Unfortunately I watched it. I cant believe that there are people who say tht RU has better skills than RL. Unbelievably bad. Did you see the size of the Aus No3! he had eaten a fat man, he actually wobbled!. There has to be an optimum size that a man can be before he looks unathletic and cumbersome. Whatever it is I have seen a bag full of them in this game.

He looked bored less. The Australian No 10 looked a very good player.

There were a few backs on both sides that looked useful.

When running the ball certainly. But when it came to passing they were woeful. Simple interplay between the backs was inept to say the least.

People saying that that game will put him off are way off, it's like being told by your boss he's going to half your workload and triple your pay.

He'll be looking at that game and thinking all i have to do is watch 75 mins of rugby, pop up with a couple of tries and watch the papers dedicate whole pages to me, coin in the money and laugh all the way to the bank.

totally agree

I really dont think that will be the case. Sam will be earning 300k at Wigan. No Union club will pay him much more than that. And to be honest when you are earning that much then a sense of pride for the sport you play has to come into as well as the club you play for. The only lure for me is not the money or not having to do much during 80 mins it will be the international game and the potential world wide recognition. However I think if and when Sam does leave Wigan it may well be for the NRL. He would get much more out of being a success in the toughest contest in the world then standing on the wing playing yawnion

How much are union internationals paid these days? Surely the sponsorship opportunities and so on are greater for an England RU international than a Wigan knuckle dragger?

How many NRL clubs do you think he impressed with his last line of defence against Australia ?

I watched the Barbarians game, at times he looks very light weight especially in defence, he did a couple of decentish tackles out wide during todays game but generally ive seen players walk through and go over the top of him far too easily during SL.

Their is no doubt about how dangerous he is with ball in hand especially in open play when running the ball but as a last line of defence he's far from the finished article, he needs to bulk up a bit IMO especially for the times when he's defending on his own line where he needs strength to stop someone scoring, similar to what Paul Wellens has done that for years at saints.

Saying that Rob, Slater for a RL player isn't that big and he manages okish in the NRL

You're making that up though, aren't you? You have no idea what he gets paid or what Union clubs will pay him. Idle speculation.

Let's deal in facts. RU salary cap is much higher than ours. RFU make millions in profit, RFL maybe thousands. He's signed a 5 year deal but it appears he can talk to RU or NRL when the contract is only 60% done (and sooner if it suits) RU are interested in him. He is interested in RU (otherwise why play today?) Theres every chance he'll move on and spend his peak years playing a different sport. Accept it and enjoy him while you can.