Difference being that it's rare in rugby, in my limited experience, to have two players running at full tilt in opposite directions, and it's even rarer that one of those players is defenseless (i.e., in mid-air, focused on a ball not yet in their possession). It seems that rugby players are, more often than not, all traveling in the same direction, so the relative velocity between them at any point of contact is much lower.
Yeah the NFL knows that people running full power into one another is a major driver of injuries, it's why most non-professional leagues now don't do kickoffs and even the pros almost always signal a fair catch (meaning you can tackle them) since those are the plays most likely to hurt someone.
But frankly the big hits are what fans want. It's like crashing in NASCAR - although NFL hits are far more likely to injure you than a modern NASCAR crash lmao.
that one of those players is defenseless (i.e., in mid-air, focused on a ball not yet in their possession
If you make a challenge on someone in this position in rugby it's a red card and a couple game ban afterwards. I remember one of the Springboks pulling a challenge like this and he got a red card even though he was unconscious and being removed from the field.
Difference being that it's rare in rugby, in my limited experience, to have two players running at full tilt in opposite directions, and it's even rarer that one of those players is defenseless (i.e., in mid-air, focused on a ball not yet in their possession). It seems that rugby players are, more often than not, all traveling in the same direction, so the relative velocity between them at any point of contact is much lower.
Yeah the NFL knows that people running full power into one another is a major driver of injuries, it's why most non-professional leagues now don't do kickoffs and even the pros almost always signal a fair catch (meaning you can tackle them) since those are the plays most likely to hurt someone.
But frankly the big hits are what fans want. It's like crashing in NASCAR - although NFL hits are far more likely to injure you than a modern NASCAR crash lmao.
If you make a challenge on someone in this position in rugby it's a red card and a couple game ban afterwards. I remember one of the Springboks pulling a challenge like this and he got a red card even though he was unconscious and being removed from the field.