Why I followed League more than Union as a Kid

As a kid, I started out following Rugby Union, but in the 1990s because much more into Rugby League via the NRL. But eventually made my way back to Union, what happened, why?
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[@garethfergusson9538]

It's kinda like only wanting to eat chicken nuggets and watch cartoons as a kid, but as you get older you mature and enjoy proper food and read books 😂

[@jacqloock]

You mean to have a Kirwinesque mind

[@D4N1CU5]

Grew up in NSW and QLD the late 80's and 90's so everybody I knew watched NRL and the State of Origin was a real event where everyone would watch and talk about it at school the next day. I used to catch the odd wobs game here or there but nobody I knew was into Union until I went to uni and met a guy from Zimbabwe who was a big boks fan and we used to watch a fair bit of SR and tests when we shared a house together. That game at Suncorp where the boks lost 49-0 to the wobs was the first test match I ever went to, I think it might have been the first time my friend had ever seen the boks live too. Unfortunate for him 🤣

[@aaronmoore9417]

I was the same - I grew up watching NRL on TV in the 90's when New Zealand didn't have a team in the comp. I loved the glitz and glamour - the teams had cool names like the Panthers, and the Sea Eagles with larger than life players. Blocker Roach, Mal Meninga, Ian Roberts - it was like the Gladiators show. There didn't seem to be a lot of rugby on TV - it felt like we only saw the odd test series with the AB's which was good, but the NRL had games on every week. I think I switched to Rugby after they turned professional but it was funny seeing the NZRFU struggle with player salaries and brand endorsements. League contracts or rogue competitions became a real threat. Will never forget Jonah Lomu's MacDonalds Megafeast TV ad - he changed the way we looked at our All Black players.

[@sbwmakavelli3833]

The more league videos, the more I’m here for it 😂

[@mattyisack1]

I love and play both. Your last video was spot on. NRL is much better as a week to week competition, but international rugby is just special. I don't get these arguments about league being too stop start. There are waaaaaaay too many stoppages in union. Constantly resetting scrums and blowing penalties is incredibly frustrating to watch. There is so much standing around. You need to be a lot fitter to play rugby league. You see plenty of league players switch to union and dominate, but never see it the other way around. That says a lot.

[@KissellMissile]

Average distance covered is about 1km more in League over Union, with high intensity minutes not significantly higher (Austin, 2014). There is about a 15% difference, but it is not as big as it is often made out to be.

[@paulywalnutz5855]

alot of nrl players make the switch to league from union but they need to start early

[@098saw]

I wonder what were the number of people going from union to league in the amateur days?

[@peadarr]

It’s just tackle touch

[@keoniwright3647]

I'm an American and a rugby union dude through and through primarily bc I played the game and I was far too intelligent to play league. I love your channel, so don't take this as a jab ... I recently started watching league content (highlights and TV punditry) to see what they are all about. And one thing is for sure, they don't ever talk about rugby union. Yet, union pods, pundits, and legends of the game mention league a ton. The other week, The Breakdown featured a Top 5 tries segment and #1 was a league try. It was an amazing try, but you won't see the All Blacks featured on Fox League or AUS Wide World of Sports EVER lol... Begs the question, is there really a competition between the two sports, or has Union created a narrative to distract from rampant mismanagent issues? I don't think the NRL is Union's biggest problem.

[@hyonimarru]

Funny part is that league is big in Australia and New Zealand, and parts of England. Other than that, not really big anywhere. It is irritating that analyst talk about league so much. It probably confuses people getting into rugby too.

[@fleshen]

It's a thing in SH (Minus SA) because League is a direct threat to Union, but you very rarely get chat about League from NH pundits and shows as League isn't a threat up here!

[@hyonimarru]

@@fleshen Good point.

