Rugby vs American Football: What Is the Difference?
Rugby IQ · 3 November 2026 · 11 min read
With Ben O'Keeffe · Referee
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Rugby vs American football, in short: American football grew out of rugby, and both games score by carrying the ball over a line or kicking it between the posts, but almost every rule in between is turned around. The difference between rugby and American football starts with the pass: rugby only lets you pass backwards, while the NFL allows one forward pass every down. Rugby has no downs, no blocking and no timeouts, so play carries on after a tackle and the players on the field attack and defend for 80 minutes. Every rule below comes from the two rulebooks themselves: World Rugby’s Laws of the Game and the NFL’s 2026 Official Playing Rules.
What is the difference between rugby and American football?
- The pass. A rugby pass must go backwards or sideways, and a forward pass gives the other team a scrum. The NFL allows one forward pass a down, thrown from behind the line of scrimmage.
- The tackle. A rugby tackle does not stop play: the tackled player must let the ball go, and either team can win it. In the NFL the down ends as soon as the runner is down by contact.
- Downs. Rugby has none. A team keeps the ball until the other team wins it, it makes a mistake or the ball leaves the field, where an NFL offense has four downs to gain 10 yards.
- Blocking. Not allowed in rugby: nobody may hold, push or obstruct a player who does not have the ball. In the NFL it is legal.
- Pads. Rugby allows only soft padding and headgear, nothing rigid or metal. NFL players must wear a helmet with a facemask and shoulder, thigh and knee pads.
- The players. Fifteen a side against eleven. Rugby players attack and defend, with no more than eight replacements; the NFL lets any number of substitutes on whenever the ball is dead.
- Scoring. A try is worth 5 points and the ball must be grounded; a touchdown is worth 6 and only has to reach the goal line.
Read the full guide
Rugby vs American football rules, side by side
Here is every rule that differs, with the law and the rule it comes from, so you can check any line yourself.
| Rugby union | American football (NFL) | Where it is written | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Players on the field | 15 a side: 8 forwards, 7 backs | 11 a side | Law 3.1 · Rule 5-1-1 |
| Bench | Up to 8 replacements; a replaced player comes back only in set cases, such as covering a blood or head injury | Any number of substitutes, whenever the ball is dead | Law 3 · Rule 5-2-3 |
| Game length | 80 minutes: two halves of up to 40 | 60 minutes: four quarters of 15 | Law 5.1 · Rule 4-1-1 |
| Halftime | Up to 15 minutes | 13 minutes, and at least 2 between quarters | Law 5.2 · Rule 4-1 |
| The clock | Runs on; only the referee stops it, for an injury or a check with other officials | Stops for an incomplete pass, out of bounds and more; a 40-second play clock | Law 5.5 · Rule 4-4, 4-6 |
| Timeouts | None for the teams | 3 a half | Law 5 · Rule 4-5-1 |
| Tied at full time | A draw stands; extra time only in a knock-out, if the competition allows it | Overtime: one 10-minute period in the regular season (a tie can stand), 15-minute periods in the postseason | Law 5.1 · Rule 16-1 |
| Passing | Backwards or sideways only; a forward pass gives the other team a scrum | One forward pass a down, from behind the line of scrimmage | Law 11 · Rule 8-1-2 |
| Dropping it forward | A knock forward gives the other team a scrum | A fumble that goes forward is not a foul | Law 11.1 · Rule 3-21-3 |
| After a tackle | Play goes on: the ball is released and either team can win it | The down ends once the runner is down by contact | Law 14 · Rule 7-2-1 |
| Keeping the ball | No downs: possession is contested at every tackle | Four downs to gain 10 yards, or the ball goes to the other team | Law 14 · Rule 3-8, 7-3-2 |
| Blocking | Not allowed: no one may hold, push or obstruct a player without the ball | Legal, with the head, shoulders, hands and forearms | Law 9.15 · Rule 12-1-2 |
| Tackling | Only the ball-carrier; grasp, never a shoulder charge; below the shoulder line in elite rugby | Hold the runner or bring him down; no forcible hits with the helmet | Laws 9.14, 9.16, 14.1 · Rule 12-2-10 |
| Kicking | Anyone may kick at any time, and team-mates behind the kicker can chase it | Only from behind the line of scrimmage; a punt comes back only if a receiver touched it | Law 10 · Rules 9-1-1, 7-3-1 |
| After a score | The team that conceded kicks off, with a drop kick from halfway | The team that scored kicks off | Law 12.4 · Rule 11-3-4 |
| Protective gear | Soft pads and headgear allowed; nothing rigid or metal | Helmet with facemask, shoulder, thigh and knee pads required | Law 4 · Rule 5-4-3 |
| Radio to a player | Not allowed | One player a side may have a speaker in his helmet | Law 4.4 · Rule 5-3-3 |
| Officials | A referee and two assistant referees | Seven officials | Law 6 · Rule 19-1-1 |
How does a rugby play work if you know football?
