Stephan Herbst, who was just named Head Coach at Walsh University, has been severely injured while playing Rugby League for the NCR Ruby League All-Stars Vegas 9s Rugby League Festival in Nevada.
As part of a promotional deal with National Rugby League (NRL) in Australia, which runs an annual event in Las Vegas, NCR put together an all-star team that they selected after NCR's Rugby Union all-star weekend. The idea was to offer scouting opportunities for these players who might want to play professional Rugby League.
However, Rugby League and Rugby Union have some fundamental differences in how they are played and officiated. One of the key differences is the offside line. When a tackle occurs, the team with possession has the tackled player stand up and heel the ball back to a scrumhalf (called the dummy half) who runs or passes.
Meanwhile, the defense retreats to five meters from the tackle. When the ball is out, the defense advances quickly, and the ballcarriers do also. It results, very often, in a massive collision of bodies. This is not to judge whether that's a good idea or not, but it is fundamentally different from Rugby Union.
The second major difference is that what would be considered a high or dangerous tackle in Union is not considered high or dangerous in League. A tackle high on the shoulder that slides up into the head area is not necessarily considered a dangerous tackle in Rugby League.
