Rugby has a field of 15 players who stay on the pitch for the entire game whereas in american football there are only 11 players on the pitch at any one time.
Difference between rugby ball and american football.
The first and most obvious difference between american football and rugby union is the number of players on the field.
A similar concept in rugby league is the penalty goal.
While the objective in both the games is to take the ball past the opponent s goal it is called a touchdown in american football but called a try in rugby.
In rugby the play continues.
American football and rugby are in many ways similar sports both featuring a great amount of physicality running and aggression.
The size of the field in american football is 109 7 x 48 8 meters whereas it is 100 x 70 meters in rugby.
The key difference between a field goal in the two sports is that an american football field goal attempt is normally kicked with a teammate holding the ball whereas in rugby league the field goal is attempted using a drop kick.
Unlike american football in case of rugby any kind of screening and obstruction to players who do not have the ball is not allowed.
This is not unsurprising when you realise that american football and rugby are related with american football developing from rugby in the 19th century.
In american football the play is whistled dead and there s a 35 second break for both teams to re group.