Agreed. I was just being a tad mischevious at the expense of those who say we need to scrap or raise the salary cap in order to "compete" with the NRL and Union.

I think the only way RL would get any decent interest is if an RL convert became a superstar in the NFL. Which is very, very unlikely.
Its the same with converts to Union. Its only players at the very top like Burgess who gain us any attention, and does that really convert into increased interest? I'm not sure.
As you say we'd be better off trying to find suitable "failed" NFL players to convert to RL rather than us losing our top players to the NFL and desperately hoping somebody pays attention to us. Whether the money is there to do that is another matter.
I do think we should look at Union players who are just below the England squad. I'm sure there'd be some who could make the transition and I think that would give us better media interest than our top players going the other way.

Personally, I'm happy if RL players cant make the transition into NFL (or Union) as this would inevitably mean the game of RL losing it's better players to a far wealthier sport which, lets face it, RL just cant hope to compete with in terms of wages and it would generate far more interest, if we can entice players into our game from Union or NFL.
Even if the are at a lower level, it ma encourage others into considering League as a decent option

How about that young Fijian (?) lad Bath just got as a 9? He looks like he'd make a good Segeyaro-style dummy half. Also impressed by the Harlequins centre I saw on the highlights the other night. He has real pace, which doesn't seem too common in Union centres.

I would be more worried by the fact that Union seems to be getting a pro-league in the USA. If that takes off they will sign up the whole of the of the NRL staff.

I don't really watch Union for more than the 5 minutes it takes for my boredom to override my laziness and I eventually get up to get the remote.

But it's apparently been a professional sport for a while now so there must be some of their participants who aren't entirely talentless, even in the Aviva Premiership.

The NFL doesn't need to go on a mass recruiting drive for new players. They get heaps of new NFL-ready college players every year. The main shortage ATM seems to be young quarterbacks - who will never come from anywhere other than colleges.

Specific clubs might have a look around, but they're far more likely to look for kids with the right build and athletic ability who they could put through the college system than bothering to look at guys in their mid 20s who've never played the game.

I'm not that enthusiastic either, but I do generally watch the highlights during the league close season, and you do occasionally see some decent tries scored by the better sides like Northampton and Bath. Spotting players who look like they might have the wherewithal to succeed at league (and there's not many) is my main interest.