Quote BroncOnIon="BroncOnIon"A view from NZ:
[url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/league/news/article.cfm?c_id=79&objectid=10690084Top 10 things rugby owes to league[/url'"
Great read and a few gems,
[iUnion is yet to officially bring in an interchange system, with teams relying instead on the blood bin and fake injuries to props to rotate players.
One of the main reasons for the great rugby schism of 1895 was the desire of northern English clubs to play for something more tangible than the joy of putting their heads between rows of other men's buttocks.
That's right, France was once a predominantly league territory that was downright stolen by the 15-man game.
For the most part the French wanted no truck with British amateur ideals, instead embracing the professional code wholeheartedly.
Then came the Nazis. Not the RFU. The real Nazis. After the defeat of France in 1940, the French Rugby Union worked with the German-collaborating Vichy regime to re-establish the dominance of their sport.
Union's amateur ethos appealed to the Nazis' view of sport purity. League was banned and all assets of the Rugby League and its clubs were handed over to the union.They were never returned.
As one prominent convert said privately on the day he switched: "You get twice the pay and train half as much. It's great."[/i
