To think that rugby players really show footballers up for the wimps that they are?

[HangingBasketCase]

Just saw on the news that a Welsh rugby player was knocked out cold during their game with England last night, despite most likely being concussed he got up and carried on. Earlier in the game another player broke his nose, was strapped up and just carried on. Meanwhile footballers roll around on the pitch in mock agony when they break a sodding finger nail!

I'm a life long football fan, but I'm becoming more and more disillusioned with the game if I'm honest. The vile insults hurled at each other by fans, the over dramatic displays of "agony" because the played want a penalty thrown in their way. It's pathetic.

Why isn't rugby more popular than football?

"Admiring" or otherwise George North is neither here nor there. Any condemnation should be directed at team officials and medics.

There isnt a better sport, you can enjoy whatever sport you like. Think the clue is in my mumsnet name.

There are some really thick posts on here .
People with concussion frequently have no idea they are hurt. DS1 has no recollectionofchis injury or the subsequent period of play. He had no idea anything had happened until he suddenly became aware that the world had moved on a chunk.

stop calling the victim of an injury an idiot

It's really really thick

God I so love those strapping Rugby blokes....PHWWOOAAARRR... I'd take any one of them (and I mean any), over ten of those skinny, chavvy, foul-mouthed, wife beating, cheating, tattoo smothered, girlie - boy, football wimps any day. They can keep there cash! Rugby men are reeeaaaalll men. PPHHHWWWOOOAARRR once more!!

Sorry, no, they shouldn't carry on if they get a knock to the head, definitely not!

That's right Maryz.

Ds1 had no idea he was hurt. It was not a decision to play on , he didn't have any awareness he was hurt.

He is also not quite sure how to react when he found out he was up for man of the match. For some of the match, the first time he saw it was on the video.

their cash! Sorry.

I agree with the points on concussion - I was at a martial arts competition with a friend and he got kicked in the head. He carried on and seemed fine. Later we had to take him to hospital because he had no clue what time of day it was (still thought it was morning) and couldn't stop throwing up. He had no idea what had happened. That's why you need other people to identify concussion because often the person who has it is the last one to know.

Both my DS play rugby and I love it (I am Welsh and JPR was also my DM consultant at the Heath at one point - small world indeed). Not arguing with the ref is a big thing in mini /youth rugby and parents who make comments are likely to get a warning from the club too. I think that they should mike up football refs like they do with rugby; I wonder how many players would answer back if they knew their comments were being broadcast.

In answer to the OP's question: because football lends itself to be played anywhere anytime by anyone. It's a universal language. I've seen it played in the Amazon were the nearest road was 2 hours away by river and in Africa where the 'ball' was screwed up paper and plastic wrapped in sellotape-type stuff. Children can kick a ball as soon as they can walk and many small kids, esp. boys, spend hours occupying themselves playing football in the street, the garden and the playground at break time.

Rugby just isn't like that. It doesn't come from all people and doesn't speak to all people.

[I have plenty of criticisms of professional football and enjoy watching professional rugby. But that's the answer.]

their are cultures with all sports - some cultures are not pleasant and other cultures are and make for better sportsmanship.

To change these cultures parents need to participate when the players are young and so do the sports governing body and feed it down to the clubs at a lower level.

Then there will be change in the cultures surrounding some sports that are not very pleasant.

stopping children from playing on when they have had a knock to the head that has possibly done damage and explaining to them why would be a good start - the same things could be done in football but as a large amount of players in the premier league are not originating from the UK this could be more difficult and would need clubs and governing body to intervene

I love rugby union, and have watched for years. I'm a bit surprised, though, that we are hearing now about the tightened-up rules on concussion etc and how it's 'becoming obvious' that playing on with concussion is a bad idea. I seem to remember Bill Beaumont retiring early after he was told that another concussion could result in a serious brain injury. I also remember watching Craig Chalmers running down the pitch at Murrayfield slapping himself in the face after a knock on the head - he admitted later that he was seeing double and trying to get the world back in focus. Why has it taken so long for anything to change?

