How can you watch MOTD every night sporting, it's only on on a weekend and the odd occassion in the week

Thing about the 10 yard rule in rugby, it was in football for a few seasons, but sometimes it was more of a disadvantage for the attacking team than an advantage as you were too close to the goal to be able to lift the ball up and over the wall from the new position whereas you could do that from the initial position

I, errrrm, well the thing is, I, you know, tape it and watch it over. yea, that's it !

I haven't read through all of this but i have every intent on doing so

However... there was a lil mention of Rugby players not playing like gentlemen and not playing within the rules... all i have to say is that Rugby is full of Sportmanship and Football is full of Gamesmanship.

An example of this at club level would be when the ball goes out (into touch). Football players from both sides put their hands up to signal that it is their throw-in thus trying to take the advantage for their team. Rugby players dont tend to put their hands up but always let the team who the line out should go to have it and not contest the decision.


Oh and when was the last time you saw football players form a tunnel and clap their opponents off the pitch?

I was going to wait until you had read the whole lot ....... but oh well nevermind


I think once you do you will see that the perceived inference was actually that rugby players were whiter than white whilst footballers were the sons of satan I think even the most ardent rugby fan has to agree thats not entirely true. There is as much ungentlemanly conduct in rugby as in any sport - certainly any physical contact sport.

As for throw-ins/lineouts, I think it is a little easier to see whose lineout it is in rugby in the majority of cases since someone has either kicked it 50 yards directly into the crowd or someone is actually carrying the ball when they cross the line. In football there are often minor deflections which you wont notice at real time speed and only pick up on a replay.

I still come back to looking at the two sports from an spectator's entertainment viewpoint and, as much as a rugby fan as I am, if I had a straight choice of only being able to watch just one game of rugby or an equivalent game of football (eg a major club final or a major international) I would go for the football match every time

Maybe sportsmanship/being a gentleman can be seen as the wrong word. (especially over the internet) . Respect might be the word we are all looking for here.

Rugby players give out total repsect, like hightops said clap the opposing team off, shake hands, give good comments about the games and big tackles on them. There is a fair wack of cheating on a rugby field, (not violent, but killing the ball etc..), but after the game they all respect eachother. In an earlier post you said it was irelevant, but it's not as you can't just stop in the middle of a game that goes 100mph, you have to keep concentration.

Now I watched Kevin Nolan stay in the tunnel after being sent off to apologize to a player that he injured. I think it's fair to say that football makes mountains out of molehills often, but I thought that was great. On a rugby field you usually get about 42 of those players in each game. Where as it's rare in football. You'll see them in the papers slagging everyone off and moaning about te other teams tactics etc... Not showing much respect atall. Yes you get the minority (a word that seems to be used lots in this thread) but probably the same ammount you get being idiots and drama queens in rugby !

That to me matches the little statement I mentioned and I think that also matches what everyone says about there being more gentleman and all, just you have pointed out really what a gentleman is on a more overall scale So yea, maybe if you look at it like that, you might see the point of the little quote, as it's more intended in that way, rather than rugby players sipping tea and talking to 'jolly old men' after the game.

Edited at 07:59 Mon 23/02/09 (GMT)

This, in my opinion sums up the difference between football and rugby

Football - Twice the cost, Half the entertainment
Rugby - Half the cost, Twice the entertainment

That's another thing, costs. Football costs are so overpriced now. For instance, an adult price in the away end for newly promoted SPL side Hamilton - 22 quid.

An away ticket for the Celtic vs St Mirren game (adult price) is 24.50 for an unrestricted view, and 21.50 for a restricted view. Anyone who has been in the away corner knows this is not worth it, as the stewards treat you like dirt, you take abuse from Celtic fans either side of you, and for the view, it's either a massive pillar blocking the view, or if your low enough, you can see half the pitch. I wouldn't even spend 10 quid on that.

Even St Mirren have had their rip offs. When Rangers came calling for their last match at Love Street, we charged them 92 quid for a family of 4. In our ends, it was only 52 quid. Admittedly, Celtic and Rangers implemented some strange rule that if they deal out away tickets, they charge the home side 5% of the sales, which is probably why it was so expensive. But still - top flight football is very, very overpriced, and at the end of the day, it hurts the fans most.

