[Man of Kent]

Loved the one by Watene-Zelezniak on Matt Moylan. You could see it coming then  - WHACK! - he didn’t disappoint. Sweet as a nut.

[Manfred Mann]

Any American who watched the whole game Parramatta Eels vs Sydney Roosters would have loved it.

[JM2010]

Hits like this plus the speed, footwork, skill and fitness of the players puts the game above it's rivals.

If someone would throw a load of money at the game to develop and market it worldwide it would explode

[MZH]

4 minutes ago, JM2010 said:

Hits like this plus the speed, footwork, skill and fitness of the players puts the game above it's rivals.

If someone would throw a load of money at the game to develop and market it worldwide it would explode

I personally dont think you'll find better all round athelete anywhere in the world than in RL. Maybe not as explosive as say the NFL, but that blend of everything is pretty much unmatched in any sport imo.

[Liverpool Rover]

There are plenty of videos on YouTube of Americans reacting to rugby videos and some of them completely lose it when they see the collisions. None of them can get their heads around nobody wearing padding.

[JM2010]

40 minutes ago, MZH said:

I personally dont think you'll find better all round athelete anywhere in the world than in RL. Maybe not as explosive as say the NFL, but that blend of everything is pretty much unmatched in any sport imo.

Yeah that's the thing. Most sports focus on certain aspects relating to that sport. I don't think many other sports require such all round physical attributes and training

[Welsh RL & RU watcher]

1 hour ago, JM2010 said:

Hits like this plus the speed, footwork, skill and fitness of the players puts the game above it's rivals.

If someone would throw a load of money at the game to develop and market it worldwide it would explode

I still think we should see more ad-lib rugby, and IMO the only way of doing that is by cutting the numbers on the paddock, to 11 per side, and please get rid of the scrum. Maybe still have teams going back 10 metres, but once the ball touches the floor the defensive line can advance, benefit of the doubt goes MAJORLY to the attacking side, it has to be 100% a knock-on for the whistle to go, and 100% a forward pass, IMO referees are whistling too often for these things, and commentators need to be told to stop shouting "forward pass" and "knock-on", the referee's word is law, and comms need to talk FAR less too, and only have 2 in the commentary box.   

[Futtocks]

1 hour ago, Liverpool Rover said:

There are plenty of videos on YouTube of Americans reacting to rugby videos and some of them completely lose it when they see the collisions. None of them can get their heads around nobody wearing padding.

Yes, I've seen a few. The videos that tend to get them the most excited are Shaun Johnson, Jason Taumalolo or a general hits compilation.

[Eddie]

The commentary when Sivo smashed Tedesco was world class. 

[DavidM]

2 hours ago, MZH said:

I personally dont think you'll find better all round athelete anywhere in the world than in RL

You won’t because there aren’t any . They’re the ultimate in terms of a whole host of attributes that’s needed to play a sport that’s just so brutal and testing . They’re not normal , they’re superhuman . What they deal with endless times in a game , then get up and carry on just never ceases to marvel . And add in holding on to the ball when you’re hit , and running around the pitch until your lungs burn , they carry on running

[Tommygilf]

3 hours ago, Liverpool Rover said:

There are plenty of videos on YouTube of Americans reacting to rugby videos and some of them completely lose it when they see the collisions. None of them can get their heads around nobody wearing padding.

Yeah, my cousins came over from Boston a few years back and watched me play rugby for school whilst they were here and couldn't believe we didn't wear pads or helmets. Like they genuinely couldn't get their heads around it.

[Rioman]

Hopefully they'll appreciate that this is Rugby League and not  Rugby Union..

[Futtocks]

20 minutes ago, Rioman said:

Hopefully they'll appreciate that this is Rugby League and not  Rugby Union..

A lot of the reaction video makers have been informed in the comments, so quite a few know there are two codes, although not much more of the details.

[emesssea]

5 hours ago, JM2010 said:

Yeah that's the thing. Most sports focus on certain aspects relating to that sport. I don't think many other sports require such all round physical attributes and training

I'd have to imagine ice hockey might give it some competition, The physicality and endurance required all while having to do it 82 nights out of the year plus however many playoff games. I don't know how they do it.

[Welsh RL & RU watcher]

6 minutes ago, emesssea said:

I'd have to imagine ice hockey might give it some competition, The physicality and endurance required all while having to do it 82 nights out of the year plus however many playoff games. I don't know how they do it.

They're on and off the rink like yo-yo's though. 

[Eddie]

2 hours ago, Rioman said:

Hopefully they'll appreciate that this is Rugby League and not  Rugby Union..

I doubt they’ll know the difference, ie they’ll just think it’s rugby, not rugby union or league. 

[Futtocks]

16 minutes ago, Eddie said:

I doubt they’ll know the difference, ie they’ll just think it’s rugby, not rugby union or league. 

Trust me, many of the comments on their YT videos are either recommendations for other RL or RU clips, or slagging each other's code off, or both.

[gingerjon]

6 hours ago, Liverpool Rover said:

There are plenty of videos on YouTube of Americans reacting to rugby videos and some of them completely lose it when they see the collisions. None of them can get their heads around nobody wearing padding.

The ironic thing being, and I'm sure you know this, that the padding brought into American Football is one of the reasons it is now so dangerous and the players such dangerous weights - because it means collisions can be higher impact and more destructive. Whereas the padding free rugby isn't exactly healthy, in a straight comparison, it is far less damaging to participants.

[emesssea]

27 minutes ago, Welsh RL & RU watcher said:

They're on and off the rink like yo-yo's though. 

And a rugby player only plays once a week. Each was has its pros and cons in this debate.

[The Future is League]

10 hours ago, Man of Kent said:

Loved the one by Watene-Zelezniak on Matt Moylan. You could see it coming then  - WHACK! - he didn’t disappoint. Sweet as a nut.

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/he-absolutely-flogged-me-moylan-recalls-dwz-bell-ringer-20200622-p554wx.html

[Futtocks]

Being sneered at probably doesn't encourage new fans either, whether in the USA or anywhere else.

[eal]

As someone who lives in the USA I feel people always misjudge Americans when it comes to sport. They always think Americans want a short action packed simplistic spectacle. American Football is one of the most complex sports out there and it certainly isn't short. The hits in American Football are quite brutal also. The padding and helmets makes the game more dangerous in my opinion, you see guys launching themselves headfirst like a missile into another guys knee, imagine taking a solid helmet straight to your knee cap!

Baseball, the most American of all sports is another sport based on intricate details and a long run time.

And for those who poke fun at everything being sponsored in US sports, next time you watch notice that none of the teams have sponsors names on their jerseys, it is considered tacky. Americans are often surprised when they see foreign sports teams with sponsors names emblazened across their jerseys.