I'm certainly not suprised that the force of the rugby player was less. Afterall, they were really just lifting their oponent of the ground and putting them down again.
The gridiron player was putting his entire effort into slamming into the dummy with virtually no regard for avoiding injury due to the helmet and padding. He also gets to run off the field every few minutes and have a rest while the offensive team take over.
A rugby player is on the field for the entire game. Depending on which grade they're in, etc they might get lucky and the team gets to change maybe three players total throughout the game (40 minute halves if my memory serves). There are no breaks for television adds, there are no breaks for the change in teams, there are no time outs, it's a pure forty full minutes of smashing into each other over and over again.
Rugby league, a very similar game to rugby union is basically the same situation. Padding is minimal, a little on the shoulders and the occasional man might wear a head protection (a lighter version seen worn by amateur boxers).
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If it moves, shoot it, if not push it, if it still doesn't move, use explosives.
Nothing happens in isolation - it's called "the butterfly effect"
Mors ante pudorem
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