A rugby union match from the 2011 Rugby World Cup showing the sport's distinguishing feature, the ball carrier leads his team up-field passing backwards in the event of a tackleGaelic footballers in action during the 2009 National League final
A comparison of Gaelic football and rugby union is possible because of certain similarities between the codes, as well as the numerous dissimilarities.
Until the mid-1990s, both codes were strictly amateur. The highest level of Gaelic Football remains amateur, whereas rugby union now offers professional and semi-professional levels of competition. Players have successfully made the transition to top levels in both codes, and because rugby union is played at the professional level, there is a financial lure for players to switch from Gaelic football to rugby union. A small number have made the journey the other way.
Both codes are organised on an all-Ireland basis, with provincial bodies.
Rugby union has a number of set pieces, such as line-outs, scrums and rucks that do not have direct equivalents in Gaelic football. Gaelic football aims at a more open kind of play, and as such falls between rugby and soccer.
Pitch
Comparison between both fields
Rugby union
Gaelic football
Both codes use rectangular grassed fields however the Gaelic football pitch has a larger area. A Gaelic football pitch is 130–145 metres long and 80–90 metres wide[1] and are marked at distances of 13 m, 20 m and 45 m from each end-line whereas the Rugby field is as near as possible to a maximum of 144m long by 70m wide.[2] with a maximum of 100m between the two try lines.
Another key difference is the goal posts. Rugby union posts consists of two posts with a crossbar but without a net, whereas Gaelic football consists of two posts with crossbar and a net. The area above the crossbar is used for scoring in both codes, however, only in Gaelic football is the area underneath the posts used for scoring kicks. The goal posts in Gaelic football are narrower and the crossbar is lower.
Ball
Gaelic football ball (left) made by Irish company O'Neills and rugby union ball by Adidas
The obvious difference is the ball used.
Rugby union uses an oval ball (a prolate spheroid), somewhat similar to an American or Australian rules football. This makes a difference in the variety and style of kicking. Rugby union is capable of producing a diverse range of kicking styles.
Gaelic football uses a round ball similar to a football (i.e., soccer ball) or volleyball. The round ball can be kicked anyway you like, inside, outside and middle of your boot. The instep is the most popular style based on culture, the drop punt used in Gaelic is a far superior kick in terms of distance and accuracy but is rarely taught. It is made of 18 stitched leather panels, with a circumference of 69–74cm (27–29in), weighing between 370–425g (13.1–15.0oz) when dry. It may be kicked or hand passed. A hand pass is not a punch but rather a strike of the ball with the side of the closed fist, using the knuckle of the thumb.
Duration
The majority of adult Gaelic football and all minor and under-21 matches last for 60 minutes, divided into two-halves of 30 minutes, with the exception of senior inter-county games which last for 70 minutes (two-halves of 35 minutes). Draws are decided by replays or by playing 20 minutes of extra time (two-halves of 10 minutes). The under-12s have a half of 20 minutes or 25 minutes in some cases. Half-time lasts for about 15 minutes.
A rugby union game is divided into two-halves of 40 minutes (or shorter for lower-grade games) separated by a half time period of up to 15 minutes in an international match. Most notably, a rugby union game will continue after the scheduled end of a half (half-time or full-time) until the ball becomes dead – any occurrence that would have play restart with a scrum or line-out, or when a team scores. This has led to some 'nail-biting' finishes where teams losing by only a small margin work their way towards scoring, and games can go on several minutes over time. The clock is also stopped during substitutions and for injuries, so the referee does not need to add stoppage time.
Advancing the ball
In both games, players must dispose of the ball correctly, by hand or by foot. Gaelic football deems the open hand tap to be legitimate disposal.
Unlike Gaelic football, rugby union has an offside rule. In rugby union, it is illegal to throw (pass) the ball in a forward direction: a player in a position to receive such a pass would in most cases be offside anyway.
Rugby union allows full tackling above the knees and below the shoulders, whereas Gaelic football explicitly disallows tackling. Rugby union rules do not allow tackles above the plane of the shoulders. Only the player who has possession of the ball can be tackled. The attacker must also attempt to wrap his or her arms around the player being tackled: merely pushing the player being tackled to ground with a shoulder is illegal. If a maul or ruck is formed, a player may not "ram" into the formation without first binding to the players.
The level of tackling allowed in Gaelic football is more robust than in association football, but less than rugby union. Shoulder to shoulder contact and slapping the ball out of an opponent's hand are permitted, but the following are all fouls:
Blocking a shot with the foot
Pulling an opponent's jersey
Pushing an opponent
Sliding tackles
Striking an opponent
Touching the goalkeeper when he/she is inside the small rectangle
Tripping
Using both hands to tackle
Wrestling the ball from an opponent's hands
Gaelic football allows "shepherding" or blocking, limited to use on players in possession of the ball. Blocking is illegal in rugby union.