[@jakeclough8090]

Yeah it’s only a pacific thing. No one talks about league up here in the north. Even where league arguably has had more impact with the likes of borthwick and Andy Farrell and Kevin sinfield, league is mentioned a lot less. Mostly because people just not care about it. It’s not like Australia where the regions overlap. If anything in England it’s solely union in the south and then overlaps in the north so maybe they talk about union in their league podcasts and top tries up there 😂😂

[@FightTheMachine]

I think it is because Aus and NZ gained alot of play tactics from league back in the early 90's and 80's. League was professional and Union not. So there is an identity in playing style linked to league. If Union becomes more like League then Aus and NZ would benefit in cause of their playing style currently in Union. (Not that they are not already good at Union - just that they will benefit from a more league style of Union).

[@footyfin]

My father switched from ru to RL .... I switched from RL to ru .... And now back to RL ... although don't mind watching some Ru games ... But most SRP games are pretty ordinary so far this year!👌

[@ChrisBrown-or8ky]

Always a fan of both. There was no union club where i grew up, so played and watched league when i was little. But dad's a union man so always watched the big games and i was playing union from 9. I'll always prefer a good game of union to a good game of league due to the intricacies, scrums, but I'm a die hard Kiwis supporter, never miss a game, and NRL is wildly unpredictable compared to club union

[@dave98765]

I was much the same. I watched most games on TV with Mum and Dad. I even played a few games for my high school, until I went to the wrong training session due to a vague message at roll call (footy training today). Turned out it was for a 7s tournament, but it was enough for me to be converted. Played union all through high school and have only really watched union games and State of Origin since. Even Dad who was a die hard league fan felt obliged to watch a few games. It didn't click with him until he asked me, "Is there no f$#@$ng offside in this game?" Yeh, last feet. After that he was hooked and watched more union games than league.

[@Manihiki275Ez]

Love both codes! only started watching league because of the Warriors but since then (Day1) been on the NRL gravy train!

[@caintindal1671]

Why I changed to union when I was 18 years old as a Aussie wants a played the game and I also played league as a kid. It was faster and had alot more technique required for set pieces. The two things for me there was no contest in the scrum they are a waste of time and it 2 third of the league tries came from the bomb and I have not seen one set play in league game for like 10 years. The biggest thing for me league is a easier to learn. Union is a very technical game.

[@charlottescott7150]

Really interesting Mark. I was always into RU and cricket! Probably because they were the sports that were played in the boarding school I lived at (my dad was a teacher there and it was for boys who may have otherwise gone to borstal)

[@jpinkerton89able]

I've gone the other way. Grew up in NZ, played union, went to heaps of Waikato & Chiefs games. Moved to Oz & discovered a lot more league but still stuck to union. Issue with union now is complexity of the game, poor refereeing, too much TMO involvement and no emphasis on scoring tries at the top level. Also doesn't help that the game has eliminated fatigue entirely with 8 forward subs...

[@khankake9576]

Are you travelling to Whangarei for the game?

[@CRUSHENGLISH]

Like both, but there are more facets to union. That said, the continous focus on passing, tackling, running and fitness will make you a better player. Can anyone remember Wigan's Tickenham sevens debut?

[@gezzarandom]

I remember it well, plus Bradford as well a few years later

[@olglez9230]

I'm from the north west of England so league is naturally bigger here, especially in my home town. I played and followed league from about age 9 up until I was 15. Some friends in school talked me into playing for a rugby union club outside of school. I hadn't really seriously looked at the sport and the rules were bizarre to me. It took me 3-4 games to really begin to understand it. I prefer union but still have a lot of respect for league and think the two can learn from each other

[@benrobinson375]

I never watched rugby at all growing up, but none of my family was into it either, which as a kiwi would have made me a bit of an outlier. It wasn't until the 2011 RWC that I got into union, and last year I watched a bit of league. I can certainly see the appeal of league to kids more, but its just not as complex as union.

[@simon.hughes3009]

I enjoy both games

[@nepiahemopo1702]

Union was the game played at High school. A growing number played both codes, Saturday union and Sunday league. So many great players emerged in both codes.

