Do you consider NFL players top-class athletes that stand out from the rest of contact sports?
Both NFL and rugby players are the top class athletes of all sports – contact or not. I’ve got the utmost respect for the physical conditioning and abuse that both Rugby players and football players bodies can take. As someone that has played both, I find it hard to compare the two because the difference in rules really requires a difference in the type of athlete. The hits are harder in the NFL, thats fact not opinion. Not once in the history of Rugby have two 250 lb. guys hit each other at full speed and the rules of rubgy limit the types of hits that can happen in a game. If rugby instituted a forward pass, they’d be instituting pads the next week. I find Rugby players overall are more well rounded athletes with better overall stamina and have the ability to play multiple positions on the field whereas football players, for the most part,(especially at the pro level) are incredibly specialized. Comparing the two is like comparing apples and oranges – everybody will have an opinion o