Penalties
In Gaelic football the penalties available (in increasing order of severity) are:
free kicks (loss of possession)
distance penalties (often in multiples of 13 metres)
penalty kicks
black card (for cynical fouls and dissent, player ejected from the game with a replacement allowed)
yellow card (cautioning a player, similar to association football (soccer))
red card (player ejected from the game without replacement, similar to association football (soccer))
Scoring
Rugby union is played between two teams – the one that scores more points wins the game. Points can be scored in several ways: a try, scored by grounding the ball in the in-goal area (between the goal line and the dead ball line), is worth 5 points and a subsequent conversion kick scores 2 points; a successful penalty kick or a drop goal each score 3 points.[3] The values of each of these scoring methods have been changed over the years.[4]
In Gaelic football, if the ball goes over the crossbar, a point is scored and a white flag is raised by an umpire. A point can be scored by either kicking the ball over the crossbar, or by fisting it over in which case the hand must be closed whilst striking the ball. If the ball goes below the crossbar, a goal, worth three points, is scored, and a green flag is raised by an umpire. A goal can only be scored by kicking the ball into the net, not by fist passing the ball into the net. However, a player can strike the ball into the net with a closed fist if the ball was played to him by another player or came in contact with the post/crossbar/ground prior to connection. The goal is guarded by a goalkeeper. Scores are recorded in the format Goal Total-Point Total. To determine the score-line goals must be converted to points and added to the other points. For example, in a match with a final score of Team A 0–21 Team B 4–8, Team A is the winner with 21 points, as Team B scored only 20 points (4 times 3, plus 8).
There is no goalkeeper in rugby union, instead there is a fullback, although it must be said that the fullback in rugby union is not required to guard a goal in the same way that a goalkeeper does. A rugby union fullback generally fields the long range kicks, and makes long range attacks.
Both codes have a maximum of 15 players per side on the field at any one time.
Both sports have their origins in the traditional football games of Europe, with a great deal of formal 19th century codification overlaying them.
Gaelic Football was codified by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in 1887. Gaelic football is thought to have originated with the ancient Irish game of caid. The codification of Gaelic football was partly in response to the growing popularity of Association football and rugby in Ireland.
The code of football later known as rugby union can be traced to three events which occurred in England: the first set of written rules in 1845, the Blackheath Club's decision to leave the Football Association in 1863 and the formation of the Rugby Football Union in 1871. The code was originally known simply as "rugby football." It was not until a schism in 1895, over the payment of players, which resulted in the formation of the separate code of rugby league, that the name "rugby union" was used to differentiate the original rugby code.
Rugby union grounds are used for many other sports, including rugby league, American football and Gaelic football. Rugby union is also notable for promoting the British and Irish Lions, a selection of players from Britain and Ireland rugby team.
Rule 42 (Rule 5.1 in the 2009 rulebook)[5] prohibits the use of GAA property for games with interests in conflict with the interests of the GAA referred to by some as "garrison games" or foreign sports. Current rules state that GAA property may only be used for the purpose or in connection with the playing of games controlled by the association. Sports not considered 'in conflict' with the GAA have been permitted.
On 16 April 2005 the GAA's congress voted to temporarily relax Rule 42 and allow international Association Football and Rugby to be played in the stadium while Lansdowne Road Football Ground was closed for redevelopment.[6] The first soccer and rugby union games permitted in Croke Park took place in early 2007, the first such fixture being Ireland's home match in the Six Nations Rugby Union Championship against France.
Croke Park floodlights in use during a Six Nations Championship: at previous points in Irish history it was against GAA rules for Gaelic football and rugby union to be associated, as they were seen as rival codes
In January 2006, it was announced that the GAA had reached agreement with the FAI and IRFU to stage two Six Nations games and four football internationals at Croke Park in 2007 and in February 2007, use of the pitch by the FAI and the IRFU in 2008 was also agreed.[7] These agreements were within the temporary relaxation terms, as Lansdowne Road was still under redevelopment until 2010. Although the GAA had said that hosted use of Croke Park would not extend beyond 2008, irrespective of the redevelopment progress,[7] fixtures[8] for the 2009 Six Nations rugby tournament saw the Irish rugby team using Croke Park for a third season. 11 February 2007 saw the first Rugby Union international to be played there. Ireland were leading France in a Six Nations clash, but lost 20–17 after conceding a last-minute converted try.
A second match between Ireland and England on 24 February 2007 was politically symbolic because of the events of Bloody Sunday in 1920.[9] There was considerable concern as to what reaction there would be to the singing of God Save the Queen, which was being used as the anthem of the England team. Ultimately the song was sung without interruption or incident, and applauded by both sets of supporters at the match, which Ireland won by 43–13 (their largest ever win over England in rugby).
