I overheard some students the other day debating the talents of Rugby athletes vs. NFL players. They mentioned that guys such as Habana, Lomu, Tuqiri (sp?), and Rupeni could more than hold their own against corresponding NFL guys. I know there is a rugby presence on the board and would like to hear your thoughts on the issue? What kind of numbers are these guys capable of?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_iAQXyDJns
In this video Habana raced a cheetah with a 35m head start! It also mentioned that he runs his 100m in around 11 seconds.
Very long issue…for example…
Doug Howlett, all blacks wing 10 63…on 40 is slower than Rokokoko…Habana I doubt just 11…even fat. he is amazing.there are others, Like Vainikolo…10,87 at 18 yo…Lomu 10 98 in a race at 16…many in th UK ans especially in league had good results on track…fastest international should have been sebastien carrard…french guy 10 34…scored a record of tries in Heineken Cup (european team most important competition) At Wasp team in the uk, they had one 1044 winger, nothing special on the field though…
If I’m right, former british 400m star david Grindley, went on to have a 12 year career in Rugby league.
Lot of NFL guys in the 10.09 to 10.15 range in track meets.
I know…on other sites there are long lists of NFL players…I think more than 30 sub 10"30 in the last decades…
I always dreamed of an oakland raiders track team…they’d do wonders!!
rugby guys have a lot of endurance conditioning, thus they are much slower than football guys
Some, not all
I just saw a picture of Tuqiri and if I’m not mistaken, he is the athlete that failed the conditioning test that Charlie was talking about! How you could call that guy unfit is beyond me!
My, 5 cents worth: this is a non argument. Search the treads on the Rugby World Cup last year, you will find days worth of arguments on the topic.
Who is greater, rugby or NFL? It is like the “who is the greatest athlete” debate, there is just no answer because apples and pears are being compared.
where is that thread?
Seems like it died with the recent problems the site had. Maybe it is better the tread is dead and buried. It got a bit rough at times. Please don’t start a new one, I might be drawn into it again.
So how would you rate Habana’s abilities in comparison to an American Football player, speaking in terms of raw athleticism.
It is true tho … you can’t compare apples and oranges (especially since oranges have more padding!)
There might be more than that in college… actually probably more if you consider 60m times.
I think there were three, maybe four COLLEGE football players that ran in the 6.5s this year for the 60m? Not too shabby considering that is only a couple months out of the season. Many (perhaps most) have spring football which hampers some of the 100m/200m results.
I have no idea who this guy is but it seems like he’s caught on to the British version of Fre Flo Do/ Crossfit!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XUTZprhG_7k&feature=related
I think it was Gambetta who said that Rugby strength and conditioning was miles ahead of NFL training. Not if the whole of it looks anything like this!
Kinda look like Rj trampoline sprints.
I’ve heard this debate 100’s of times… but the games are as different as they are similar.
Rugby Union has only been Pro since the 90’s and American Football places ALOT more emphasis on physical attributes (combined!!). In Rugby you are judged on the field… lifting p.b’s (p.r’s) are only bragging rights… Track isn’t something Rugby players usually consider.
Many of the fastest, most athletic players never hit a world stage because their handling, vision, array of kicks, defence, movement aren’t good enough… does a running back have to be able to master all of these?? And then there is endurance to consider!
HOWEVER, there are and have been some incredibly fast Rugby players. Currently there are some South African and Maori flyers who’s 40 METRE times are good on grass-
1.Jongi Nokwe-4.4s
2.Sosene Anesi-4.5s
3.Tonderai Chavangha-4.63s (10.2 100m)
4.Brent Russell- 4.65s
5=Bryan Habana-4.66s
Joe Rokocoko-4.66s
Now that’s damn fast, some top NFL guys go 4.4 in 40 YARDS Nokwe’s gone 4.4 in 40 METRES, and this is from a few years ago. And there are rumoured to be some faster kids out there.
Brett Stapleton has done 10.2 at 95Kg+. Lomu did 10.80 at 120Kg+.
Paul Sampson beat Dwain Chambers at English Schools in 10.48 while 17yo… he got the England Rugby call up that summer but got injured.
In the past there have been many British Olympians in the sprints and hurdles that also played Rugby. I have read the SA 400m record is/was held by a Rugby player (around 45s) and a French 10.0*? sprinter also played Rugby years ago.
Jim McCann
St Josephs College Winger 1955-1956
World record holder (Schoolboy level) for the 100 yards of 9.7 seconds. (around 10.2 for the 100m??)
Gave up Rugby for Athletics and ran for Australia in the 1960 Olympics.
Ken Irvine is the greatest try scorer of all time in League. In 1961 Irvine showcased his speed at a specially-arranged event specifically in an attempt to break professional world record over 100 yards. Irvine won the event and equalled the record of 9.3 seconds.
Uk, great post…however, to be fair…
NO 10.0x french player, that was Sebastian Carrard…10,34…
Stapleton has FAT timing in the 10 “60 neightbourhood as Junior.
40m time are usually standing free start with timing gates 50cm.1-m so, impressive times, non entirely comparable with football 40.
Sometimes, lecit 1020 sprinters fail to run under 4 35…at indy.
Thanks for samson, I didn’t remurdler and ember the name…
Add Nigel Walker, 1984 hurdler and international for wales.
Lomu FAT was 10 96, so 10 80 manual.
The former euro champ on 200, Dougie walker, was a Sctland under 21 national team player…
the fastes ever?
Easily…“Chariots of fire” charachter and great man…Eric liDDELL, oLYMPIC CHAMPION ON 400M in 1924…and " the fastest winger in scotland”.
Hard to compare simple sprinting abilities…
NFL and top NCAA have a notch more, no question about it…however, great sprinters in rugby too!!
I also thing they are much more similar than any other sports…
The USA, given all the football talent, could easilly became the powerhouse in rugby…they have 300 mln people in the country, no other rugby playing country is so big.
No way rugby athletes can compete with american football when it comes to pure speed, they may have a better chance in the pc, sq, bp.
Stapleton has ran officially since then and got 10.27… not bad for a 95+k white guy who doesn’t run more than 40m at a time.
I believe that some South African juniors coming up will compete with footballers for pure speed… remember these guys haven’t had the opportunities of the african-american community… a US ghetto would seem like Buckingham palace to most South African blacks (sorry for generalising but it’s true).
The pool of talent in the US is top notch… 300million, 15% west african origin. With the apparthide broken in SA we should see some flyers coming through with more equal opportunities.