Could rugby ever be as global as basketball or even football?

[Tooting Carmen]

Could there ever be a time when rugby matches between Pakistan and Peru would be considered as interesting and important as those between New Zealand and South Africa? At a minimum, could we at least see Fiji, Samoa, Japan and maybe some others being upgraded to Tier One status? They are certainly not really worse than Scotland, Italy or Argentina.

 

[Leinster Fan]

Doubt it.

Not sure I want it to be either, if I'm completely honest.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Basketball isn't completely global either.

It will never be Football size though.

 

[bushytop]

Basketball isn't completely global either.

oh I dunno, that annual Pakistan vs Peru game generates quite the buzz!

 

[Tooting Carmen]

Basketball isn't completely global either.

Much more than is rugby though. It is important in many countries in the Americas, Asia and Europe.

It will never be Football size though.

No, probably not.

 

[Tooting Carmen]

Doubt it.

Not sure I want it to be either, if I'm completely honest.

Do you actually think the parochialism and self-interest in terms of how rugby is run is a good thing?

 

[Rinkadink]

Probably not either from a playing perspective due to the contact nature of the sport. For soccer all you need is a ball and you can have fun on any surface. From a TV/fan/viewing perspective it could potentially do a basketball or better in time and with the right marketing.

 

[Leinster Fan]

Do you actually think the parochialism and self-interest in terms of how rugby is run is a good thing?

No.

But soccer has governance problems that go far beyond anything rugby has ever seen. Being a bigger sport won't fix that.

Basketball is a global sport compared to rugby but the USA dominates it in a way that not even the All Blacks could dream it.

There's nothing wrong with having a sport that's primarily played in 10 or so countries.

 

[bushytop]

'If' rugby ever 'breaks' America... maybe. Big IF though.

Never as big as football though.

 

[mdaclarke]

I don't think it will ever expand meaningfully beyond the current crop of nations.

The US and Canada have Gridiron codes and the because of the complexity of the rules you need investment for expert coaching which means that a lot of poorer nations will struggle.

I think the 2 areas to concentrate on are Russia and Brazil. I could see Brazil building up to be almost to the standard of Argentina and I think Russia could get to a good standard.

Possibly also Uruguay and Namibia, but apart from that hold on to what we got.

 

[Tooting Carmen]

I don't think it will ever expand meaningfully beyond the current crop of nations.

The US and Canada have Gridiron codes and the because of the complexity of the rules you need investment for expert coaching which means that a lot of poorer nations will struggle.

Well the Pacific islands are already strong forces in Sevens, as are the US and Canada for that matter. Time to translate it into the full XV code.

I think the 2 areas to concentrate on are Russia and Brazil. I could see Brazil building up to be almost to the standard of Argentina and I think Russia could get to a good standard.

Russia maybe. Brazil have played Argentina dozens of times and lost every time, sometimes by as much as 100+ points. Never mind how they'd be against other higher-ranked Tier One nations.

Possibly also Uruguay and Namibia, but apart from that hold on to what we got.

More a case of improve those we got.

 

[Tooting Carmen]

No.

But soccer has governance problems that go far beyond anything rugby has ever seen. Being a bigger sport won't fix that.

Yes and no. Soccer may have more corruption, but rugby is governed and dominated by too few countries that deliberately like to keep it in the family. In particular, the highly biased and subjective refereeing needs an awful lot of reform.

Basketball is a global sport compared to rugby but the USA dominates it in a way that not even the All Blacks could dream it.

Spain, Greece, Brazil, Argentina and maybe some other countries might dispute that...

There's nothing wrong with having a sport that's primarily played in 10 or so countries.

So you do like rugby's parochialism then?

 

[TheOvalBall]

The Rugby World Cup in the USA needs to happen.

 

[Don't Skip Leg Day]

I don't see sports changing much to be honest, rugby night grow a little bit it will never overtake American football in America or football 'soccer' in England or the other European counties.

I want rugby league, union and American football mixed into one amazing game.

Just keep all the rules of union and get rid everything else .

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

I'd like to see rugby grow but realistically, it'll never be at the level of football or basketball.

At best, MLR, SLAR, the new Japanese league and GRR take off so players from tier 1 and tier 2 nations (God, I hate that term) can be properly compensated for putting their bodies on the line every week.

Pessimistically, Super Rugby is dying as a competition and rugby in Australia is on life support. Europe is going to suck all the top players in it's direction and Sanzaar nations will be forced to pick players based in Europe because the trickle north will become a flood.

 

[Derpus]

It would take at least 50 years and we probably won't be playing the sport at all in about 20 given what we are learning about CTE.

 

[Cruz_del_Sur]

Basketball, it could. Football, impossible. There are structural constraints. Football can be "played" with a minimal infrastructure that is unrivaled. 2 kids, a 3x2 mts room, and a bottle cap and you have a 1v1 footie game.
Hard to compete with that.

 

[miccloarch]

Basketball, it could. Football, impossible. There are structural constraints. Football can be "played" with a minimal infrastructure that is unrivaled. 2 kids, a 3x2 mts room, and a bottle cap and you have a 1v1 footie game.
Hard to compete with that.

I played rugby on a concrete floor with my brother when we were kids because we didn't have a garden. Kids won't lack for desire if the sport is promoted properly.

 

[Cruz_del_Sur]

I played rugby on a concrete floor with my brother when we were kids because we didn't have a garden. Kids won't lack for desire if the sport is promoted properly.

Desire helps, but you need more to make the sport massive. You need opportunity and football has more of that than any other medium/big team sport.
The opportunity helps to build that desire.

I've played both sports since I was a kid, many times in ridiculous circumstances. It is way easier to do so in football, and safer, hands down. It is one of the reasons football is the most popular sport on the planet. The rules are, in general, way simpler too.
In any way, I don't think our personal experiences can be extrapolated here.

 

[miccloarch]

Desire helps, but you need more to make the sport massive. You need opportunity and football has more of that than any other medium/big team sport.
The opportunity helps to build that desire.

I've played both sports since I was a kid, many times in ridiculous circumstances. It is way easier to do so in football, and safer, hands down. It is one of the reasons football is the most popular sport on the planet. The rules are, in general, way simpler too.
In any way, I don't think our personal experiences can be extrapolated here.

Rugby will never be as big as football. Not disputing that. But that probably has more to do with football getting a global "head start" than the complexity of the rules. Look at the States. "Soccer" still hasn't really picked up there yet the NFL is huge with all its ridiculous rules. Kids just want to be like their heroes on TV. They'd all play roller hockey if that was the most popular sport.