Rugby and American football are similar. A team of people try move a ball down a field, there’s a lot of tackling, they score tries or touchdowns, and they kick goals.
There are also many differences, such as backward-only passing in rugby versus forward-passing in American football, Another difference is the topic of today’s post: Blocking vs. Obstruction.
In American football when the ball carrier is running up the field, their team mates can run alongside them and “block” opponents from attempting a tackle. The more opponents blocked, the better.
In rugby when the ball carrier is running up the field, their team mates cannot block opponents from attempting a tackle. If they do, this is considered an “obstruction”. In contrast to American football, the rugby player needs to face the opposition alone. If a defending player obstructs repeatedly, they get a yellow card and are sent to the “sin bin” for 10 minutes.
I love how in one sport an action is celebrated, whereas in the other sport the exact same action is considered foul play.
Extending this idea beyond sport, it always pays to know what game we’re playing.