Owen Farrell and George North to NRL?

Quote: ChrisGS "These players would need a lot of work because their core skills are of similar standard to amateur rugby league. Rugby union has become almost like the NFL in that the specialisation of positions makes for very crap basic skills; they simply aren't needed to get by. That's not a slight on either code, just the way in which the games differ and prioritise specialised skills and interests over the basics. If you can handle yourself in a scrum or a line out you really don't need to be particularly good at anything else, a prop that can do the basics isn't the standard, it's optional.

Some of the forwards in rugby union are an absolute joke. Being able to pass, catch, run basic lines, support the ball carrier, these are all worthy of huge applause in rugby union because they're a rare thing, where as in rugby league it's expected of all players to do these things to a decent level, if not excel at them. That's most of what their job is.

I enjoy rugby, it's the first code I was introduced to and became a fan of, but there's no doubt that for all the good athletes they've got most of the players are considerably behind league. You watch a game of rugby at the highest level and count the number of times mammoth overlaps are wasted because the players are too uneducated and thick to see it or, assuming they see that it's on, too incompetent to pass and catch. See how many times passes are thrown at players feet, or overlaps blown because none of these guys seem to realise that it's not necessary to pass to the man who's right next to you. You watch union teams and they throw about 8 passes just to get the ball from one sideline to the other. They'll run nice plays off the back of line-outs, no doubt, but ask them to show attacking prowess and creativity in general play and most can't do it.

That level of incompetence in attack tends to lead to incompetence in defence also because rugby union guys just aren't used to defending against teams that can attack. To compound the issue rugby union has a really outdated and amateur attitude towards tackling in itself, so not only are rugby players unfamiliar with facing opposition that can attack, even in the tackle they're a liability. A lot of them still think it's 1960 and that the best way to tackle is to go down low in any and all situations; sports science, winning the collision, stopping the offload seem to be novelty ideas. I'll go one further and say that there's a huge number of players in rugby union, compared to rugby league, who don't even understand heart. Mentally some of these guys I wouldn't go near with a barge pole; plenty are weak minded to the point of cowardice. A good number of rugby players don't like tackling and will only tackle when there's no other option, as in when somebody is running directly at them. If you put them in a situation where body contact is optional they'll often take the weak option and hug/pull at the arms rather than put their body on the line and lead with the shoulder. You certainly won't see them throwing themselves into tackles. This lack of accountability and competitiveness would need to be worked on, half-d arm tackling has no place in league. I'm not saying it doesn't happen in league, it does, it's just nothing like how common and accepted it is in rugby union. Cowardice is shunned in league, but in rugby union the pundits, players (and presumably the coaches) act like it's just the way it is, running side-on at a guy and hugging/pulling at him is perfectly normal.

George North is great though'"

As much as I agree with most of your post I'd have to argue about the physical contact aspect & also the reference to '1960' type tackling.
In union because forwards rarely offload (either too scared/inability/told not to) the lowdown tackle is still effective as it ever was and commits only one player to that, whereas if you try using 2 or more tacklers you expose yourself numerically should you not stop the ball getting away which as you know is far harder in union than league.
NZ have been committing less players to the tackle area/ruck for years resulting in their ability to defend easily against average teams.
Some of the best copybook tackling can be seen in onion, it's a far cry from the boring wrestle fest we get in league these days where the ability to tackle with the shoulder & around the hips is almost a dying art. This shows up when even from a standing start a forward can make progress with 3 would be tacklers flailing to stop the offload (not always successfully either) but not halting forward progress.
So actually you'll see more shoulder tackles in union than you will in league IMO.