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  Rugby beats football hands down

Rugby beats football hands down

Published : Nov 6, 2015, 9:36 pm IST
Updated : Nov 6, 2015, 9:36 pm IST

Whether the Indian Super League (ISL) has revolutionised football in the country or not is open for debate, but it has certainly succeeded in creating bad blood between rival players.

New Zealand’s All Blacks rugby team players share a joke at an official welcome reception for the team. (Photo: AFP)
 New Zealand’s All Blacks rugby team players share a joke at an official welcome reception for the team. (Photo: AFP)

Whether the Indian Super League (ISL) has revolutionised football in the country or not is open for debate, but it has certainly succeeded in creating bad blood between rival players. Match after match has been witnessing ugly scenes. From showing scant respect to the referee to launching leg-breaking tackles to mass brawling, players in the ISL are violating the spirit of the game with gay abandon. It would be unfair to single out ISL players for blame because boorish behaviour is par for the course in football all over the world.

The rugby World Cup which culminated in the glorious coronation of the All Blacks at Twickenham, England, last week cast an unwitting light on the ills afflicting football. The provenance of football and rugby may be the same but the two sports don’t have common familial traits as far as the behaviour of players is concerned. Hard tackles are the bread and butter of rugby players but hardly do they show malice. No praise would be too high for the person who said “rugby is a hooligans’ game played by gentlemen and football is a gentlemen’s game played by hooligans.”

Nothing is abhorred at in rugby more than faking injury. Feigning injury, on the other hand, is a cottage industry in football. When rugby players spill blood on the field they indeed do without complaining. In football, however, going to the ground is often a ruse to get a free kick or a penalty. There are renowned actors who can get an opponent booked or expelled without breaking a sweat. Winning is also important in rugby but winning at any cost isn’t. An act like the Luis Suarez handball at the 2010 World Cup is unheard of in rugby because winning fair and square is ingrained in its practitioners from a young age. Without inbuilt honesty, rugby can’t have come a long way since its elitist early days.

Rugby players, especially those in the front row, are intimidating beasts, physically. But they don’t throw their weight around with the referee. The official’s word is unfailingly final and he is never shouted at or pushed around. All Black heroes Richie McCaw and Dan Carter ooze class and warmth and the two owe those qualities to their sport. There could be rare black sheep in rugby too but they would only be an exception rather than the rule.

Why should football be different from rugby A tendency to condone thuggish acts and dishonest methods on the field as a will to win is prevalent in football. Lionising cheats and reckless tacklers only perpetuates egregious gamesmanship and career-threatening injuries. Football will not be any less beautiful in the absence of blatant cheating. And, the determination to win should be distilled from the diabolical urge to win by hook or by crook.