Pagwatch, you say yourself that DS1 'had lost a chunk of time, had no recollection' or words to that effect

Presumably those watching the game saw the incident and were able to tell him there had been an incident?
They then ask DS1 if he has any memory of it.
Apparently he doesn't, so it was chronically irresponsible for him to continue playing.

Unless I've missed something aren't you just proving the point here? Or are you saying it was a concussion in the flow of the game and he wasn't knocked out, in which case there wasn't an incident as such to react to.

That doesn't make the previous comments stupid, either George North or his management knew he was out cold (hence whoever started this thread praising their idiocy) and let him continue to play

By the way pagwatch, am not questioning what you've said, just want to understand better.

How did you later discover he'd been injured? Were there other symptoms?

Ugh why compare rugby players to football players it's a different sport.
Any way football has a world wide interest because it is accessible to all from the poorest places to the richest. All shapes and sizes can play football not so for rugby.

And that's probably why football will always have more people interested on a global scale. Saying rugby is better doesn't really mean anything especially since football is not lacking in fans.

I say this as a fan of both sports. All this 'real man' nonsense is tiresome as well.

Usuallylurking

No problem - I'm happy to explain .
You have to have seen concussion to understand

There was no obvious incident - it wasn't a one to one tackle. He got smacked as a few players contested the ball.
The thing is there was no moment when he was visibly hurt
He got up from under a pile of players and the play had continued.
My DH from the stand thought he had seen him knocked but wasn't sure.
He continued to play. No one realised.
Sometime later he just kind of woke up on the pitch. He's been playing and no one saw anything.

The match finished shortly afterward. It was a huge game - we ran down to him pitch side and he looked white but we weren't sure if it was exhaustion nerves etc
As we headed home he kept repeating himself. When he told me for the sixth time about a text he had received we took him to hospital.

Players can really believe they are fine. The very 'unreality' they are experienced makes them incapable of understanding what has happened.

I am immensely irritated that George North was visibly knocked out was allowed to play on. But he may well have believed he was fine and hadn't had more than a bump.

Girly-boys sourdrawers? Because a girl is the worst thing you can be...

That is exactly why the medical teams are supposed to have control . Because a concussed player is in an altered state. It's not within their ability to know how injured they are.

Yabu. Footballers can be amazing and incredibly skillful athletes in a way rugby players rarely are.

Football is also not supposed to involve much contact which is why players try to demonstrate the other team are cheating when they, admittedly, play act. There would be less advantage in doing this in rugby. There is supposed to be shoving and contact in rugby but not in football.

Footballers who play act are cheats rather than wimps. When actually injured they tend to behave similarly to rugby players.

I agree they should not shout at the ref though.

I get wound up watching football because about half of the game is players either diving to the floor or getting a very minor injury and spending about ten minutes of the game rolling around crying. Then the players all argue with the ref about it and someone gets a card. It's boring. I also wonder how the amount they earn is justified. Football is evidently lost on me.

I've always been more of a rugby fan, were I to choose between the two. It seems more gritty and real .

Thanks pagwatch, I get it now!

Useful to understand if my son ever goes down that route. Although, sad to say, I truly hope he doesn't, things like the Matt Hampson injury and similar scare the hell out of me.

Oh good luck with whatever he chooses.
DS1 is an adult now so I don't have those heart stopping moments anymore

mousefinkle not sure your 'boring delay' comment stacks up. According to recent articles easily googled the ball is in play in a football match for between 63 and 72 minutes of the game out of 90 (depending on the country, shorter in england, longer in Europe). When I say ball in play I mean, play is ongoing, nobody rolling around, arguing with the referee.

In international rugby the ball is in play for 30-35 minutes of play of 80. Under 50%, the rest is the ref explaining the rules to professionals over and over. I always presumed the lack of dissent In rugby was more to do with the fact nobody actually knows the rules to argue about it since they change so often!

Oh I forgot the 15 minutes of watching Jonny wilkinson or the latest incarnation thereof looking at a post and cupping his hands for 5 minutes!

How come David beckham took 15 seconds to figure out how to bend a ball over a wall, past a goalkeeper and into a small box from 35 yards yet it took Jonny wilkinson two minutes to kick a ball through an unguarded space 10 times the size?