[@kareempotts8813]

I'm 52 n union all the way...but thru the 80s,Winfield times,loved it.Brent Todd,Matthew ridge,Quentin ponga(sorry Megan if I've spelt that wrong)all about it.flash n colors n loud...awesome

[@n-tertainmentx-tended4760]

What I don't like about league is that all the players are 5'11 - even the forwards. I like the variety of union.

[@peadarr]

What’s going on with your lighting? it seems to isolate from blue to reddish tint every minute or so

[@JackKinross]

Enjoy both, the points of difference and the similarities make the comparison interesting but a good footy team is a good footy team, full stop. The Panthers at the moment are entering the legendary bracket while when you look at the resurgence of the Boks in the last 5 years, yeah, there's always great stories in both games. Like you I loved the hype around the pro aspect of League when I was young and was happy when Union changed, we're lucky to have the entertainment of both downunder.

[@itistrue101]

its like playing checkers before you play chess

[@zakka2047]

always preferred league its just faster paced, flowing, bigger hits and more exciting to watch, i think rugby is more fun to play and more tactical but too many things slow the game down and it makes it a lesser spectator sport. no rugby match on earth can touch the nail biting state of origin games in the 80's and 90's.

[@jakeclough8090]

Mate those games in the last World Cup beat any league match ever played 👍

[@antss3309]

The kiwis kangaroos in the semi final in the last world cup would disagree, the fitness needed to even last 20 mins in that game was out of this world, should have been the final. Also any early 90s state of origin series would also disagree......

[@clemfandango619]

Bigger hits from much smaller men.

[@alexbarclay9615]

Somebody hasn’t seen the 6 nations

[@zakka2047]

true and i could still tell you what 3 teams are top half of the ladder.

[@freetimefoster]

I love both codes. However, in this part of the world Union is a difficult watch due to its relative predictability and structure. SR only gets exciting during the knockouts. NRL is exciting throughout because you genuinely don't know who is going to win each game. Watching my 'canes isn't that exciting since there is nothing riding on the game, they're gonna finish in the top 8

[@alexbarclay9615]

The problem you guys have down south is the loss of the South Africans. Super rugby used to be amazing when I was a kid but now it’s pretty boring unless you’re lucky to be from Britain and get to watch the drua play at home

[@johnsimpson5377]

Growing up in 70s Australia, me and my mates all played union, but we all watched league exclusively on TV. The Wallabies weren't on our radar. And you could only watch maybe 1-2 Shute Shield (Sydney union) games per month on the ABC, filmed by one camera seemingly a mile away in the stands. Go the Ratties!

[@clemfandango619]

I didn't even know league existed until I was 13. 'Oh, there's rugby on tv, hang on a minute, something's gone terribly wrong'.

[@chrismullan2125]

As an Irishman it's only ever been Union for me. I would occasionally watch the likes of a St Helens or Warrington rugby league game but it's a novelty, no interest in the game. The provincial aspect is great in Ireland and the whole island uniting behind the rugby team is special ☘️

[@clemfandango619]

How do you feel about an ex chicken Scratcher coaching your national team?

[@davidspendlove5900]

I prefer union and the more technical side to it.The state of origin league games I really enjoy though.I remember back in the mid nineties here in England we had the cross code games between Bath the union champs v Wigan the league champs.One game of union , one game of league.This was fascinating, Wigan slaughtered Bath in the league game and Bath won the union game albeit by a much smaller margin.Sean Edwards playing for Wigan at that time.The league players were of course professionals at that time.Wigan were then invited to play a sevens tournament which they of course won , I think league teams are suited to playing sevens.

[@alexbarclay9615]

The Bath Wigan game would be much different now I reckon. Mainly because of the skill set improvement in union and we’ve got Finn

[@colshivers8018]

A very Anakin Skywalker like redemption journey there Mark 😆

[@alexbarclay9615]

I’d argue Darth Vader

[@dane1056]

Tina Turner colab in the early 90s was the greatest thing ever.