Rugby costs, I have no idea, but I'd imagine it wouldn't be as bad.

Top Price tickets to see Sale Sharks for example?......£35 but they go as low as about £17.......and your closer to the action no matter where your seat is.

Aston Villa ticket prices are decent, to watch Aston Villa v CSKA Moscow in the UEFA Cup, for adult was £20.

And at the start of last season, to sit in the North Stand with a season ticket, it was £250 which works out to be just over £13 a match. That being for adult and getting to see teams such as Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal for as little as £13 a match.

So not all football is over the top with price, but some are.

Plus Villa have Acorns as their sponsor (sponsor used loosely as they don't pay us to be on our shirts). Acorns are a local charity for those that don;t know, it's a children's charity so don't hate all football

Well i was comparing Premiership rugby against Premiership footy, but i guess its all relevent to the clubs

lol, but Villa are a Premiership team. Think Blackburn are decent with ticket prices as well.

Teams that are ridiculous are Chelsea and Arsenal, over £1000 for a season ticket :| And I think that may even be for the "cheap seats".

I agree that football is generally over-priced, but not really been able to check all of the rugby ticket prices yet.

But a couple question, any rugby teams have charities as their sponsor? And how often do they go out to the community to help those less fortunate?

yeah fair enough....lets change the cost to player salaries then lol

I agree with the ridiculous salaries some players get, glad Kaka didn't come for £1m for every 2 weeks, £2m a month, a joke really.

That's why it would be good to have a wage cap in the Premiership as well as the British rule (even though the government says it is prejudice and racist which is a bit of joke, what happened to looking after number 1 first)

u cant cap premiership salary cos ya bigger teams will make more money than the lesser teams in a season

Yeah, and?

They won't be able to attract big players because they won't afford their wages because of the cap. And isn't making bigger profits better for clubs? Look at Leeds United for one example, were struggling, only just survived for spending too much on wages and stuff. Other teams have bit the dust for losing money on giving players stupid amounts. And also, put a cap on the salaries, means we (the fans) should get cheaper, more reasonable prices to watch our teams.

sporting - i read your post a few times I didnt really understand what you were trying to say so I apologise for that and wont comment on it other than the remark about the papers. There is so much interest in football compared to most other sports that the media is always looking for stories to print. Thats why there are so many press conference requirements and why so many stories of the type you mention are printed. There will always be players, managers, ex players etc who will make a comment that is jumped upon. I seem to remember the same happened a couple of weeks ago with players and ex players complaining about the england rugby team and the way they play. I have also heard players complaining about referreeing decisions and other things. Yes I agree its far less than in football but then that has much to do with what I said about the level of press coverage above.

I totally agree footballers are overpaid - said that from the start - but that doesnt affect the entertainment product. The costs of season tickets seem excessively high at some clubs too but those grounds are generally sold out each game with season ticket waiting lists so again make of that what you will.

Agree with the comment about certain clubs (more than you would think actually) who are fully involved in the community. Our local Championship team supports childrens football, offers extensive training for kids and their team managers and hosts many local league events at their ground.

And tids are you really saying football has half the entertainment of rugby as an unbiassed comment for consideration??

Looking at Christiano Ronaldo wanted to move to Real Madrid just because they offered more money - it's a disgrace. He's already got enough to last him about 5 lifetimes, he has enough to probably pay for cures to diseases, and yet he wants more? Football is all about the money for players now, very, very few who are loyal to their clubs. I can understand if you'd want to move from St Mirren to Manchester United for instance, as it's better quality, but Manchester United to Real Madrid just for money? Just a shame.

I'm never one to turn away from another session of Cristiano Ronaldo bashing, but in fairness how do you know money was the only reason he wanted to move? Ronaldo is Portuguese, he'd be closer to home, playing in his favoured climate, playing for a great club (still one of the richest and most supported clubs in the world) and playing in a great league. Are they not also incentives for him to move?

Edited at 21:57 Mon 23/02/09 (GMT)

True Andy. Then again, wasn't his "slave" comments about playing for Manchester United in relation to money?