Yes there are some guys in the NFL who couldn't hope to compete in a sport with much more continuous movement like either code of rugby, simply because their positions on an NFL side require them to have strength, size and technique above speed or stamina.

If you want to see a supreme athlete however, look no further than an elite NFL linebacker - these guys have the size of a front row forward, the agility of a threequarter and the brain of a halfback all rolled into one.

As for "namby pamby", try running across the middle of the field, eyes on the ball leaving the quarterback's hands, knowing that at any point once the ball gets in your general vicinity you are potentially going to get levelled by someone you didn't even know was there until they hit you.

There's a reason NFL players wear all that padding, and it's not because they're soft.

My grandfather ( a life long St. Helens man ) born in 1910, used to tell tales of Tom Van Vollenhoven jumping over defenders to score tries. As i grew up, i started to take some of his stories with a pinch of salt, and i really did not believe his tale of him being at Knowsley Road when a "chap called Atkinson, kicked a goal from his own 20 yard line".....years after his death i read in the Guinness book of records that this was actually a true story.