Quote: Andy Gilder "Roberts reminds me a lot of Shane Horgan, who I always thought would have made a very effective League player.
Take Byrne's accurate and varied kicking game out of the equation and he's nothing special IMO.
Shane Williams is heading backwards at a rate of knots over the last 6-8 months, whether it's a case of believing his own hype or trying too hard I'm not sure.
One player out of that Welsh side I would like to see having a go at League is Mike Phillips. Good pass off either hand, quick off the mark and physical, I think he'd make an outstanding dummy half.'"
I think Roberts is arguably better than Shane Horgan, but I see what you're saying. He's big, powerful, fairly quick and likes collisions. Those are good traits for a league player, but I'm not clear what he brings that would set him apart from a lot of other League players earning less money.
Byrne's support play and angles of running would go down well in RL, but again I don't see that he offers a huge amount that couldn't be got much cheaper in RL, since his boot would be less valuable than it is in RU.
Williams I agree entirely about, except that I think another factor is simply that he was in red hot form in 2008 and has struggled to hit the same heights since. Halfpenny is the man in form for Wales at present. Given the dearth of British wingers in RL he would make a good convert, but will be earning some very big coin from WRU, so no chance.
Agree re: Philips. He would do better to keep his shirt number than his position if he switched, but again having really just established himself as #1 for Wales, I doubt the inclination or the cash exist to bring him to RL.
