It isn't rugby anymore than it is the Rugby World Cup. It is rugby union which is a kicking not a handling game.

A good example of this is George North, awesome RU winger by the way. I watched him attempt to draw the last defender and pass to his team mate and it was like watching someone who'd never played rugby doing it, it was embarrassing, it came off though but it was ugly rugby.

The same can be said with most RU players other than scrum halves, fly halves and centres, everyone else has appaling passing skills whereas from 1-13 on an RL field they're all decent ball handlers.

On another note I've been a fierce critic of what I used to call Rugby Yawnion but I'd say internationally is is better to watch than any SL game other than Wigan, that's because I'm biased. It has come on leaps and bounds due to RL becoming too sterile. They stopped hooking at scrums and PTBs, too many subs, all teams run the same attacking plays, stand to far back so that the attacking line isn't deep anymore.

I was talking to a mate the other week just before Eng v Aus and I said I would rather watch any GB v Aus match from the 80s or 90s, even early 2000s than the forth coming game because it has got so sterile and robotic.

How many rule changes have football, rugby union, boxing, cricket, tennis etc had over the last 50 years? Now compare that to RL and we look like a laughing stock who don't know what we're doing. The super 8s confuse me and I've followed RL all my life.

What we need is someone like Eddie Hearn to get involved with RL, he's worked wonders with boxing just like his dad did and he's making the big fights which Frank Warren would have held back on for years.

If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always had. Time to get rid of Nigel and the rest of the mob and get someone in like Eddie Hearn.

I would argue that RU has always had the upper hand financially, it's just that now the players are benefitting from the cash generated by the game rather than the bunch of old farts at Twickers.

I remember going to Twickers for the cross code challenge with Bath and wondered how an amateur game could afford such a nice stadium in such an expensive area of London.

Should have seen the old arms park inside during the 80's. It was like a palace for the time start of the art equipment boardrooms etc.

As you say union has had the money but now its going to the players instead of committee men who line their friends pockets rather than the players.

Agree about George North, the lionising of him by the union commentators is a mystery to me; he's a biggish lad who runs hard, but certainly doesn't look anything special.

Union does have a lot of good wingers in the Solomona mode. I have always thought that winger was a position that Union did not have to poach, but Sale know better. Big South Sea Islanders with good hands are not a rarity. I think that we are making Solomona out to be something that he is not. He is certainly not a Martin Offiah and he benefitted from the quality service that he was getting. Recently I have watched a fair bit of Union, I have been impressed by some of the handling in the backs but in the forwards they seem to have gone backwards from my days.

no they dont, their basic skill are embarassing, nuless you think kicking and catching are good...

I bow to your superior logic. Your argument is difficult to disprove given you complete lack of anything even remotely like sense. Shouting loudly and slurring your words just makes you sound like an old drunk.
Winger is not a passing position, even in Rugby League, wingers are runners who may occasionally need to pass. Yes kicking and catching are essential in the armoury of a top class winger. According to pieman it is not important for a winger to be able to catch the ball, that might explain a lot. Solomona is no half back but like most rugby league wingers he tackles well in the line. The problem is that he will be working in a different environment. We have seen that differences are enough to make a world beater at one code look average at the other. He will not look like a world beater in Union until he shows that he can beat a man and certainly will take time to be as good as Marlon Yard, Christian Wade, Ken Sio and his brother etc. I would have any of them at Wigan even if Wade cannot tackle.
Sale have looked to Super League because they are one of the few Rugby Union teams without very good wingers, many of the South Sea Islanders who grow up playing sevens and have excellent ball handling skills. That does not mean that they have enough opportunity to show it. It is telling that English RU are not producing enough talent and are buying in foreigners to fill the gaps. I hope that that never happens in Super League.


It is not very long ago that this very forum was waxing lyrical about how George North was coming to us and how brilliant he was. It is also not so long ago that Joe Burgess was described as looking like he had been tazered when he tried to pass. That came with practice.

where did I say that they didnt need to catch? With that logic its like saying you dont think wingers need to pass......soooooooooo the basic skills are poor running lines, tackling, reading the game, passing (kicking isnt a basic skill), catching under pressure. Most union players are poor at this thats why the domestic game is dross. So please show my lack of anything that didnt make sense?

10 years ago maybe. If you think English backs are anywhere near the level of rugby backs you are clueless

Regards

King James

Now that is a proper pees take, we have few decent backs currently in league but Union still take our cast offs as an improvement on what they have.