it says he is 35 so would that be like David Beckham signing for Sheffield Wednesday in football terms cos Farrell was at the peak of his career at the time he left to play that other sport, surely at 35 this guy cant have a lot game wise to offer any club at any level?

is 35 old or what for a Union player ??

Farrell was finished as a top class RL player when he moved. He'd have lasted one or two more seasons more tops without a major drop in ability.

Can't see any other reason why they'd want a 35 year old RU player with (AFAIK) no RL experience.

Hey serious question - has Dwayne Chambers knocked it on the head now?

You English Rugby League fans who 'claim' to never have heard of Alfie ought to try picking up a newspaper or venturing further than T' Woolpack in 'Otten'

'Alfie' Thomas is Wales most capped player with 100 appearances, ninth in the all-time international tryscoring list, A British and Irish Lion and a great RUGBY player.

He is almost 36 but if he did come to the Crusaders (which I doubt personally) he would be a big hit.

Rugby League and Rugby Union aren't that different really are they?! No line outs, 2 players less and only 4 points for a try are the fundamental differences. The ball is the same shape and the idea in both codes is to score tries as someone else on the thread said.

I personally like both codes (and have played both) but you one eyed blinkered League fans (and I know that doesnt include everyone on this board) should realise there is more to Union than just kicking the ball into the crowd

I suppose you could say Rugby League is just kick, Tackle, Tackle, Tackle, Tackle, Tackle, Tackle, kick if you wanted to be really pedantic about it.

Its unlikely Alfie will come to the Crusaders, same as it was always unlikely Gavin Henson would. But if he did I would wholeheartedly support him and I reckon he would be great for the club.

Maybe if the club had remained in South Wales, but not now.

Why? i have absolutely no interest in Rugby Union, never have had and never will !.
I'm sure there are sports that you dont particularly care about and have no interest in, but by your own advice you should pick up a paper and read about it and you should know who the top players in that game are?
Most English Rugby League fans i know dont care for Union one bit and therefore we dont need to know who the players are.
Turn it around then and does every Union supporting Welshman who have no interest in League know most of the English league players? dont think so !
just because someone maybe a big name in one sport doesn't mean fans of other sports will have heard of them.

He is like.. a huge name though.
I cant stand union but I know who he is, to answer your earlier question, he would have been a HUGE signing...5 years ago

not to me he aint thats why i was asking about his pedigree.........only union players i know are Wilkinson and that dallgio(sp?) bloke ....... as well as the league converts

You ought to try reading national newspapers. Or seeing as you are from Huddersfield, get someone to read them to you.

You might be surprised by this, but the sporting world doesnt cease to exist beyond Yorkshire and Lancashire.

Ps Gordon Brown is the current Prime Minister, Ford now do cars in other colours than black and small children are no longer put to work down the mines.

Very queer signing this if it comes off as he's 35

Is there a need to get insulting because someone has stated they don't know who someone is? I cannot at any point remember the poster claiming sport, or indeed life doesn't exist beyond the M62. He merely indicated he had no interest. I know plenty of people who would probably respond the same way when asked to name a Welsh Union player, yet their knowledge and understanding of the wider world and other cultures is vast - where it is of interest to them.

Further to that, I don't understand why you extend that to insulting an entire region. It is hardly what I'd consider a method for endearing people to your cause. Just over a decade ago, I shared a house at Uni with a lad from Pontypridd who had never eaten rice, and considered pizza exotic. He seemed to think that all English people were oppressors of his people, largely on the basis that Thatcher had closed down the pits in South Wales, having no understanding of the fact much the same devastation had occured on a grander scale in the Yorkshire coalfields. I neither held it against him, appreciating as I did that ingorance of some issues did not equate to general stupidity, nor did I generalise to assume all Welsh people were backward illiterates.

'Endearing people to my cause'???!!

I'm a Rugby Fan from Mid Wales, not Che Guevara

in a word yes there are a few pro players older but. Not many at international level to go much past 33/34 is unusual. However in the league not especially in the championship graham Dawe still turns out for plymouh and he must be nearly 50!

Farrell should have stayed in rl! He was to slow to be an ru centre and left it too late to learn to play flanker.

Ian Roberts in 1995

Is it though? Really? I don' t think RU fans can really have much justification for saying this. I think it's more a case of getting into territory and then seeing if they can't get some points. The majority of time this comes from the boot. The only time a team really goes for the try is when they are behind on the score board by so many points that it's their only hope. Most teams, if trailing by 6 points with 2 minutes to go, would still kick a penalty and hope there is still time for a drop goal rather than go for the try that could WIN the game for them.



It's not being pedantic, it's simplifying it. But you'll notice that even in this simplified model the ball is always in play. As we all know there are any number of exciting things that MIGHT occur in any game - RL, RU, Football etc - but none of them occur when the ball is out of play. Until RU sorts that element out RL will always have the edge on sudden unpredictable events.

Back to the topic, I'm sure that in some way - either on or off the field - Gareth Thomas would be good for the Crusaders. He might not have much of a career ahead of him but he could raise the profile enough for others to switch codes and once you have recognised names playing - I'm sure participation levels will increase as well. Surely the whole point of this venture is that there is more to it than simply the player and his ability. Otherwise who would offer a contract to a 36 year old RU player? Good luck to him and the Crusaders if it does happen.