Could NFL players hold their own in a game of Rugby?

[CoMoChief]

If you got a bunch of NFL badasses and taught them how to play Rugby do you think they could pick the game up quickly and do you think they'd eventually become dominant against other current competition? I know you have to be made of steel and tough as nails to play the sport and it's ridiculously physically demanding etc.

Or do you think they'd get roughed up too much since they're no pads etc...

Thoughts?

[Cheater5]

It would take more than eight weeks for an all-NFL team to get up to speed and 'dominate' in Rugby. I played football my entire life as well as college for two years. I switched to Rugby later in college, and played in the military for a few years. Had the opportunity to play in Germany on a German club, and while in Sinai Egypt against a team from NZ/AUS, and Fiji... I was schooled. The Fijians were laughing at us and beat us by more than 70. The Germans were on another level.

One thing many folks who have not played don't understand, Rugby isn't about dominating the line of scrimmage (scrum, or ruck) as much as it is about pure passing. The Fijians were unbelievably quick and adept at passing. The New Zealand/Aussie team were no where near our size/strength, but were very disciplined and beautiful at moving the ball down field.

Yes, NFL players as individuals could do well after a few weeks of practice and hold their own. An entire side (team) made up of NFL football players would need a complete season before they could even hope to be respectable.

Check out Dhani Jones (Former NFL Linebacker for the Eagles, Bengals and Saints) who played with a club team in the UK--- his quote "I've got more lactic acid in my body, than I ever had after a football game...that's a fact." This is a bunch of bartenders, truck drivers, and bankers he's playing with.

[LoneWolf]

It looked to me that after only a couple of practices that Dhani Jones did more than hold his own.

[Cheater5]

Originally Posted by LoneWolf

It looked to me that after only a couple of practices that Dhani Jones did more than hold his own.

He played ten minutes and made two tackles. Some folks on here posit that NFL linebackers, TEs, and defensive backs would dominate in their first outing. At the time this was filmed, Blackheath Rugby Club was the 28th ranked club in the UK, and this match was against the 32nd ranked club... Of amateurs. In a country five times smaller than our own.

Creative editing aside the only thing they could highlight was a 'spectacular tackle' that he made, which happens every few seconds in a normal match. He was an NFL Linebacker- I am pretty sure he could be expected to have made at least a few against some scrubby white guys who shovel shite for a day job.