How Rugby Improves Football Skills

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    • American “gridiron” football roots are from rugby.
    • Rugby season begins as football season wraps up.  Rugby’s winter season runs from November through April; and summer 7s rugby (Olympic rugby) runs from June-July.  Youth Rugby is a great way to stay fit during the off-season.
    • Rugby is played continuously for 80 minutes with few stoppages.  Continuous play requires athletes to be cardio fit.
    • The concept of continued play asks the American football player to continue to react, scan, and process information rapidly.
    • All rugby players are expected to carry, pass, kick, break tackles and make tackles.  Even the big kids carry the ball.
    • Rugby teaches to safely shoulder leverage tackle in open field and close quarters.
    • Contact without pads encourages safe technique as well as builds courage in young players.
    • Gives young athletes the opportunity to play a sport abroad, rugby is truly an international sport.
    • American “grid-iron” football is slowly transitioning towards the safer shoulder leverage tackle, (the “rugby tackle”) as seen in the Seattle Seahawks video below introducing the rugby tackle to the american public.

Source:  siliconvalleyrugby.org