Exactly. You just cannot compare Rugby to soccer. Most Rugby games are exciting. Occasionally, like the final, you get two well matched teams who just cancel each other out. Soccer is not a good game because there are too many cheaters, or divers, whichever you prefer, inconsistent refereeing and now inconsistent VAR decisions.
With Rugby you hear consistently what is going on. There doesn't seem to be many wrong decisions.
Fair play to you , you say you cannot compare rugby to Football and immediately proceed to do so !
The football World Cup final featured two well matched teams In Argentina and France who went on to produce a game for the ages viewed by 1.5 billion featuring a level of skill by both teams as compared to it’s Rugby equivalent which was physically attritional and exciting but the rugby itself was mediocre.
I read a surprising statistic that all the knockout games were lost by teams who spent more time with the ball in hand with the likes of South Africa employing a blitz defence , tastical kicking and bone shuddering tackles , welcome to Catennacio rugby .
The humiliating defeats suffered by Namibia , Chile ,Italy , Romania and Uruguay have prompted World Rugby to make radical changes for the next World Cup - yes they’re increasing the number of teams by 4 instead of decreasing the number of teams to ensure more competitive games !
The one change to rugby laws that should change immediately is the lowering of the legal height of the tackle to waist high level as in the amateur game before it is becomes unavoidable as a result of the upcoming multi million lawsuits being pursued by retired Rugby players suffering from early onset dementia .
It was regrettable to read of the death threats against Wayne Barnes but the decision made by the team of officials to send off Cane and not Kolisi seemed remarkably inconsistent triggering the usual moronic outpourings.
Sure Football is the most venal sport on the planet due in no small part due to it’s dominance and the vast quantities of money involved but the popularity of the game continues to expand exponentially nonetheless due to the fact that it dominates in terms of tv coverage and media reporting and most importantly that people appreciate the beauty of the game .
Sure there is a minority of cheaters and divers in the game but VAR has ultimately made diving for penalties a no win game , people seems to forget that Football is such a pacy game that the slightest touch sends players to ground.
It should also be remembered that rugby has produced players like Dylan Hartley , Trevor Brennan,Danny Greenock and Chris Jones who have been sent off for a variety of offences including biting , gouging, stamping, abuse of referees and attacking a fan and who knows what happens in the Southern Hemisphere!
I say this as someone who has attended many rugby games particularly 6 Nations games ( as I have said before on this site not enthusiastically , rather entertaining and being entertained in return by clients of the Bank I worked for ) I find rugby is far less skilful than Football but then any game , with the exception of Hurling, where you can control and pass the ball with your hands is bound to be .
.