Comparison of Gaelic football and rugby union
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A comparison of Gaelic football and rugby union is possible because of certain similarities between the codes, as well as the numerous dissimilarities.
Until the mid-1990s, both codes were strictly amateur. The highest level of Gaelic Football remains amateur, whereas rugby union now offers professional and semi-professional levels of competition. Players have successfully made the transition to top levels in both codes, and because rugby union is played at the professional level, there is a financial lure for players to switch from Gaelic football to rugby union. A small number have made the journey the other way.
Both codes are organised on an all-Ireland basis, with provincial bodies.
Rugby union has a number of set pieces, such as line-outs, scrums and rucks that do not have direct equivalents in Gaelic football. Gaelic football aims at a more open kind of play, and as such falls between rugby and soccer.