Is Rugby brutal and a lot of running because I’m thinking about doing it?

megalomaniac

Yes and yes. I played for my university. I enjoyed it. It was an amazing total body workout, but I would think twice about it if I did it all again. It's not worth the risk of head injury. I was a loose forward and because of that it is almost impossible to avoid the occasional head shot but I was lucky in that I didn't ever get a full concussion or get knocked out though I witnessed that often enough. Surface wounds and broken bones can heal, brain injuries are a whole different thing. Nobody is tough enough to withstand repeated head (it's not something that you can train for either). I'm not saying don't do it, everyone has to decide for themselves, but one has to go into it with awareness of the potential long term health risks. However, having said all of that I honestly believe that being sedentary is an even bigger risk to one's health. There are however safer and less safe ways to get one's exercise and recreation. Each person has to decide for themself what level of risk they are comfortable with.