Think of a rugby match as one long play that stops only for a score, a mistake, a foul, an injury or the ball going out. When the ball-carrier is tackled, they must make the ball available straight away, players from both teams arrive on their feet to fight for it in a ruck, and the side that wins it attacks again. Each new attack is called a phase, and there is no snap, no huddle and no line to gain.
Mistakes do not end a down: they hand the ball over. Drop the ball forward (a knock-on) or throw it forward, and the other team gets a scrum. In the NFL a fumble that goes forward is not a foul, and an incomplete pass simply ends the down, with the ball back on the line of scrimmage.
Kicking is part of open play. Anyone may kick at any time, and team-mates who were behind the kicker can chase the ball and win it back, so a kick can gain ground without giving the ball away. An NFL punt comes only from behind the line of scrimmage, and the kicking team can only keep it if a receiver touched it first. When the ball goes out over the sideline, rugby restarts with a lineout; every restart is explained in rugby rules explained.
Is there blocking in rugby?
No. Rugby’s laws make it a penalty to hold, push, charge or obstruct an opponent who does not have the ball, except inside a scrum, ruck or maul, and only the ball-carrier may be tackled. The ball-carrier may still fend a tackler off with a hand, rugby’s version of a stiff arm, as long as it is not done with excessive force. In the NFL, blocking with the head, shoulders, hands and forearms is legal.
How is tackling different in rugby?
A rugby tackle is a grab, not a hit. The ball-carrier is held and brought to ground, the tackler must try to grasp the player rather than just knock them over, and the tackle must go in below the shoulder line in elite rugby, or below the waist or the base of the sternum in community rugby. Nobody may be tackled while their feet are off the ground, so a player catching a high kick is safe in the air.
The NFL defines tackling as holding the runner to stop him or bringing him to the ground, and its fouls are about how: no lowering the head to hit with the helmet, no horse-collar tackle and no hip-drop tackle. The hip-drop tackle is now banned in both rulebooks. How to tackle safely, step by step, is in how to tackle in rugby, with Ben O’Keeffe, an international referee.
How does scoring compare?
The scores line up closely: a try is rugby’s touchdown, a conversion its kick after the touchdown, and a penalty goal or dropped goal its field goal. The details differ: a try is worth 5 points, not 6, and the ball must be grounded, where a touchdown only has to reach the goal line. Both add up to 7 when the kick goes over: 5 and 2, or 6 and 1.
| Rugby union | American football (NFL) | |
|---|---|---|
| The main score | Try, 5 points: the ball grounded in the in-goal area | Touchdown, 6 points: the ball reaches the goal line in a player's possession |
| The kick after it | Conversion, 2 points, kicked from in line with where the try was scored | 1 point for a kick snapped from the 15-yard line, or 2 for a run or pass from the 2 |
| A kick at goal in open play | Dropped goal, 3 points | Field goal, 3 points (a place kick or a drop kick) |
| A penalty | Penalty goal, 3 points, if the team kicks at goal | No penalty kick: a foul costs 5, 10 or 15 yards, or a down |
| When foul play stops a score | Penalty try, 7 points, no conversion needed | The referee may award the touchdown |
| Tackled in your own end | No such score | Safety, 2 points to the defence |
A rugby conversion can be taken from anywhere on a line through the spot where the try was grounded, so a try under the posts is easier to convert than one in the corner. An NFL kick after a touchdown is snapped from the 15-yard line. The goal-kicking routine itself is in rugby kicking.
