MovieChat Forums > This Sporting Life (1963) Discussion > football or rugby?

football or rugby?

posted 14 years ago by shurbanm
8 replies | jump to latest

This is the first time I've heard rugby referred to as "football" in a British setting.
Also in the movie the character says something to the effect that stars exist only in soccer not in football.

So is this a change that happened at some point in the language or is it some kind of regional dialect quirk?

I thought "soccer" is only used in the US to refer to the game where you play with your feet actually (football). The rest of the world (especially Britain) it is "football"

Please enlighten me.

[–] youngian67 13 years ago

There are two games of Rugby; Rugby Union and Rugby League (or Rugby Football)

Union is considered the posh game which has its roots as a semi amateur game played at schools by the middle and upper classes in England (although I think it has a more popular fanbase in France and the Southern hemisphere).

Rugby League and has its heartands in the industrial towns of Northern England. It is more professional, faster and involves more kicking hence it is sometimes referred to as Rugby Football. The word soccer is sometimes used and in this film’s context it would be used heavily to distinguish their game from football.

[–] shurbanm 13 years ago

wow that's interesting. and all this time i was blaming americans for this weird naming convention...as usual it's the english :)

[–] SomervilleRed 12 years ago

Yes, as much as the Brits (and others) make fun of us for using it, "soccer" is an English term (from "Association football"). Considering there are Australian football, Canadian football, American football, rugby football, Gaelic football and association football ... it's understandable we'd have different names around the world.

[–] shurbanm 12 years ago

You in Boston by any chance?

[–] seanmaguire1974 12 years ago

As stated above soccer is an English word, Rugby Union is sometimes called Rugger for the same reason (I think it's cambridge 'er'). They're all forms of football but usually the most popular form is called football in that region. Rugby is usually Rugby Union, but can be used for league just to annoy the unionites.

[–] brupey-1 9 years ago

Wrong. Rugby union has more kicking and is called union or rugby
rugby league is called league, and is much more formulaic and predictable.

[–] Killer_7_ 9 years ago

Rugby League is often called 'Rugby' in the North of England. It's generally referred to as League/Rugby League elsewhere. I prefer League as a game but they're both great in their own ways. Union tends to deteriorate into a scrap, ruck infringement penalty fest too often for my liking.

[–] levitt-97156 7 years ago

league is a far better game.only reason union gets more publicity in the uk is because of the snobbery involved due to the class system in the uk.