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So if it's an anti-league bias how come they are, as you say, in favour of Ford?

Keep digging

A northern hobby?

Does anyone seriously believe that if pro rugby league was concentrated in the South of England, rather than the North, people would be talking about the 'M4 corridor' or a 'southern hobby'?

24 Top Tier Rugby League teams, 1 in France, 1 in London and 22 in the North. This isn't an "if" scenario....or even a "what if" suggestion, it is a cold hard fact......22 of the top 24 sides are located between Sheffield in the south to Workington in the north and Widnes in the west to Hull in the East.......sorry buddy but that aint the midlands, it ain't the south, it ain't the west country and it ain't scotland or wales either...it's the North!

Wakefield - Salford - Hull FC - Hull Kingston Rovers - Widnes - Huddersfield - Leeds - Wigan - Warrington - St Helens - Castleford - Oldham - Bradford - Leigh - Halifax - Sheffield - Featherstone - Dewsbury - Batley - Whitehaven - Workington - Keighley or Swinton.....all of these towns and cities are Northern Town and Cities.




Find me a professional sport that's top 24 sides are confined to the south or M4 Corridor and I'll let you know!

22 of the top 23 teams in England are inside that red area

Nope. The OP said we should not be so down on our own international game because of where players are from despite being selected for other nations because it also happens in the other code. Now I don't actually think that that is a big reason for why our international game isn't as good as it could be, it makes no difference to me. If a player's grandparents are from a country then they have every right to play for that country.

But at least his post was about our international game in subject on the whole (he just used the other code as an example to go with his argument). But it also wasn't meant so that what could have been a decent thread should descend into a ing stupid thread. A number of posters in this thread seem to want to think the OP was about Union so they could all talk about Union as much as they could.

I used a comparison to women's cricket in one of my posts but there hasn't been a derailment of the thread about women's cricket has there?

Not that I am aware, but then again I have no doubt they have less heritage players than league too.

Edit: Just checked....8 sides all genuine locals playing for their countries. No attempt to fill Irish or scots teams with 2nd grade Anzac's and English to "make it bigger".
Edit Edit: there were countless posts after the op from people wishing to compare the two codes so I'll take it you'llcomplain to them as well?

France also have Elite 1. Are they really that much worse than Hunslet and Doncaster?

If I had time I'd possibly think of bothering.

They are only in favour of Ford because Cipriani wasn't in the squad so the choice at fly half has to be between 2 Players who learnt their rugby in League. Ford only got his chance when Farrell was out injured. He took it well and played some fine rugby and I like him a lot.

But getting back to the point. Farrell has regained his fitness and form while Ford has lost a bit of sharpness, hence the selection of Farrell which you didn't understand. His Man of the Match performance justified his selection as did Burgess who did the job he was asked to do and his substitution was one of the reasons England lost. Yet some of the hacks were putting the blame on these selections rather than on the poor performances of the "experienced" Union.

The 2 players who got it most in the press were Robshaw and Barritt who are part of the 'experienced Union', which blows your paranoid theory out of the water. I've seen most of the England team get a slagging in the press but you are saying because Farrell and Burgess have been included along with the rest of the team it must be because they have a RL connection



Keep digging

1.Toulouse spent 2 years in the English 2nd tier ending in them being relegated.
2.Toulouse have since won 2 of 3 French Elite 1 Titles.
3.Hunslet and Doncaster aren't in the Championship. They've been replaced by Oldham and A.A.NOTHER to be decided at the weekend!

But if you like....