Comparison of rugby league and rugby union Australian dual-code rugby international player, has said "Rugby [union] is very complicated and rugby league is much more simple in comparison". England's Chris Ashton, also a dual international, has said that union has "more of a tactical side, more that can happen in a game". Ireland's Tom Court has said "Rugby Union is a complex game with certain closed skills like scrummaging and line-out lifting and rugby league requires a higher level of fitness to compete at the highest level". The two forms of rugby share the same basic rules of the game and use a similar-shaped ovoid ball. The
William Cross (rugby union) William Cross (rugby union) William Cross (circa 1851 - 16 October 1890) was a Scottish rugby internationalist. He is notable for scoring the first conversion in international rugby in 1871 in the match between and , after Angus Buchanan scored a pushover try, and he also 's second ever try later in the match. Cross represented Scotland in 1871 in the first international match. Of the Scottish score, one of the English players wrote: At the time, conversions and goals, not tries produced a score, so in fact Cross, not Buchanan was the first to put points on the board.