**TL;DR - Rugby should be more popular, it is more entertaining and exciting to watch than football** Football is a great sport both to play and watch. It is a sport that unites communities and is an escape for many people. However, I believe Rugby should be more popular as it does these things in a more [exciting and entertaining way.] (https://www.ruck.co.uk/15-reasons-why-being-a-rugby-supporter-is-better-than-being-a-football-supporter/) - Fans and Experience One of the greatest things rugby has over football is the fan experience. Unlike football, rugby supporters are not segregated but are mixed all together. This means you make friends with the oppositions and it lightens the experience. At rugby games you can also drink alcohol! Rugby fans are often very merry during games and it makes the experience even better. Rugby is also a game for all shapes and sizes. There is a position in the team for anyone and is a very inclusive game and not as violent as it is often labelled. - The Game There are many adaptations of the game. Football only really varies by how many players are on the pitch. However there is Rugby Union, Rugby League, Rugby Sevens, Touch Rugby and Wheelchair Rugby. There are so many different variations of the game to get involved with. There are also many ways to score points in rugby unlike just goals in football. In rugby you can score trys, conversations, penalties and drop goals. There are also many things that keep the game interesting that do not exist in football. Football gets exciting when a penalty is taken however this happens in rugby AND MORE! Line-outs, scrums and rucks make the game more interesting. - World Cup and Tournaments As an England fan, we have been waiting since 1966 for another world cup win, however the Rugby team won in 2003. It gives more hope to fans that the team can perform well and win important tournaments (maybe ignoring this years awful 6 nations performances haha). During tournaments as well there is much more respect for the referee in rugby than in football. Referee Nigel Owens has become a fan favourite for his funny lines and authoritative demeanour. This respect for the referees is something that I think football could learn from.

**TL;DR** - **Football's simplicity makes it a global sport.** Perhaps the greatest strength of football is that its core concept can be easily understood and the game can be played almost anywhere. Whether it is in the streets of London or the favelas in Brazil, you will see children playing football because all you need is a ball and you can have a game. With a couple of jumpers for goalposts and a few friends, you're away. Rugby, conversely, is more difficult to play casually. It needs a different ball, more people and a more specialised pitch. It is not really possible to play rugby anywhere. Likewise, the rules are complicated and the vocabulary accompanying it is strange. Why is it called a 'ruck' when it appears to just be a pile of people fighting over a ball? Football is also not lacking in characters. Whether it is the Sky Sports duo of Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher or outspoken legends like Eric Cantona and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, there are personalities to be found in all areas of football. Let's not forget José Mourinho or Roy Keane as well. To that end, Rugby just lacks the wide spread appeal of football. Perhaps this can be linked to the fact that rugby's origins are tied to an English public school of the same which gives the sport connotations of elitism. Football, meanwhile, continues to grow across the world. Just look at the young American players emerging (Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Gio Reyna). If football is managing to infiltrate the insular sporting world of the USA, then it clearly has a global appeal that rugby has never managed to garner for itself.