Why don’t rugby players wear helmets or pads?
Because rugby’s laws allow only soft protection. A player wears a jersey, shorts, socks and boots; soft shoulder or chest pads, headgear, shin guards and fingerless mitts are allowed, and World Rugby recommends a mouthguard. Anything rigid or metal is banned, from buckles and clips to hinges and bolts, and so are gloves, padded shorts and any communication device. The NFL works the other way round: every player must wear a helmet with a facemask and its chin strap fastened, plus shoulder, thigh and knee pads, and one player a side may have a speaker in his helmet to hear the coaches.
How long is a rugby game compared with a football game?
A rugby match is 80 minutes of playing time, two halves of up to 40 minutes plus any time lost, with a half-time of up to 15 minutes. An NFL game is 60 minutes in four 15-minute quarters, with a 13-minute halftime and at least two minutes between the first and second quarters and between the third and fourth.
The bigger difference is the clock. Rugby’s runs on: only the referee stops it, for an injury or to check with the other officials, and the teams have no timeouts. The NFL’s stops for an incomplete pass, the ball going out of bounds and more, each team has three timeouts a half, and the offense has 40 seconds to snap the ball after each play. Measured in action, the ball is in play for about 35 of rugby’s 80 minutes, while a Wall Street Journal count in January 2010 found about 11 minutes of action in an NFL game.
When time is up, both games finish the play in progress, but a rugby half only ends when the ball goes dead, which can be many phases later. A draw stands in rugby unless a knock-out competition allows extra time. A tied NFL regular-season game gets one 10-minute overtime period and can still end in a tie.
Is a rugby field bigger than a football field?
Yes: longer and much wider. A full-size rugby field of play is 100 metres (109 yards) from try line to try line and 70 metres (77 yards) wide, about 21 metres (23 yards) wider than the NFL’s 53⅓ yards, and even the smallest allowed, 94 metres, is longer than the NFL’s 100 yards. Each in-goal area can be 6 to 22 metres deep, against a fixed 10 yards for an end zone.
| Rugby union | American football (NFL) | |
|---|---|---|
| Field of play, goal line to goal line | 94 to 100 m (103 to 109 yd) | 100 yd (91.4 m) |
| Width | 68 to 70 m (74 to 77 yd) | 53⅓ yd, 160 ft (48.8 m) |
| Scoring area at each end | In-goal, 6 to 22 m (about 6½ to 24 yd) deep | End zone, 10 yd (9.1 m) deep |
| End to end | 106 to 144 m (116 to 157 yd) | 120 yd, 360 ft (109.7 m) |
| Where the posts stand | On the try line | On the end line, at the back of the end zone |
| Width of the goal | 5.6 m (18 ft 4½ in) between the posts | A crossbar 18 ft 6 in (5.64 m) long |
| Height of the crossbar | 3 m (9 ft 10 in) to its top edge | 10 ft (3.05 m) to its top |
| The posts | At least 3.4 m (11 ft 2 in) tall | 35 ft (10.7 m) above the crossbar |
The goals are the surprise. Rugby’s posts are 5.6 metres apart with the crossbar 3 metres up, and the NFL’s crossbar is 18 feet 6 inches long and 10 feet up: the same size to within about 5 centimetres (2 inches). Where they stand is different. Rugby’s posts are on the try line; the NFL’s are on the end line, at the back of the end zone.
Is a rugby ball bigger than an American football?
Fatter, not longer. The two balls are much the same length, but a rugby ball measures 580 to 620 mm (22.8 to 24.4 inches) around its middle, against 21 to 21¼ inches for the NFL’s, and it can weigh a little more. The NFL pumps its ball harder: 12½ to 13½ psi, against rugby’s 9.5 to 10.
| Rugby ball | NFL ball | |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 280 to 300 mm (11.0 to 11.8 in) | 11 to 11¼ in (279 to 286 mm) |
| Around the ends | 740 to 770 mm (29.1 to 30.3 in) | 28 to 28½ in (711 to 724 mm) |
| Around the middle | 580 to 620 mm (22.8 to 24.4 in) | 21 to 21¼ in (533 to 540 mm) |
| Weight | 410 to 460 g (14.5 to 16.2 oz) | 14 to 15 oz (397 to 425 g) |
| Pumped to | 9.5 to 10.0 psi | 12½ to 13½ psi |
| Made of | Leather or synthetic, four panels | Pebble-grained leather, natural tan |
Which rugby positions match football positions?
