what happened today will have absolutely no bearing on whether sam eventually goes to union. do you think he didn't know the sport was like this?

I watched that rubbish on Saturday and admit the skill levels were appalling, the passing was way off the mark. The point I would make though when some are saying why would Sam go for what in effect is a 25% pay rise they are missing a big point. IF and it is IF he made a big impact the spin offs and sponsorship he could attract will pale his wage into insignificance. The money a Jonny Wilkinson / Jason Robinson earned outside his 'salary' will have doubled his playing wage. The national media would be interested and that could be the lure that will take him away.

be interesting to know what sam really thought of it all - not the standard 'im glad to have given it a go' line but what he really thought. we like to think he would have thought 'this is boring standing here doing nothing' but it could be the case, as previous posters allude to that the game itself was not that important - the crowd/coverage/contacts/sponsors/meal/drinks etc after it may be what made the impression...

and i dont mean that in a 'our pies are better than yours' more a, what sort of discussions were taking place and with what sort of people

Thats gambling on the fact he will get all them deals though isnt it? Theres no guarantee he will get that is there?

I agree thats why I said it was an IF but as a professional sports star who will back himself to be the best (I'd assume Sam falls fairly squarely into this bracket) the lure of that level of acknowledgment must be a lure. The one thing that is guaranteed is that if he stays in league he will never be more than a big fish in a small pond. The NRL may be the other option to achieve that goal.

Hope I'm wrong and he does stay in SL because on his day he is great to watch and will (if he isn;t already) become the best there is over here. If he does stop he needs advising that he needs to broaden his horizons and not just play in Wigan, reckon we could find a spot for him at Hull KR..

As an aside to this debate I reckon Charnley could make a better RU player than Tomkins, he will have the size and pace to be better than Ashton.