Bloody WUM

My comments still stand though!

Shows how highly we rate Hill

No, in fact Eastmond is due to start against the All Blacks on Saturday and shows that if skilful RL players are not fast-tracked they can make the grade. Tomkins was given his England caps before he was ready for them because he played for a club close to the England set-up, and it stopped his RU career in its tracks. Eastmond has been left to develop at his own pace, and after looking very iffy for a year or two looks much more the finished article.

I will have to take your word for it, as I don't follow union. The last I heard, Eastmond had walked out when they were playing against Sale.

When you consider it took Iestyn Harris all of 11 days to get his first cap in rugby union, I don't really buy into that argument. I find it absolutely staggering that the union lot are salivating at the thought of Burgess playing in their World Cup test side- a man who hasn't played a single game of professional rugby union.

As for Tomkins and the supposedly Wigan biased England RL set up. I'm pretty certain it was Tony Smith who gave him his first cap?

Eastmond is not coming back anytime soon. Playing at centre against the All Blacks and worldcup coming.

Chris Ashton?
Steven Myler?

Never rated Joel Tomkins anyway so not fussed.

Do we miss any of the above? In 2011 people were declaring that the end was nigh and RL would become a feeder sport for union. That hasn't happened, nor will it.

They were saying the same in 2001 when Harris and Henry Paul were leaving.

The reality is most RL players that go over to league don't make it and come back a few years later when it hasn't worked out.

There's more money in RU so the RU clubs or national associations take gambles by throwing a bit of money at a ready made player in league hoping they will find a superstar like Jason Robinson or Sonny Bill Williams. But the game is difficult and most players aren't going to do the things they do in league, in union.

Even Benji Marshall was an expensive RU flop.

There's a lot of expectation about Sam Burgess but who knows what RU will get. They've paid big money for him. They will get a guy who is very strong, very fit and athletic, will have a very professional attitude. They got this with Farrell. But they are getting an RU novice that will have to go back to the drawing board and learn a new game whilst the expectation will be on him to be a superstar.

7/10

Whatever happened to the cross-code challenge at Wembley between Saracens and Wigan that was apparently part of the initial deal that took Tomkins to Saracens?

Seem to recall lots of noise about it from Wigan and their fans at the time but seems to have all been a fantasy.

Just to clarify one thing, my comment about Tomkins playing for a club close to the England set-up was referring to his time in Union, not League - Saracens are close to England via Andy Farrell.

I also agree Burgess is a big risk in Union. What completely baffles me is that after he was signed there was then a discussion about whether he would play as a back-row forward or centre. I can't think of any Union player who interchanges between those positions at international after playing the code for his whole career, so if they haven't worked out where Burgess will play it isn't a good sign.

Anyway, enough Union talk.

Whilst my knowledge of union ain't all that good, I'd have thought Burgess would be a reasonable fit playing number 8 in kick and clap.


Certainly hasn't got the body type to play any other position

His lack of RU experience would be badly exposed at 8. Apparently they're looking to play him at inside centre as centre play in RU has 'developed' into biff and bang. I think, after last Saturday, that we might find Eastmond disappearing again. He was badly exposed by the All Blacks and was taken off at HT.

I always figured that 8 was the closest thing to a RL backrow, but you needed to have significent size/bulk (using dallalligo as an example) but still be fairly mobile, which Sam does have. Whats the requirements/expectation of that position then?

Lineout work, control at the back of the scrum, covering across with the rest of the back row, work in the ruck and maul, it's endless. These days the nearest thing to a Rugby League back row is probably centre, which sums up the way the game has gone, it's all size these days. If they carry on playing Eastmond at centre he'll get eaten alive, he simply isn't big enough.
Sam's problem will be learning the endless rules at the lineout, scrum, ruck and maul, and the techniques in those four facets, that's why they'll play him at centre.

Dead in the water, hopefully along with the idea that England RL are going to play Australia RU at Wembley!