Gave up Rugby Union at the tender age of 37 due to some neck problems. The girlfriend told me point blank that she refused to change my diaper should I paralyze myself w/ a rugby-sustained spinal injury. I eschewed the 'cup' (US term) after getting The Gear mashed up in a rolling maul (lots of folks binding in on the waistband of the shorts tends to shift things a bit). Ye plays the game and ye takes ye chances... Anybody playing "grab & twist" was usually savagely booted soon thereafter.
There is some give & take as to the casual/occasional punch, but egregious, flagrant offenses are usually dealt with promptly in like manner and aren't often repeated. As for boxing/martial arts, I've done some training/sparring & have had my bell rung a few times- takes discipline, conditioning, training, etc. Hard to compare the two. Both endeavours require taking a bit of a pounding, but the similarities pretty much stop there.
And Pixie, thanks for noticing :-)