You missed George Fairburn from your Scottish converts, weren't Hugh Waddell & George Graham also Union converts?
Bobbie Goulding I think played union to a high standard as a kid, keeping Kyran Bracken out of a rep side.

With regard to Eastmond. It seems as though St Helens have missed a trick here as they should have got him on a longer contract 2 season back when he first burst onto the scene. If he leaves at the end of the season, he is out of contract so no therefore no transfer fee. Union get a prize asset for free from League.

Saints should let him go now to the highest bidder.

Yes but I am not sure these were Scottish RU internationals though.

he's not forced to go though is he?

Was Drew Broatch? Genuine question as I didn't realise he had been capped by Scotland before heading South.

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Generally, if anything, you appear to be supporting the case for the prosecution. Given that in order to recall more than a single handful of Ex England RU Internationals you have had to go back several decades and even appear to have half included a player who first played for the full England RU side only after he'd completed his first crack at pro League.

To perhaps help the list along what can you recall of Peter Williams at Salford? I know he played for Wales in RL but I always thought he might have been an England RU International before he converted?

There's an interesting bit in one of the Rothmans RL Yearbooks (circa 1981, I think) about how Warrington spent months trying to woo 'Sir' Clive Woodward.

If you listen to the stories about those days when you could cop a life ban for playing League, there were a lot of coaches in northern England with massive league pedigrees coaching in the background at a lot of onion clubs and coupled with that, there were also a lot of lower league or decent amateur league players turning out for Union clubs under false names.

I'd say it is one of the fundamental reasons that when 'kick & clap' used to rave about their county championship series, there was usually a 'northern' county in there. Not because they filled their teams with moonlighting league players (that would be too obvious, even for the RFU old farts) but the players who played alongside them also had to be half-decent to get a game in a 'big' northern Union club sides.

Remember, in those days, the big Union club sides weren't like they are today ... There wasn't even a league as such (just look up the 'Northern Union (sic) Merit Table' for starters). Around here, the likes of Otley were considered to be a 'big' Union club and that was one of the reasons why they landed a game for the first 'kick & clap world cup' in '87.

Ah, yes .. Keith Fielding !

Anyone remember after KF turned pro and appeared on TV's 'Superstars' alongside the alledged cream of the England Union side (which IIRC, had just won the Grand Slam) Andy Ripley ?

Suffice to say, even with twice around the pitch and a bit of touch & pass training that league was in those days, Fielding easily owned Ripley.

And at the end, Fielding went home with a fat cheque and a nice big video under his arm (which was cutting edge stuff in those days) and to keep the RFU happy, the BBC had to make such a song & dance at the prize giving about Ripley's 'amateur' status ...

If correct who could have thought that Andy Ripley - being a lumbering, gigantuan back-rower had a prayer V a perfectly proportioned athletic type in Keith Fielding?

I doubt League could take too much credit from that.

I recall when Ed Moses was allowed to run V Fielding in the 100 meter at an International Superstars event. I thought it might be interesting .... it weren't. The true athlete was cantering .... no-one else in the frame.

Even more shocking Malcolm Macdonald was quicker (than Fielding) but not as quick as Des Drummond.

*Please note none of the above probably happened anything like I recall it.

pedant mode on

first kick and clap wc was 87. 91 was over here, i 'stewarded' at the USA v Italy game at cross green.

off

Ah you were the jobsworth back in that October Saturday.

Was that the one where Kevin Keegan fell of his bike or Jodie Schekter got caught putting olive oil on his socks during the squat thrusts ?

I would be interested to see how he played tonight, scored two tries but I wonder how much involvement he had in the rest of the game.

As a fan of both codes, it will be a loss to League but I would be happy if he is as successful as Ashton in Union. Though I think someone has mentioned before, Ashton had the chance to learn his trade in a lower league which was ideal and now we are seeing the benefits. Good luck to him.