I know very little about rugby.
I'm a huge rugby fan ... other than watching the NFL it would be my second favorite sport. The athletes that play rugby - overall - don't tend to be quite as big as the biggest NFL players, and generally not quite as fast. Zammat is one of the fastest rugby players but he clocked a 4.44 on his official pro-day. Fast but not in the 4.2's and 4.3's that the NFL sees. But then he's (genuinely) over 6'2" and 200+ lbs. Rugby is 15 men a side - and the play is continuous and there is one team on the pitch for 80 minutes. 5 subs allowed - once the sub is on the other player can't return. There can be a lot of boring possesion/territory games - but there's always moments of brilliance. The bigggest obstacle with rugby gaining popularity is the rules are hard to learn and follow when casually watching.
Purp - I agree. The upside is potentially big salaries. The downside is short careers and the churn/burn for most backup players. Zammat is young enough at 23 to try the NFL and if he doesn't become a starter in the next 3 years, he can return to rugby at the world level and play for another 6-7 years (assuming no injuries).
