strength and endurance

thebaz

I assume rugby requires the greatest overall strength and physical fitness to play, in comparison to say soccer or GAA ?
Having played and followed both , i used to find it strange that Niall Quinn was considered a big man in football , but i don't think he'd be judged so in rugby . I know different positions have different requirements, but when i played rugby , i fealt wrecked for a few days after , less so with soccer .
I played a bit of junior club GAA and loved it , but again didn't feal as wrecked as when i played rugby . More punchups though in GAA !

Eoin

thebaz wrote:

I assume rugby requires the greatest overall strength and physical fitness to play, in comparison to say soccer or GAA ?
Having played and followed both , i used to find it strange that Niall Quinn was considered a big man in football , but i don't think he'd be judged so in rugby . I know different positions have different requirements, but when i played rugby , i fealt wrecked for a few days after , less so with soccer .
I played a bit of junior club GAA and loved it , but again didn't feal as wrecked as when i played rugby . More punchups though in GAA !

It definitely depends on the position you play. If you're in the front row, you need lots of stamina to deal with the constant exertion of scrummaging, rucking, mauling etc.

If you're in the back three, then you probably find yourself standing still for a while, then suddenly having to sprint. Obviously all 15 also have the tackes to make and take etc. In soccer, players probably have to run at a good clip for the entire game, but don't have the physical element to deal with.

GAA players probably have the mix of the two - a lot of constant movement, plus an element of physicality.

Niall Quinn probably wouldn't be considered big in rugby alright - but I think it's strange comparison to make. Paul O'Connell or John Hayes may not be considered particularly big in American Football.

davyjose

Fitness is about being Fit for what you do. Who's fitter Hayes or O'Driscoll? well both would struggle if swapped positions. If Niall Quinn was a rugby player, he would probably have a lot more muscle. But he trained to be a footballer - which requires, I would imagine, the ability to jog and run almost non-stop (something you don't get in Rugby). Having said that, Rugby does require more physical strength and endurance than Soccer or GAA - it's not possible to play midweek games, as it is in soccer, and were GAA professional, their calender could fit a lot more into it.
In one of the British fitness Magazine's last year (Men's Something) there was an article done asking which sport required the most physical ability. Rugby was far ahead of Soccer, with Boxing the winner. They took strength, Skill and stamina into account.

Steyr

Bottom line is Rugby is the best Sport in the world.:D Yes yes, oh yes.