The way we have our rucks is obviously very important as to how our sport looks. I think we should trial being able to pass off the floor, as long as it's done immediately after the tackle is done, and we could then have a larger variety in the time a ruck takes.

The SL " clique" are given the SKY money to show English SL games to English fans. SKY have been kind enough to allow the Catalans experiment and the Toronto experiment. This is at a cost to fans of English clubs who could have those SL places..

Outsiders Toronto had access to £30,000,000 of their own money more than any other club had access to. They wasted the lot.

That’s contradictory Donny. Quite clearly the promoted side would be short by £800k.

Why?

If you are referring to Leigh having to make up £800K themselves to have the same funding as the other SL clubs next year then I don't know. But I can hazard a guess that the 11 clubs have done their budgets and were short of £800K across the board, so maybe they thought it a good idea to take that from the "new clubs" SKY share.

Is that fair? Do the SL clubs care if it is not? Does Derek Beaumont care now he has the prize of an SL place?. Maybe the [i"we can't pay a full share[/i" of SL money was to shut skint clubs out of applying - which didn't work. Maybe they were going to share the SKY money so all 12 clubs would take a hit of £66,000 each, and then clubs started saying no to that.

Maybe we had 11 clubs whose owners aren't an old pals club and can never agree on anything so we got the usual fudge.... Your thoughts?

Interesting - do you have the lineouts stat as well?

If the offerings for next year in the Rugby World (I'm sure you don't take the line these are two totally separate games) are two types of game, one where the action is almost continuous and another where the action is broken up by periods of inactivity organising for players to stand straight in lines, or pack down square an upright just to re-start the game after a ball has gone out of play, being knocked on, ............then we at least have a far superior product again?

I say this because pre 1996 union was awfully tedious, and TBF they did modernise it, but it seems we have pulled away again.??

Agree with both you and Atomic in part. Union is a great team game.....if you are playing. For the spectator less so as the ball is invisible for long periods unless during the tiresome marshalling of troops the scrummy has it in his paws (at scrum setting) or the hooker in his prior to line-outs. Funny that the papers never ran Spot-the-Ball comps for RU as the fans were already bored enough on exiting the ground.

RL is miles better without scrums, the uncontested ones were an embarrassment to the code. They are, however, a massive part of the RU code. Why? Well it is exciting to see one pack (as long as it is the one of your preference) over-muscling the other in a drive for the line. It also (if the Nº8 allows the pill out) sees half of each of both teams tangled up and allows the backs room to run - something for the paying public to savour. It is also, too often, a production line for penalties (yawn - rather watch crossbar challenge).

Lots of bad press at present due to concussions in scrummages. Helmets will be made compulsory and will not resemble the present "cauliflower ear preventers" but rather ABA boxing headguards. Union cannot do away with scrums for several reasons:

a) RL has gone there first (hic sunt dracones)

b) without the forwards tied up, there would be fewer free-flowing tries as attacking sides would face a 15 man flat back line that those RL basstds taught them (along with tackling)

c) can't widen the playing fields as the arenas aren't big enough

d) can't reduce each team to XIII as RL got there first (hic sunt dracones)

The bonus point for scoring 4+ tries is testament to the fact that RU needs bums on seats (and settees) and cannot rely on preferential Old Harrovian & Etonion Government handouts!

Whither now Carlingz 57 Old Fartz?

If you really think we have pulled away again, you are even more of a crackpot than I originally thought.

Rugby league is on life support wheras Rugby Union just goes from strength to strength.

Excellent post, great analysis and I can't wait to see what they do, especially if all the forwards come out with big head protectors on. Even then would they still do the aggressive head slams into each other - or will it be gently engage??

Isn't there some evidence to suggest it's not the direct contact to the head that causes the most damage but the body shuddering when hit with a tackle and the brain moving inside the head. There was talk tackling will be lowered to below the waist which will in part prevent that.

Back on topic....

I honestly thought Toulouse or London would have been given the nod but Leigh also make sense, purely based on the squad they've been putting together for next season (even if a lot of them are Rovers' cast offs). Good luck next season and try to make the best of it - apart from against us, obviously.

As long as Charlie the clown doesn't come back on here like he did a few years ago spouting his nonsense.

As for the M62 corridor thing? So what? In Australia, the NRL is actually quite localised in their support as well and it doesn't stray beyond the areas the clubs are already in.

And Union? Its well funded because of the public school boy factor. I have no interest in it and don't watch it so I really don't care about what happens in it.