If there is one slight criticism of Madge then it is probably the handling of Sam in terms of the media exposure he has had and some of bad / Good publicity and attention he has had.

This i feel is probably down to a number of reasons 1.Madges own inexperience 2.Rugby league not having seen a star like sam for some years 3. And Sams own inexperience in dealing with the prressure and the media.

That is why i thought the chat with Sir Alex was a master stroke as the guy knows how to handle young players and the media and protects them from over exposure and beleiving there own hype and i am sure Madge will have learned a lot from him albeit a little late in the season.

I would imagine Sam could double his money with immediate effect, have an easier, longer career, gain worldwide recognition and get a public school girlfriend! Anyone who thinks playing for England RU isn't a million miles away from playing SL needs to explain why no-one from RU is coming over to play RL.

There had only been one "English" try scorer out of 7 tries for England in the world cup up until Saturday just gone.

Play well for England Sam, do what you do best and we'll all be in your corner, even this Warrie fan.
Take it easy in October

Why do all kids not just go to play union at 7 year old then if its that good and easy instead of wasting RL time developing them. Obviously playing for England Rugby union is an attraction. If we had a successfull international team we could draw crowds of 50k plus regulary so we then wouldnt be a million miles away from England Rugger but if all the players that show a bit of talent start wanting to leave the game how can we ever produce a top international side. By the sounds of you mate your watching the wrong code if you think that high about union. Worldwide recognition my maybe in uk, france, Austraila, New Zealand and South Africa but thats hardly worldwide is it?

Oh dear, where do I start? Well, there are many reasons why all kids don't automatically play RU from 7 although back in my days many kids played both. However, we are talking about making a living here, not just having a kick about. The vast majority of kids who play any sport for enjoyment have no chance of getting to the stage where Sam now is but enjoy it just the same, although you seem to be of the opinion that I think that as soon as a kid blows the candles out on his 7th birthday cake he should be looking for an agent.

Re international RL crowds we used to fill OT even when the Aussies where battering us in the eighties. We were a million miles behind RU in terms of media recognition then too - and they were amateur at the time. I agree an outflowing of talent doesn't help the International scene but what is your point? Should Sam or others make supposedly hard headed careers decisions with that in mind? If we want to retain our best we have to offer them something competitive, though how we do that is another debate entirely.

Re world wide recognition I accept there are many countries that don't play any code, but anyone who doesn't see the huge difference playing RU makes to a player's profile is deluded. I suppose you are one of those head in the sand types who thinks we'll just create another star if and when Sam goes whilst completley missing the point that the best situation would be to keep breeding new players whilst retaining those already created?

Finally are you going to tell me why there isn't an influx of English RU internationals pouring into RL or will you conveniently give that a swerve?

RL might as well wrap up then and all swap over to RU.

In terms of full time professional sport can't you see that as a looming scenario? I certainly can.

would you support wigan if they were a premiership RU side?

If you mean would I pay to watch RU then the answer is no. It's RL only for me. Wigan have a football team too (allegedly!!) but I haven't watched them since they were in the Northern Premier and I was in short trousers. Even though I think RU is improved in recent years it is still garbage. I have been to a Wales/Wallabies international (corporate freebie) and, in the flesh so to speak, you simply cannot get any enjoyment out of it. When watching on TV you can at least see what's happening (even if the ref gets it wrong!) but "live" it's just a pile of bodies, then a whistle for an impossible-to-see infringement, then a kick for goal.

Don't mistake me for a RU fan, though I prefer it to football. I am, however, a realist who despairs of our game ever making progress.

EDIT: Forget progress, just halting the slide would be a start.

its all rubbish about playing infront of big crowds for england! the simple fact is the money is alot better! you offered sam tomkins 500 grand a year to play rugby league or 500 grand a year to play union he would choose league every time. The thing is though rugby league is never going to offer that kind of money and if he can get that playing union then who can blame him for leaving? also the other sponsership deals will start rolling in once playing for england but end of the day its all about money and unfortunately rugby league can not( or wont) compete!

All of which leads us back to the salary cap debate. If our top players could take a sponsorship to boost their income who could possibly say that is bad for the game? Can you actually believe that RL has rules actually preventing this inflix of money into our game?

i can believe it yeah becuase the game is ran by idiots. how are we ever going to compete with austrailia or new zealand if whenever we do produce some world class talents they leave as soon as union comes along chucking mega money at them and promising them international selection. you cant blame players for jumping ship at the end of the day its a short carear and they need to make as much money as they can before they retire. I know if it was me in the same situation, no matter how much i love wigan, if union was willing to pay me 3 times my wages and then all the sponcers comming in such as range rover and big watch companies etc id be off in no time! but if rugby league could pay me enough that at the end of my carear i was comfortable and didnt have to worry about my future then id probably stay put, so unless something is done about the salary cap and especially for home grown players we are never going to be able to compete!