Frederic P Miller

Comparison of rugby league and rugby un Frederic P Miller

Publisher Marketing: Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. A comparison of rugby league and rugby union is possible because of the games' similarities and shared origins. In English rugby, a schism developed between those who favoured strict amateurism and those who felt that players should be compensated for time taken off work to play rugby. In 1895 this resulted in the formation of a break-away body, the Northern Union. Since 1906 the laws of rugby league have been gradually changed to encourage a more spectator-friendly sport. Further changes have taken place to the laws of both rugby union and rugby league over the years, so that now they are distinctly different. The principal distinction is that league has shed most aspects of the contest for possession of the ball, while rugby union retains it: contesting the ball after the tackle, on the ground in rucks and in contested scrums, in mauls and line-outs. The laws of league are consequently fewer, comprising 21,000 words compared to 35,000 for union. As a result of the absence of the aforementioned mauls, rucks and lineouts, there are fewer stoppages of play in rugby league, with the ball typically in play for 50 out of the 80 minutes, compared with under 40 for rugby union.