Rugby players don’t have one official, universal name for American football, but there are a few common nicknames and ways they refer to it, often jokingly or informally.

Common informal names

  • American football / gridiron
    • In most rugby countries (UK, Ireland, Australia, NZ, South Africa), people just call it “American football” or “gridiron” to distinguish it from rugby and association football (soccer).
  • Handegg
    • A popular internet and fan nickname is “handegg,” poking fun at the fact the ball is mostly carried by hand and is egg‑shaped rather than round like a “proper” football.

How rugby fans joke about it

  • Some rugby fans describe American football as “a misnamed rugby knockoff” or “rugby redesigned for people with a short attention span,” usually in a teasing, tribal-sports way rather than a serious insult.
  • Others mock the stop‑start nature and heavy advertising, calling it “a sport surrounded by advertisements, rather than advertisements that feature a little bit of sport.”

No single global answer

  • There is no single, official term that “rugby players” worldwide use for American football; usage varies by country, club culture, and sense of humor.
  • If you want to be understood and neutral, “American football” or “gridiron” are the safest terms; if you want to echo fan banter, “handegg” is the best‑known joke name.

TL;DR:
Rugby players usually just call it American football or gridiron , but in memes and banter you’ll often see it jokingly called “handegg” or a “misnamed rugby knockoff.”

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.