None match exactly, because every rugby player attacks and defends. As a rough guide, here is the nearest rugby shirt to each football job and what that shirt does. Watch for false friends: a football fullback and a rugby fullback do completely different jobs.
| Football job | Nearest rugby shirt | What the rugby shirt does |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterback | Fly-half (10) | Runs the attack: pass, kick or run |
| Offensive and defensive line | Props (1, 3), hooker (2), locks (4, 5) | Scrum, lineout, carry and clear |
| Linebacker | Flankers (6, 7), number 8 | Tackle, carry and win the ball back |
| Running back | Centres (12, 13) | Carry into contact and break the line |
| Wide receiver | Wings (11, 14) | Finish tries and contest the high ball |
| Safety and kick returner | Fullback (15) | Field the kicks and counter-attack from deep |
| Kicker and punter | No specialist | Anyone may kick; fly-halves often take the goal kicks |
Every shirt has its own guide in rugby positions, and the quarterback’s nearest match is in fly half rugby.
Can an American football player play rugby?
Yes. Both games ask for catching, running with the ball, tackling and kicking, but rugby uses them differently, and four things take getting used to:
- Passing backwards, to a team-mate running on to the ball.
- Tackling with your arms, below the shoulders, then getting straight back on your feet, because the play is not over.
- Contesting the ball at the ruck on your feet, and without your hands once the ruck has formed.
- Attacking and defending for 80 minutes, with no timeouts.
Which shirt suits your build is in rugby positions by body type, from the heights and weights of eight men’s squads at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, and the free Bronco test timer shows where your running fitness stands.
Frequently asked questions
Is rugby harder than American football?
Is rugby harder than American football? They are hard in different ways. Rugby players attack and defend for 80 minutes with only soft padding, no team timeouts and no more than eight replacements. NFL players wear helmets and pads and play short downs, with timeouts and any number of substitutes whenever the ball is dead.
Did American football come from rugby?
Did American football come from rugby? Yes. The first recorded rugby match in the United States was Harvard against McGill in 1874, and in 1876 Yale, Harvard, Princeton and Columbia formed a competition on rugby's rules. From 1880, Walter Camp's rule changes took that game away from rugby and towards American football.
Can you pass forward in rugby?
Can you pass forward in rugby? No. Every pass must go backwards or sideways, and a forward pass gives the other team a scrum (a deliberate one is a penalty). The ball still goes forward in two ways: a player carries it, or kicks it ahead for team-mates who were behind the kicker to chase.
What is a touchdown called in rugby?
What is a touchdown called in rugby? A try. It is worth 5 points, not 6, and the ball must be grounded in the in-goal area: carrying it over the line is not enough. The kick after it, the conversion, is worth 2 points and is taken in line with where the try was scored.
Is a rugby ball bigger than an American football?
Is a rugby ball bigger than an American football? Yes, around the middle. The two are much the same length, but a rugby ball measures 580 to 620 mm (22.8 to 24.4 inches) around its middle, against 21 to 21¼ inches for the NFL's ball, and it is pumped softer: 9.5 to 10 psi against 12½ to 13½.
Is there a quarterback in rugby?
Is there a quarterback in rugby? Not as such, but the fly-half, the number 10, is the nearest thing: the attack runs through the ten, who decides whether to pass, kick or run. The scrum-half, the number 9, passes from every ruck, so it is the 9 who has the ball after almost every tackle.
Where to start
Start with the laws: rugby rules explained walks through a match from kick-off to full time. To learn the game the way the professionals do, Rugby IQ is taught by players and coaches who do it for a living, and Elite Rugby App’s training is built for your position. Try all of it with a free trial.
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