New to Rugby. What are some of the club associations/leagues out there?

I live in the US. I grew up an NFL fan. But recently they've been messing with the rules too much and the forecast looks worse. So I'm thinking I will be jumping ship very soon. There's nothing inherently wrong with changing the rules, especially if its to make the game more challenging in modern times. Its just the types of rule changes that are being made by the NFL to cover their a$$ legally - because they screwed themselves long ago by not introducing any kind of legal waver for players - and to make the game more pass happy and easier for offenses to score without fear of a defender hitting them too hard. That kind of stuff is turning me away from it. I've been watching rugby on and off for about 5 or 6 yrs. But I only ever see international competitions. Don't get me wrong, they're great. But I have more been seeking club rugby. Very curious to see that. Also, no Rugby league. Rugby union to me is more entertaining.
Answers

Leafsfan29-Embrace the drought!

First off, rugby (either code) has rather strict head injury assessment protocols. For union, the issue of how to deal with scrums has been an ongoing issue for the last 20 years. But, we digress. In the US, MLR (Major League Rugby) is a domestic competition with clubs in the US and Canada. If you want to play rugby, use your search engine of choice to find clubs nearby. Most, if not all openly welcome new players. All you really need is shorts, a pair of cleated shoes (soccer cleats are fine most of the time), and desire to play the game. Outside of North America, the Gallagher Premiership is the main domestic comp in England. The Top 14 is the same for clubs in France, with remaining countries playing in the Pro14. The best clubs play concurrently in the Heineken Champions Cup (think Champions League soccer, but rugby). All four comps play league matches culminating in Grand Finals for each one; European seasons run from September-late May/early June. In the Southern Hemisphere, Super Rugby is the main domestic competition featuring regional sides from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina and Japan. They play weekly games from Feb-Jun featuring a Grand Final.

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