Martn, atletiek is just talking out of his ass at this point and has probably never seen an American football game of any level, much less seen American football players in person.
Mate, there is a huge difference between running on a rugby pitch and running on the athletics track. One the athletics track every man has a equal opportunity, it you against the clock, nothing else. On the rugby pitch there are 15 guys trying to knock the living shit out of you as you try to run as fast as you can. A bit of physiological difference, don’t you think. Yet some blokes are willing to take that chance, others are not. [/QUOTE]
I was waiting for someone to bring this up. We’ve had this argument is SA since 1991. No all of a sudden 15 years later things are much the same as it use to be. When we now compare what is going on we like to compare kids who was schooled in a fully multiracial era, the are actually called the Mandela-kids and finished their schooling this year. They spend their whole schooling in a multi racial society. They all had exactly the same opportunities and chances and competed in the same meetings, competitions, teams etc.
Interesting thing is that very little has changed. Whites can still not play soccer, black can only still play wing and the fastest under 20 in the country is a 17 year old white boy called Wilhelm van der Vyver.
Remember these are huge generalizations. Some of the greatest athletes in our country started out bare foot on a dirt track somewhere, blacks, whites, colored everyone. It is not entirely true to say that coloreds where higher up the order. They were also severely deprived under Apartheid. To this days most are and many like in poverty. In SA we have a saying that no matter what your circumstances you can rise out of it, and if one man or woman can everyone in than same circumstances can. the greatest example from here is Joshia Tugwane that won the marathon in Atlanta in 1996. He was a miner who work underground and trained in the afternoons after a 13 hour shift. It just makes me wonder why more people can not rise up.
It seems like you are right Davan. I concluded a long time ago that he can’t see past his own preconceptions and prejudices about his own race and others.
To me it is the purest (bar the drugs of course) sport. Its you against youself, no interference, reliance on others, just you. I considder decathletes and heptathletes the greatest athletes in the world.
So there is no drugs in Rugby? You are now really chatting out of your arse… and entering forbidden territory on this site.
You should be careful before you just talk out of your ass yourself. Have you ever asked yourself why no one but the Americans actually watches and plays American Football? Rugby has one of the biggest followings in the world. The Rugby World Cup is the third biggest sporting event in the world, after the Olympics and Soccer World Cup. Rugby is played in over 250 countries, American football in how many? the US, Canada, England and Germany and I saw the other day in the US Virgin Islands too, whoa. You seem to forget that there is life outside the US.
Again, rugby is not about the physical attributes of the players, we watch it to see multi layered, unpredictable and skillful. If I wanted to see peoples’ personal stats for an hour long I’d watch WWE, they are also obsessed about personal physical stats and supreme physical attributes.
I am. Entering forbidden territory. I am not denying drugs in rugby. Topic closed.
And you know how many rugby players who are professional international players?
I suppose you can see past your own.
Played at what level? I bet tennis is played in some form in every single country in the world, but it isn’t the most popular sport. If rugby is so big, why can’t it demand big $$? Why are the highest paid players in rugby not even close to the average American football player or a soccer player of similar calliber?
Again, rugby is not about the physical attributes of the players, we watch it to see multi layered, unpredictable and skillful. If I wanted to see peoples’ personal stats for an hour long I’d watch WWE, they are also obsessed about personal physical stats and supreme physical attributes.
WWE is a staged soap opera. I hope you are not comparing the NFL and the WWE… You are quite ridiculous.
How many do I know personally? 0. How many have I seen? A fair number since I lived in Europe for a bit and checked out some games, so I mean, I have seen what at least some of the pros look like in person. I haven’t seen players from all blacks in person, if that is what you are insinuating.
we are beating a dead horse…
rugby and football are 2 wonderfoul sports, and in many istances players could succed in both.
NFL football has given international rugby more than one idea in tactical and physical preep.
I remember a famouse defense genius, who worked as a consultanto for an nfl team, a league team and a strong union national team.
