No, you should not be afraid of rugby players. In fact, they will probably want to hug you! The people who name their children "Rugby" or "Rugby Jones" or have pictures of rugby players on their walls are usually not afraid of them. Rugby players can be very friendly, but they also know how to have fun too. They will probably ask if you have a helmet for practice, then take it from you and hit you with it! You should also expect some rough playing when you go to a rugby game; there are often lots of tackles per hour. But everyone knows what they are getting into when they signs up for rugby. Rugby players can be very aggressive toward one another field-wise too. There have been cases where players have thrown games for personal reasons. This happens more frequently in the NFL than in rugby, however. Overall, rugby players are just like other athletes: some are mean, others are not.