Kick and clap

Gives them a well earned rest, don't be unkind.....

When the season starts go into the bookies and pick up a first tryscorer coupon for the opening super league matches. No tryscorer will be approximately 150/1. Get a coupon during the six nations and it is 16/1. That says it all, although i still think 16/1 is cracking value in a game of union.

What odds for a Try before a Pen,proberbly 1/200 ?.

Well I don't know about that but you have to laugh at the "complexities of the breakdown" twaddle.

RU types - particularly forwards - love to tell you how complex the RU forward game is. I suffered lectures on this all the time my son was playing for Chester RUFC minis and juniors but I was stood there watching the game and thinking it was all pretty straightforward. You learn the rules and get on with it. What's the problem?

At a much lower level my son has made the transition the other way. He is now at Uni and is in the RL team and absolutely loves it. He played wing in union as he was growing up and got a pass once in a blue moon but his adult physique is that of a half back or hooker and that is where he plays in RL.

Talking to him about it and the differences between the two games is interesting. "Knackered" is a phrase he uses a lot. The almost 100% involvement playing hooker left him with wobbly legs after his first game playing there but he absolutely loves it compared to RU.

I am sure Joel has a lot more to do than Chris Ashton and wouldn't really care if he didn't anyway given the pennies he will get for playing RU but I for one don't believe for a minute Joel will find it as enjoyable a sport to play as RL was.

Despite the recent upturn in fittness levels in RU at the top level, its still nowhere near RL. Complexities my booty, just smarts talking it up. They will be attracting good RL players not because its a better game, or neccesarily because of the higher profile, its all down to money as it was when players were coming to RL from RU. Its as simple as that. RFL take note and get your fricking finger out!!!

RU is nowhere near as fast as RL, the fitness levels and athleticism across the park are nowhere near RL.

The game itself in the home nations is not a great spectacle, in fact the english league during the winter is just awful to watch.

But to say there aren't complexities that are difficult to learn is utter rubbish.

It is hugely more complex than league, the breakdown is a nightmare at first, the defensive structure is massively different and the interpretation of the rules is difficult to say the least.

I am not a union fan, but i can see it for what it is, for a mid twenties top RL player going to a top RU team, the transition is VERY difficult for the first year or two.

Owen Farrell will become the next Johnny Wilkinson though - in that the only TV highlights we'll ever see of him will involve kicking for goal, but that won't matter as it's so damned important to them.

You can say that again! But when all’s said and done, just put a stopwatch on both games and time the parts of the matches when no actual running play is taking place. I wonder which game would have served up the most action?

RU is up there with Football, Darts, F1, Golf and Saturday night TV... Its baby food for the brain dead.

You don't need to watch it closely as you can pick up whats happening after you have reached from the sofa for your Pizza or tasteless Lager.....

If you say so chaps

You have to have played RU to appreciate it. I can understand frustrations re the scrummaging and breakdown laws, and the number of penalties, but the rules are such that players are coached tactics that will win the all important penalty. If side A is a far better scrummaging team than side B, then side A will constantly win penalties for the opposition weak scrum collapsing, breaking up and wheeling. I'm an official at a NE RU club and in our game yesterday we won a number of penalties and scored a try from our superior scrum. Last week we scored 7 tries, 5 were by forwards and were from close in. Not great to watch at times, but it did the business.