Skills:I’ve played both, aS nd if you have never played before,m you cannot understand how skills in Football are abundant…
when you play high school, you play running back and safety, for example, and in the special teAMS.SO ANYONE LEARN to catch, to run, to throw, to tackle, to punt…
also…linear game…change of direction is the MOST important skill in many positions.
Cathcing the football:the ball is smaller, harder, faster.not so easy with pads and helmet!!
when I catched a high ball in rugby rarely if ever missed one…in football, for the first practices I lost almost all punts and kick offs !!is not easy…
the tackle is different, and you have pads (in rugby almost anyone now uses soft pads, with pro rugby there are better athletes, so harder hits) for a reason…blocks are sometimes harder than tackles.
Rugby has an aura that cannot be matched by any other sport, an lower salaries ( despite $$$$ earned by national representatives and tv contracts) are not bad…they mantain the sport unique.
NFL is surroudend by shows, comparable to wwe wrestling, but once the game starts, is as serious as a sport can be.
So respect both games…you’ll enjoy them
You ARE…my preconceptions are that ANYONE CAN RUN FAST, regardless of race not becasue they are white or mixed/coloured as you put it.
Rugby will bring peace to Israel and cure world hunger.
It’s hard to have peace when you don’t consider the others worth anything
also…there are not 250 countries in the world… i.IAAf is the sporting federation with most members, I think 202, more than IOC
Mate you’ve dug yourself a hole no one can help you out of 
and Carter IS the best player in the world although Richie McCaw just got the award. 
I have seen (and been involved in) enough of these rugby V NFL arguments to know they go no where but downward. They are different sports with different requirements and the top players of both are exceptional athletes.
Using money as a validation for talent is flawed as rugby will never attract the big $ as it is not popular in the countries that spend mega $ on sports people (US & continental Europe). The NZRFU has a policy that only NZ domiciled players can play for the All Blacks so and although the money is ok is it is a pittance compared to many other professional sports people. Many NZ players call it quits here to play for decent pay in countries like UK, and Japan.
Also in countries like NZ and SA rugby is such an integral part of society that it is more than a game. I joke not when I say the mood of the country rises and falls on how the AB’s do. It is less than it used to be but it is still a major element here. Unless you have experienced it you cannot fully comprehend it…sort of like soccer in Brazil and cricket in India.
BTW Carlos Spencer qualifies for the Maori All Black team 
rugby and american football has nothing to so with the worlds fastest man. black players can play just as well as the white players, if they want 2 and r not convinced that they can’t by society. exactly like white sprinters.
white sprinters can make it 2 the top but the botom line is that it will take a special coach 2 do that because as i said b4 whites have a lower motor intellegence, meaning that they have 2 b taught how 2 sprint. they have 2 aquier the muscle memory that will allow them 2 sprint at world class level.
whereas black sprinters find it more natural 2 sprint due 2 better intra-muscular co-ordination. therefore they can give more attention 2 the other training elements and less 2 the technical element.
if a white sprinter is 2 succeed he will need 2 b totally rewired and that is y i say it will take the best coach in the world 2 do that, the coach will have 2 know the sprint event and sprinter 101% 
LOL john that is so true about rugby here. I pray that we win the world cup, theres been soo much hype soo much cockyness (in the media and country not the players) all it takes is one loss in the wrong match. If we loose it will be a kick to the teeth, this is one of the best sides ever and if they loose god knows how we can win the next one
Dude that is retarded, lower motor intellegence…jeez. Last time I checked most elite sprinters were “taught” how to sprint.
how many white sprinters have u seen look symetrical when they sprint, y do they say that blacks have rythm, y do blacks have a better turn-over. all these things r linked to intra-muscular co-ordination (motor intellegence). was donavan bailey taught how to sprint 10.6 with no training.
what i’m saying is that is that the black sprinters have a higher technical starting point. they 2 have 2 learn the finer detail but they r closer to perfection that the white sprinter on a natural level.
if what i say is so retarded what ur explination, genius?if u look up the word retarded u’ll c that u’ll always b the retarded 1 as long as ur behind the black man in the 100m .