Yes and No. Football players are either big, fast, or have hands, which are all very useful in Rugby. Football play makes them used to tackling and other forms of contact; football also breeds fast reflexes. However, the game of Rugby is not football. Players have "football instincts" which need to be broken. Football teaches tackling and ball-holding techniques contrary to what is used in Rugby. Also, it has been noticed that football players tend to run sideways more and try to outjuke the opponent rather than pass the ball. Just things you need to watch out for.
Not at all. There is an amount of contact, but it is controlled in such a way that pads really are not necessary. While there are injuries, these are lower than in football and pads actually make the game more dangerous.
Wait. Pads more dangerous?
Yes. Hard-shelled pads increase the risk. People rely on pads for protection and can end up doing dangerous things. (i.e meeting your opponent head first, dive tackles without an attempt to wrap, etc.) In Rugby nobody has pads, and we do not have to deal with hard plastic or facemasks. It's important to realize that we don't have any pads to protect you and you must rely on your body's natural methods of protecting itself. For example, nobody would go "stick" somebody by putting their head in the numbers, if you do that, you'll get a concussion. Rugby is relatively safe and if you follow all the rules, you'll most likely be fine. People who play Rugby like it is "football without rules" and go over the top are the only ones who get hurt or cause injury because of no pads.
But I like pads.
If you really want pads or have a banged up shoulder or something like that, you can buy Rugby pads. These include small soft-shelled shoulder pads or a scrum cap, a soft-shelled headgear similar to wrestling or TaeKwonDo headgear. Pay an excess of $60 to enjoy sweating more and being called a whuss by everyone else on the team. Unless you are in the tight 5, I wouldn't consider buying one.
Rugby has a reputation of being an excessively violent sport. People ask me if fighting is legal and all that stuff. Actually there are a lot of rules regarding contact. You cannot tackle someone too high, you must attempt to wrap in a tackle, you may not willfully collapse a scrum, ruck, or maul; you can't touch anyone without the ball, etc. You'll also get whistled for anything flagrant. With that said, you'll find that there are a lot of fun things you can do under the rules which you wouldn't be able to do in football or other contact sports and big hitters who are into the rough and tumble stuff are far from disappointed.
Similarities between some of the positions exist. The front row are similar to interior linemen in that they are the biggest guys and are at the head of the scrummaging. The eightman is similar to the tight end in that a tight end is a lineman but must have receiver-like skills. The eightman is a forward but has back-like running skills. The fly-half is the closest thing to a quarterback; he calls plays and is generally first of the backs to touch the ball. A winger is like a cornerback because they are on the edge of play and are fast and can be relatively short. The fullback in Rugby is not like a fullback but more like a free safety. The inside center does more football-fullback work. He runs what's called a crash play which is essentially a run up the middle into traffic.
Absolutely not. Every Rugby player is considered equal in the sight of the law. The rules do not ban anybody from touching, passing or kicking the ball. That means every player gets to carry the ball, throw and catch the ball, and attempt to score and there is an equal distribution of glory.
Yes. Most colleges in California and the US have club Rugby teams. University of California in Berkeley, Westpoint, and Brigham Young are known for having strong teams. Schools even have scholarships. Rugby is growing every year and has become the staple club sport on college campuses.
Many of our alumni have gone on to have UC Berkeley scholarships and to have great college careers. See our Hall of Fame in the Gallery.