“What a load of ridiculous, I'll informed snobbery”
Not really, people just providing their own anecdotal experiences, just because it does not fit your experiences/bias it does not invalidate it.
“I grew up in a rugby family, my Dad was chairman of our local rugby club.”
As did I, my father played old 1st division rugby (now the premiership), I also played the game for over 30 years, how many games have you played?
“The idea that rugby players are all gentlemen is frankly ludicrous.”
Nobody is claiming at all that ‘all’ rugby players are gentlemen, in a game with a million plus registered players there are bound to be a sizable minority of twats. What they are claiming though, on a general level, is that rugby nurtures qualities that are either lacking or completely absent in football. Simple things, clapping the ref and the opposition teams off the pitch, home side having to feed and entertain the opposition post match, total respect for officials (even when they have made a bad call), not trying to con the referee with diving or going down like a sack of spuds clutching your face the moment another players touches you, a no player is bigger then the team mentality that engenders great camaraderie, non-segregated crowds, no requirement for hundreds of police, no tribal idiot fans abusing you or worse for having the wrong colours on.
“I've had plenty of family members and boyfriends who have suffered stud injuries, eye gouges, yes and even bite marks.”
Stud injuries are fairly common; any player running onto the field knows that they are an occupational hazard. Anyway, calling them ‘injuries’ is a bit dramatic, more often or not they are just red marks/light grazing on the back. Maybe all your male acquaintances should not have been on the wrong side of the ruck illegally blocking the ball as that is where 90% of such ‘injuries’ take place.
With regards to the eye gouging and biting I don’t know of a single club in the land that would condone such practices. 99% of players find such acts of thuggery disgusting and would be ashamed if they found out a team mate was responsible. 25 years ago it would have been difficult to get any redress to such incidents, these days though it is very well policed, even at a ‘social’ level (i.e. pub team rugby) there is a zero tolerance to violent acts. Every reported act of violence is investigated by the RFU with lengthy bans (including life) issued for players found guilty. Any club found selecting banned players are fined and deducted points.
“And at the very top level of the game, the England team are frankly a disgrace. Role models they are not. The England football team is actually far more professional and well behaved.”
Strange, I don’t recall any England rugby captains shagging their club team mates wife (Terry), calling someone “a fucking black cunt” (Terry again), or married players sending naked photos to glamour models (Cole), players sleeping with escort girls behind their pregnant wifes back (Rooney), missing drug tests (Ferdinand). Role models indeed!
Lobbing a few (consenting) dwarfs about does not really compare.
“And don't even get me started on the pathetic macho drinking culture. Even at University all the idiots were the rugby club boys.”
Yep, no drinking culture in football, how long till the next former player releases an autobiography detailing their battles with alcoholism (Adams, Merson, Gascoigne, Best, Greeves, McGrath, Charles, Sansom,). I guess those dental chairs were just for relaxing and meditating in. I don’t know where you went to uni but when I was there it was pretty much every sports team on a Wednesday night getting blind drunk and getting sick in the bushes, not something to be celebrated, but it was certainly not a rugby only phenomenon.
“But I would rather they were doing a sport based on speed and skill than one based on how big and tough you are.”
Now that is just a monumentally stupid thing to say, you average rugby club will have players of all shapes and sizes and caters for all skill levels, from the semi unfit social player in the 5th team who cant catch or tackle for toffee through to the 1st team player who is a dedicated athlete with amazing ball skills. A bit like football really! If you want skill youtube Brian O’Driscoll, Dan Carter, Jason Robinson or Wilkinson in their prime, they are not just big and tough lumps.