No doubt all the chip on shoulder boo hoo rfu haters, so 95% of rugby league fans, are already getting the voodoo dolls out and rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of him failing.

However, given that northern hemisphere rugby backs are lightyears ahead of their league counterparts, I expect him to rip it up

Are you for real? They spend 70 minutes of the match doing nothing but shivering from the cold, and then when they finally get the ball run at a winger who has been taught how to kick a ball but nothing about how to defend and has never made a tackle in his life? Yea, lightyears ahead.

HAHA....Before i start i like both codes of rugby they both have there pros and cons. BUT i like both not like most northerners. But as i am from and live in south wales i prefer union.

You obviuosly havent watched or played much union in making that comment above.!

Wingers work extremely hard not just for the cameras but off the ball. Wingers in union are running all the time
playing people on side(oh u dont have to do that in lge u just run up infront of kicker), chase kicks down. getting back to support your 15 etc.

I could but together a Welsh only Union backline that would rip up anything SL has to offer.

Shane Williams would give any SL winger a run around and is the most exciting player of either code on the planet.!

I don't know why you keep coming out with this, you have clearly never watched the NRL.

It's difficult to tell how good Union backs are really, as the sport stifles any attacking ability they have. One that that's for sure is that there are a lot of talented rugby players in Wales who would be better suited to league.

Perhaps at Union, but let your Union backline run at a good SL defence in a game of League and they'll get torn apart.

In EVERY cross-code challenge, the Union side has been torn to shreds in open play, and when they've won they've rucked, mauled and scrummed their way to victory.

I like Union (well, used to like it more before it turned to sht), but the sheer workrate of League players is something else. Union backs do naff all for most of the game. Running the line is nothing like fielding a kick and having to make ground into the opposition pack, or scooting from the first tackle into a fired-up League defence.

Shane Williams? Decent enough. Would get hurt in SL at the moment. Nippy. Destitute man's Jason Robinson.

if your dad was fatter and slower hed be a union player

and even fatter people would be watching him and talking about their share portfolios.

why do you keep going on about NRL(northern rail league.?)
Are you real stifles any attacking ability.? hows that then please explain.? just youtube shane williams , joe rockocko, habana, odriscoll etc.

Why are players in wales better suited to league... please explain.?

And yes i do beleive Shane might not be the BEST but defo up there with the most exiciting players on planet.

people keep talking about the nrl because if is the best rugby competition in the planet.

its the benchmark for skill and speed

after that its SL, then a big gap and union in nz.

then another big gap, france SA and australia

then another gap and enland, wales etc.

just look upwards.

When was last cross border challenge.?
When Union was still amateur or just changed that is the difference.. it would be a lot different now.
You say fielding a kick. whats so hard about that then. thats easy when you only have to take a tackle and play stops. What about the union back 3 with all his options and play doesnt stop.?

Shane Williams get hurt.? in league.? dont you think they have all tried it in union when in rucks and mauls etc where the cameras cant see. Or ruck all over him.
We all sayed he wasnt strong enough for union about 10 year ago but he has worked so hard on his strength, his core strength is immense, look how he brushed aside Andrew trimble i think it was when wales beat ireland to win grand slam in 08 and this year against scotland how he bounces tackles of with his pace, change of speed and core strength, amazing athelete really not just in rugby terms. if he was english are a football player he would of had an MBE by now.!

Absolute rubbish wales backline is up there with the best. we just need decent ball from our forwards and be better at the breakdown. hopefully the new rules that have come in down under will help us.
and what is this NRL you keep banging on about.?
who keeps talking about NRL i have never heard anyone talk about or be in a conversation about it.?

This is NRL www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjJZBN2erhs Cant figure out if your a troll or just deluded :S

This is NRL www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjJZBN2erhs Cant figure out if your a troll or just deluded :S

The difference being in Union the wingers/full back very often field the kick and punt it straight back. Too often. That never happens in League. Wingers need to be ready to field the ball and make yards against a solid defence hammering up the field. They also need to scoot from the ptb at the first tackle if pinned back on your own line - straight into a defensive line intent on keeping you there. And they need to do that, as well as making tackles on their own, many many times per game. Not once or twice as they do in Union.

I've played Union (prop, hooker, winger, centre, full-back and fly-half), and I've played League (prop, hooker, 2nd row, centre and winger) - and I can tell you League is the tougher game by a mile. Oh the rucks and mauls can be messy, but the repeated car crash collisions you take at League are something else.

Gareth Thomas is in for a rude awakening. Shane Williams may do well as a winger in SL, but he certainly wouldn't stand out. Wales has always had good backlines at Union but not known how to use them - and so they should, anywhere with a passion for the oval ball should produce good players.

Ask Jonathan Davies which he thinks is the harder code. And then ask him about NRL.

If you can't work out why the rules of Union stifle attacking ability, then you really must be blind. How many times to backs get the ball in good attacking position? How many times are good attacking opportunities wasted because the ball takes so long to come out of the ruck, or is picked up by a forward for a gain of 1 yard? You don't need to tell me about those Union players, it's hard to avoid it where I live. They all have attacking talent and maximise it in their code. Some of them would be suited to RL, some would struggle with the workload in both attack and defense. The nature of the sport means that what they can do is limited though. A lot of Welsh players are athletic and prefer to run with the ball. As league comes more into the public eye, I think a lot more players will begin to switch because it's a much more fun game to play and suits the Welsh style a lot more.

FWIW, here is a video of someone who is probably in the top 5 most exciting players in the world. Shane Williams? Give me a break.

just look up

imagine a game which is faster and more skillful than any union game, a game where elite athletes exert themselves for 80 mins, thats the nrl

The guys obviously a merkin and a dumb one at that.

The Wales backline wouldn't last 10 mins against Salford.