Rugby - Union vs. League
The game of Rugby has had a number of evolutions since it was first played in the town of Rugby, England in 1823. None of these was more significant than the splitting of codes into Rugby Union and Rugby League in 1895. While the split was originally initiated for financial reasons, the two codes have evolved differently and are now quite distinct games from each other.
As well as the on-pitch variations, there are also significant cultural and geographical differences between the two codes. In the UK, Rugby Union is predominantly played in Southern England, and is also the dominant code in Wales, Scotland and Ireland. While Rugby League is played in the north of England where it is much more popular than Rugby Union.
In the Southern Hemisphere Rugby League is the more dominant code in Australia (where the National Rugby League (NRL) is extremely popular), but in New Zealand and South Africa Rugby Union takes top spot.
There are six primary playing differences between the two codes which are; the number of players on the pitch, the number of substitutions allowed, restarting after the ball goes out-of-play, ball play after a tackle, the rules on turnovers, and the number of points allocated.
Each of these differences are explained in a little more detail below. I've made the assumption that if you're reading this you already have a basic understanding of Rugby, but if not you might want to do a little background reading first.
Number of players
There are 15 players on each team in Rugby Union but only 13 in Rugby League, with four fewer players on the pitch there is more overall space in Rugby League which can produce more of a running game.
Ball out-of-play
A line out is used in Rugby Union when the ball goes out of play whereas a scrum is used in Rugby League. Having no line out in Rugby League has removed the need to have specialist '2nd-row' players who are usually very tall. As a result Rugby League players are generally more of a uniform size than their Rugby Union counterparts.
Substitutions
Rugby League allows 3 more substitutions than Rugby Union over the course of the game. So, in a game where the full number of substitutions are used, 46 players can compete in a Rugby League game but only 44 in a Rugby Union game.
Ball play after a tackle
Both codes of Rugby have similar rules on tackling, it's what happens after the tackle that is different between the codes. In Rugby League play is restarted after a tackle, but in Rugby Union play continues through either a Ruck (the ball is on the ground) or a Maul (the ball is being carried).
Turnovers
In Rugby League, a team can only be tackled six times before they must pass possession to the opposite team. In Rugby Union, there is no such rule, and the team in possession of the ball can hold onto it for as long as they are able.
Points
Both codes have the same four methods (try, conversion, drop-goal & penalty-goal) of scoring points but are awarded different values for each. In Rugby Union a try is worth 5-points, a conversion 2-points, a drop goal 3-points and a penalty goal 3-points. One of each would total 13-points. In Rugby League a try is worth 4-points, a conversion 2-points, a drop goal 1-point and a penalty goal 2-points. So, a total of 9 points for one of each..