[@FightTheMachine]

In South Africa (I'm South African) League gets laughed at. It is incredibly annoying when Aus and NZ pundits keep pushing Union to be more like League. No one in the world outside of Aus and NZ likes or cares for it. I've tried to watch League myself just to see and it feels like a "soft" form of rugby. Almost like 7's. NFL in the US is incredibly stop/start and tactical and yet it is bigger (Financially/commercially) than most football codes (excluding soccer). So why the pandering to "make the game more entertaining" by being more like League? It doesn't make any sense unless you are trying to make rugby union more like League. For the love of scrums stop trying to change the game!

[@hyonimarru]

South African here. I agree with you. League is virtually non existent and I doubt the League bosses will try and grow it here due to our extreme loyalty to Union. But also, union speaks to more people because people of all sizes play. A stocky guy weighing 140KG can be as important as a 80 KG svelte speedster. It has so many areas of contestations that could determine the trajectory of a game. It is beautiful 😍

[@FightTheMachine]

@@hyonimarru 100%. We love props and locks. They make the game special and unique to other football codes.

[@Manihiki275Ez]

Rugby League is a laughing stock in SA so why do the boks use rugby league defensive tactics!? The current up and in defense or rush/pengelim or shift defenses are rugby league originated. Almost every team in world rugby has copied it accept for the All Blacks! Keeping the ball in play speeds up the game makes it more exciting - but I mean if you like the stop/start game then that's your preference! and the NFL is totally different the stop/start is for ads revenue it's literally the most commercialised game of any sport in the world! I love the NFL but the intermissions in between downs gets annoying sometimes.

[@usarugbyleagueunionfan]

@@Manihiki275EzI guarantee you 95% of SA Rugby fans have no clue the 50/22 (40/22 came from NRL) or the goal line drop out after the ball has been held up came from Rugby League. You’re right on the defensive schemes.

[@keithratcliffe2235]

We call Ru communal sumo wrestling interspersed with penalties.

[@naisyjohns]

Me too. My reason for following league back then was one person: Stacey Jones

[@hcamp74]

I'm the complete opposite. I was a Weetabix card kid and could name every Northland player throughout the years. Then in early teen years I moved to QLD with my family and everything was Rugba Leg.

[@jakeclough8090]

So now you watch the small man easy code?

[@peeoconnor4238]

Grew up playing and watching both, a lot more people watching league over rugby now

[@AdrianKerr]

League is a good watch

[@jakeclough8090]

For people with double digit IQs maybe

[@4evaavfc]

I used to follow Easts in the day, but when the NRL restructured in the early 90s I lost interest. I prefer union these days, should be a good match tomorrow in the capital, Chiefs vs Canes. Hopefully, the weather relents

[@RRTNZ]

Always preferred Union, tried to get into League, but it just never worked for me. A great sport but a bit repetitive for my taste. Union is a more tactical and complicated game, and there's something poetic about it. League is definitely easier to understand, and modern Unions rules are getting too confusing for fans and players alike.

[@alexbarclay9615]

Not to mention the refs

[@fleshen]

I'm not a fan of League because I'm old enough to remember when the Northern League sides would pillage the Welsh players 😄! It's an ok game but it's just nit for me, its a bit like NFL I can watch 2-3 minutes of highlights and that's it!

[@PatstarDeluxe]

I was the same too, everyone I knew was. I stopped watching league after the Super League split and haven't watched it since, really.

[@spancherBob]

Rugby union is much better. There are no stupid artificial possession restrictions, no simulated scrum. You just play until they take the ball away from you. It's fair and clear. In addition, there are many interesting elements - scrums, lineouts, mauls, rucks

[@mike70377]

The complexities of rugby are what make me enjoy it more too. I watch league every now and then and really enjoy it for a bit. But the league style of play gets a bit one dimensional and stale.

[@tonyw9803]

Both.

[@BeRobn]

League may pander to women too much but its still working class, Rugby is more upper class.

[@spancherBob]

January 28, 2010 By order of the Russian Ministry of Sports, rugby league was excluded from the list of officially recognized sports in Russia.

