cj

RU 20 years ago and ru now are very different, dont forget if there was any hint that you had played the Profesional game in the past then the RFU dictated that you could not play league, that is no longer the case.
i have had many run ins, or discussions whatever you want to call them with friends and workmates who are hardcore union
Personally I have never tried to claim "my game is better than theres" even though in my mind it is, and if they want to try and convince me that "there" game is the best then hey ho
Yes I have played both, funnily most of my union up north, never really got to grips with it and spent every line out trying to work out when we "fu*%"d the pope rigid where the ball was going.

the main difference with the yawnion blokes that continue to slag off the "stop start" game of league, is they tend to be the ones that never tried playing the game.
I think you find that most union players that give it a go, will actually admit they enjoy the game, and even in secret tend to watch it, but if you are brought up in Bath for example and have been fed on the Bath Yawnion thing since a kid, why would you change? The same can be said for a kid from wigan who has been dragged down throught the "central park years"
I respect there choices, and have fun explaining the faults in ther game, nearly as much as i do the kickball fans, and enjoy trying to defend the faults in our game

I am a rugby league fan who only watches union live or on tv if:
Ireland are playing (my country of citizenship), London Irish are playing (the club I played for) or the British Lions are playing.....apart from that, I have no interest except when goaded by idiots on the NRL boards with nothing better to do.
I am sure your tales of discrimination are not unique and I am sure Listy is right in his claim that he has run ins with Union fans that leave a bitter taste, but I repeat, the majority of Union fans I have come into contact with since I started supporting London RL have been fine and it is their misunderstanding of the game and the skills involved that lets them down and not a sense of malice towards the GG. I find that when I point out that it was a RL Defensive coach and a RL winger who helped them win their WC they usually shut up. If not, I ask them how many tries that England team scored using crossfield kicks and where they thought that tactic came from.

On a slightly different point, I spoke to a high ranking union ref the other day who has stopped enjoying the game (union) since the law changes have turned it into league with lineouts (his words, not mine)

What sort of unpleasant encounters?
At what club(s)?

Its an interesting question. i attended the only rugby union playing school in the warrington borough and played union all my childhood. I was always a wire fan though, and went to watch them whenever i could. i came down to twickenham to go to university, primarily to play union, only to discover that they had a league team also. i was roped in at the freshers fair, because i was from warrington. i had never played, but i knew the rules and the tactics. i still played union, but i loved the league, and several good union players came over and played league with me. we went from having to scratch around for a team on a sunday morning to winning BUSA in three years, and the profile of league rocketed in the university. The union guys supported us, and played for us, and the union fans preferred to watch the league boys. there were occassions when we had more watching us train than the union guys had when they played.

what i took away from it though, was that players who were brought up playing union, and loved the game, once they had a taste of league they much prefered playing it. the vast majority. they loved the contact, the physical side, but also the fact that skill could be used to get out of situations. we had one of the best broken play runners playing full back, who, as he came from a union background was quality in the one on one tackle too. he was an ideal full back, but he was slight. A lot of ex union players went on to gain student honours, and i can name three players from the team who are now heavily involved in the running of league clubs in ireland and on the south coast of england. union people need to give league a chance, and a successful quins rl would be the ideal platform for this.

In the days when Rugby union was an amatuer game many of the harlequins FC players and fans worked within "The City", in the days when one had to have the right school tie to get a job. Within Union circles Harlequins FC fans have always had a reputation as "Hooray Henry's".

Don't you mean shamatuer.

Shamateur players existed since the days of the great split. I know of 3 players when I was at London Irish who couldn't have told you where their offices were.....terrible behaviour and something I would never condone......kind of like breaking the salary cap

For whatever reason you hate Union, remember, it is another sports activity that has very little (if any) direct impact on League. If players decide to cross the floor for money, I would suggest you look at the player as the culprit and not the other code.
Union have their own problems to deal with and we have ours. I would suggest that on an administrative front, League can learn from Union as to what they have achieved internationally in 20 years, but such blasphemy is normally shot down on the NRL board (very quiet over there at present ), but as I see it, a sport that was generating very little interest and revenue in the 1980's has now become a massive global TV event....

As for Harlequins FC reputation.......it took me 3 years until I bought a quartered shirt, but not because of the Union tie in, more to do with the fact that Quins fans have always had a rep for being barber wearing merchant bankers.

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Fraid that's the 2 reasons why I can't ever see me making that step! "

Fraid that's the 2 reasons why I can't ever see me making that step!

In reply to the original question, if any RU fans came along to RL games we might be able to give you an answer!

This years away strip makes it slightly easier as it's not in Quins colours.....I still think that the chevron idea I sent listy would make a good home shirt...

True, this year's away shirt is excellent - still got (half) a clown still on it though! Thought the chevron design would have made for a good home shirt this season seeing as we only had the pastels on the front in 2009, it would have been more of an RL style and with the rest of the kit predominantly black would have been a nod to the Fulham kit (30th anniversary and all that).

cj, I don't like Union either, for all sorts of reasons. So I just ignore it - it's not difficult. But I wouldn't think of defining myself by a hatred and I don't understand why you have to. You could try being positive about your attitude. How about "cjlovesleague" as your i/d?

Where was that Lymm with the Quins blonde Winger(Strettle)

correct