When it comes to team sports, Rugby and football are likely the toughest on our bodies due to all the crashing and hitting. Even though they’ve made rules to keep things safer, there’s still a real danger whenever we head out to play either rugby or football.

However, people often discuss which sport is safer between the two and which sport parents should allow their kids to play. Many folks believe that rugby is riskier due to the lack of padding, while others argue that football players’ padding can make them overly confident and careless about their bodies.

Both sides have valid points, and when we check the numbers, we find different information supporting different views. So, let’s delve into both sports and the dangers linked with each before we rush to decide which one poses a greater risk:

Rugby

Clearly, the game of rugby doesn’t involve any padding or required headgear, which leads to a lot of concern about safety. Since players only wear a mouthpiece, they’re more likely to get cuts, scrapes, and bleeding.

It’s not rare for players to bleed during a game, but when that happens, the player has to leave the game temporarily until the bleeding stops. While these injuries are definitely not ideal, they’re not extremely serious in the bigger picture.

But, what could be really serious are the chances of hurting your head or neck since rugby players don’t wear helmets. If two players accidentally bump heads during a game, it can lead to very bad outcomes. Luckily, there are rules about how players can hit each other that help make it less dangerous.

First, there’s the rule that players have to wrap their arms around when they try to tackle. This stops them from charging into the hit with their shoulder or head first. Second, there are rules about where you’re allowed to tackle. Since you can’t tackle someone above their shoulders, hitting their head and neck is a lot less likely.

Football

When it comes to football, the gear that players wear helps stop various injuries, especially to the shoulders and upper part of the body. Wearing pads definitely lowers the chance of getting cuts and scrapes, but the other side of the coin is that it might make players believe they can’t get hurt, especially when it comes to using their heads.

Wearing a helmet lets players use their head like a tool, for things like blocking, tackling, and carrying the ball. While it’s effective to use your head for tackling, it’s really risky over time because of repeated head injuries and tiny concussions. As the years go by, players can get brain injuries from getting hit in the head a lot during practice and games.

Also, in football, there’s no rule that says players have to wrap their arms around when they tackle. So, players can jump into a hit and use their shoulders or head to collide with others.

What does the information show?

Looking at concussions, a study by Complete Concussion Management in 2018 found that among all sports, men’s rugby had the highest number of concussions for people older than 18, with a rate of 3.0 concussions for every 1,000 players in each game. Football ranked second with 2.5 concussions for every 1,000 players in each game.

What about players who are younger than 18? For them, rugby had the highest number of concussions, with a rate of 4.18, while football came in third at 0.53. When it comes to injuries overall, a study by doctors Nienke Willigenburg, James R. Borcher, and Richard Quincy from Ohio State University in 2016 found that college rugby players got injured at a rate of 15.2 for every 1,000 players in each game, while college football players got injured at a rate of 4.9 for every 1,000 players in each game.

In conclusion, looking at the information, it seems that rugby is more risky when it comes to getting hurt while playing. However, the injuries in football might be more serious, since the collisions tend to happen faster and with less control. Both sports carry a higher chance of causing health problems down the road compared to other sports, but they’re also working each year to make their games safer.