[@readesiun988]

In Ireland League just isn't a thing, I had to google it to see is it even played in the country. Apparently it is, but it is an obscure sport. I have tried every decade or so to watch it and just can't stand it. The idea that you kick possession away after 5 or six plays, is just beyond frustrating to take and the uncontested scrum, frankly is just embarrassing, Union all the way in the NH except for Northern England, where I believe it is popular.

[@paulywalnutz5855]

rugby league is objectively better, particularly nowadays and far more entertaining a spectacle. an average nrl game is a better watch than 90% of rugby games. so many games are in the balance right to the 80th minute. rugby is just way too much stoppage and penalties for the sake of penalties. a good international rugby game is pretty special tho...

[@marksheehan8026]

70s the nrl was really prolific for me , same thing footy cards .. rugby was a waste of time almost didn't exist .. Nrl in OZ was great l traveled all over Sydne to watch the games as a kid .. League seemed to not exist in NZ pre Warriors , though there were heaps of good kiwi players in NRL then . Rugby just before professionalism was great,, the professional Era since has become boring . As 7s has become really professional its become boring ..

[@dustinalessi6602]

As an American the two code clashing is annoying. It’s annoying that league seems to take away talent from Wallabies and other pacific island nations. The best part about rugby union is the international game.

[@rossd6809]

In my eyes league died after the 6 tackle rule came on. It has become so formulistuc. Start on your 10 yard line . 5 forwards runs. And then kick on the 6th that puts you up on the oppositions 10 yard line. Repeat ad nauseum.

[@nealgarner6431]

And they got Tina turner to sing her head off for lot of cash 💰

[@williamlawless9293]

Union paid its players too, they just pretended they didn't.

[@i6Shot]

I'm the opposite. The rule changes to Union have killed the game. Cards galore. Just ruins the contest. League for now still has the toughness although they're trying their hardest to ruin the game.

[@cardmasters7628]

League is repetitive and boring. Nothing happens until the last tackle

[@footyfin]

Whereas in rugby union .... Often nothing of note ever happens ... Except someone maybe kicks a penalty 🤔

[@dimitardobrev3296]

That was my experience too when i tried to watch it. 2D game

[@johnmcdonald-6196]

I’ve always said league is the sport for your friend who’s not too bright and can’t understand more complex strategy.

[@GaelicGuy]

Apparently the NRL are the only ones who can run business though, looking at their income statements. Union people are so intelligent that they lose money 😂😂😂. The complexity is why you struggle to grow and are a niche sport in every country.

[@johnmcdonald-6196]

@@GaelicGuy union is a much bigger sport. The RWC could argue it’s the third biggest sporting event in the world, the RLWC is a sad event which has no global following. The top 15 teams in union are genuinely competitive, the top 3 teams in league (England, Australia, NZ) are the only genuine teams with a bunch of minnows mainly made up of players from the aforementioned countries. Just because league is big in two states of oz and some random northern cities in England doesn’t mean it’s the juggernaut you reckon it is. 😂

[@dimitardobrev3296]

You mis-spelled Tony

[@Dreyno]

*unsubscribes without even watching*

[@ifgfqageneration6939]

Your generation is lost. The true Kiwis are dying out...also if you are running a podcast unions bigger than league world wide so this a good reason to do this for money reasons. Most of your stuff is not authentic you are looking to appeal to the most people thus your magnolia like comments. This is podcasts fullstop in general fake but you are a product of this epoch money.......

[@dimitardobrev3296]

What? The dude is just doing what he loves. Maybe he makes some money, maybe he doesn't. I bet you're of the generation where 1 paycheck could support a whole family. Times are rough for our generation, we have to do what we can to survive. There is nothing fake about that.

[@MeanAzz_13]

*Both!* but no surprises how rugby has definitely *mirrored* League in many ways, as you say, defense is one and definitely the *2nd man play out the back on attack* in rugby these days, something that was never seen in the 80's, 90's and 2000's only changing last 5 years or so.