On Mon, 22 Jan 2018 12:43:54 -0500, John H
wrote:

On Mon, 22 Jan 2018 12:31:17 -0500, wrote:

On Mon, 22 Jan 2018 08:30:29 -0500, John H
wrote:

On Sun, 21 Jan 2018 22:44:03 -0500, wrote:


We watched some rugby in New Zealand "Go All Blacks" and I agree it is
not exactly like soccer but more like it than NFL football. The
biggest single difference is no line of scrimmage.

We must be talking different sports. If soccer players hit like rugby players, they'd all be 'red
carded' off the field. Other than the requirement to move the ball downfield, I can't see many
similarities between soccer and rugby. Between rugby and football, yeah. You said it in your last
sentence.

Most of the violence in football is within a few yards of the line of
scrimmage. That is why they have different rules there. You have a
half dozen 300 pound guys on each side, lined up face to face snarling
at each other and on the snap they crash into each other as hard as
they can, on every play. They are not even allowed to grab each other,
they have to just knock the other guy out of the way. What could
possibly go wrong? Compared to that a scrum is just a big group hug.

Might be a group hug, but that's only to folks looking in from the outside:

https://www.kingsleynapley.co.uk/ins...s-of-the-scrum

"A scrum (short for scrummage) is a way of restarting play in rugby, where there has been a minor
infringement. In rugby union the scrum is made up of eight players from each team binding together
in 3 rows. The heads of the front row of the scrum will interlock their heads with the opposing
team’s front row. The ball is then thrown into the space between the two teams and the front rows of
both teams will compete for the ball by hooking the ball and sending it backwards with their feet,
whilst pushing the opposing team backwards.

When one considers the size and strength of the modern professional rugby player, it is no wonder
that so many players sustain spinal injuries whilst in the scrum, whether as a result of continuous
trauma over an extended period of time, or one high impact. This can be particularly dangerous where
the scrum collapses, due to the sheer force applied by each side."

Different sport, different type of injury. Tennis players get lateral
epicondylitis and ice skaters get their knee broken with a bat.
Life is tough, wear a cup ;-)