My fellow doctor had this to say about rubgy vs NFL for players:
Richard mentions a few of the ruggers from the Hurricanes, the champions of the Super 12 league, many of whom will play for the All Blacks, New Zealand's national side, and wonders if there could be a place for them in the NFL. Lote Tuquiri, the star runner? Great moves indeed, but I think it would be a very tough transition (although when Charley Casserly was with the Redskins he made some serious inquiries about the Blacks' 250-pound Jonah Lomu). Chris Jack, the 6-8 lock? Uh, no. Athletic and rawboned, but I fear the NFL's 320-pound weightroom freaks would break him in half.
Richie McCaw, the speedy forward? Ah yes, now we're getting somewhere, because of all the ruggers I watched these were the guys who impressed me the most -- the compact 235-245-pounders who could run like the wind and do some serious smacking. I haven't seen much international-level rugby live in quite a while, but what really got me this time was the caliber and ferocity of the hitting.
Not so much in the tackling of the ball carriers. It's still a twisting, bulldogging type of tackle, and head shots are severely penalized. I'm talking about the way these guys go flying into the loose rucks and take out anybody who's not paying attention. What's a loose ruck? The milling scrimmage that takes place when a runner is downed. I used to enjoy this part of the game when I was playing because it was a cheap-shotter's paradise, but I never saw anything to match the waves of frenzied forwards pouring into the middle of things that I saw in NZ. They had "special teams" written all over them.
I was talking to an NFL personnel director a few days ago and I told him he really ought to take a look at these guys. He said, "Well, we've a rugby kicker in camp who we're looking at," and I gave him much the same pitch you've just read and he took the news calmly. The problem is why would a dedicated rugger give up his All Blacks competition, which brands him as sort of a god over there, to try out for NFL special teams, at minimal salary? Besides, ruggers get paid now.
Richard's final question: How many NFL linemen could survive rugby? A lot of the sleeker ones, but it would take a special kind of training for a fairly long period.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writ...lbag/index.html