Rule 27, sometimes referred to as The Ban, banned GAA members from taking part in or watching non-Gaelic games. Punishment for violating this rule was expulsion from the organisation and it remained in place from 1901 until 1971. During that time people such as Douglas Hyde, GAA patron and then President of Ireland, were expelled for attending a soccer international.[10] To circumvent the ban members such as Moss Keane would commonly adopt a false name.[11] The last person to be suspended from the GAA for violating Rule 27 was Liam Madden, an architect and member of Longford GAA in 1969[12]
Rugby union has been an international game since 1871, when Scotland beat England at Raeburn Place in Edinburgh. Ireland entered international competition in 1875, and have played matches continuously ever since. The Rugby World Cup itself is of much more recent origin, dating back to 1987, when invitations were sent out to various national sides. Entry has been through qualifying rounds ever since.
Gaelic football is mostly domestic, although it remains popular in areas with major Irish emigre populations. Although the game is formally organised outside Ireland, there are no true national Gaelic football teams.
However, Gaelic footballers do participate in one form of international competition – international rules football. This is a compromise code between Gaelic football and Australian rules football, so is strictly speaking not Gaelic football, although an Irish national side is picked for it. The earliest game of the International Rules Series was in 1984. These were prefigured by an Australian tour of Ireland in 1967 organised by Harry Beitzel, which played against domestic sides.
Gaelic football, commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kicking or punching the ball into the other team's goal or between two upright posts above the goal and over a crossbar 2.5 metres above the ground.
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of players and much terminology. The same game played by women is called camogie, which shares a common Gaelic root.
Camogie is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and worldwide, largely among Irish communities.
In sport, a goal may refer to either an instance of scoring, or to the physical structure or area where an attacking team must send the ball or puck in order to score points. The structure of a goal varies from sport to sport, and one is placed at or near each end of the playing field for each team to defend. For many sports, each goal structure usually consists of two vertical posts, called goal posts, supporting a horizontal crossbar. A goal line marked on the playing surface between the goal posts demarcates the goal area. Thus, the objective is to send the ball or puck between the goal posts, under or over the crossbar, and across the goal line. Other sports may have other types of structures or areas where the ball or puck must pass through, such as the basketball hoop. Sports which feature goal scoring are also commonly known as invasion games.
International rules football is a team sport consisting of a hybrid of football codes, which was developed to facilitate international representative matches between Australian rules football players and Gaelic football players.
Gaelic games are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling, the most popular of the sports, are both organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). Women's versions of hurling and football are also played: camogie, organised by the Camogie Association of Ireland, and ladies' Gaelic football, organised by the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association. While women's versions are not organised by the GAA, they are closely associated with it but are still separate organisations.
The history of the Gaelic Athletic Association is much shorter than the history of Gaelic games themselves. Hurling and caid were recorded in early Irish history and they pre-date recorded history. The Gaelic Athletic Association itself was founded in 1884.
A comparison of American football and rugby union is possible because of the games' shared origins, despite their dissimilarities.
A comparison between American football and rugby league is possible because of their shared origins and similar game concepts. Rugby league is arguably the most similar sport to American football after Canadian football: both sports involve the concept of a limited number of downs/tackles and scoring touchdowns/tries takes clear precedence over goal-kicking.
The team sports rugby union and rugby league have shared origins and thus many similarities.
A drop goal, field goal, or dropped goal is a method of scoring points in rugby union and rugby league and also, rarely, in American football and Canadian football. A drop goal is scored by drop kicking the ball over the crossbar and between the posts of the goal posts. After the kick, the ball must not touch the ground before it goes over and through, although it may touch the crossbar, the uprights or an opponent. A drop goal in rugby union is worth three points, and in rugby league a drop goal is usually worth one point.
The following is an alphabetical list of terms and jargon used in relation to Gaelic games. See also list of Irish county nicknames, and these are very interesting.
Composite rules shinty–hurling – sometimes known simply as shinty–hurling – is a hybrid sport of shinty and hurling which was developed to facilitate international matches between the two sports.
Australian rules football and Gaelic football are codes of football, from Australia and Ireland respectively, which have similar styles and features of play. Notably both are dominated by kicking from the hand and hand passing as well as rules requiring the ball is bounced by a player running in possession, both have a differentiated scoring system, with higher and lower points values for different scoring shots, both have no offside rule, and both allow more physical contact and players on the field than other football codes - 15 in gaelic football, 18 in Australian Rules.
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word football normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly called football include association football ; gridiron football ; Australian rules football; rugby union and rugby league; and Gaelic football. These various forms of football share, to varying degrees, common origins and are known as "football codes".
A comparison of Canadian football and rugby union is possible because of the games' shared origins, despite their dissimilarities.
A comparison of Canadian football and rugby league football can be made because of their shared origins, resulting in similarities and shared concepts in terms of scoring and advancing the ball. Aside from American football, rugby league is the sport most similar to Canadian football. Both sports involve the concept of a limited number of 'downs'/'tackles', and in both sports scoring 'touchdowns'/'tries' takes a clear precedence over goal-kicking.
Comparison of association football (football/soccer) and rugby union (rugby/rugger) is possible because of the games' similarities and shared origins.
This page discusses scoring in the Gaelic games of hurling, Gaelic football, camogie, ladies' Gaelic football, international rules football and shinty-hurling.
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