The gym cannot get you ready.....game time with an awesome off season is

I agree.
It's not that the players are different, it's just that the games are different and allow players to show their skills or give benefit for a particular skill (like being tall in line outs).....however, he did pick a particularly big monster to run at and to be fair, he wouldn't normally run staright at a No.8 in Union.

I have to say (as a neutral Wakefield fan) I was gutted for Thomas when he took that tackle and then tried to play the ball. He didn't hide from any work after that either and I'm sure he will be a very good player in future, but I knew there would be a lot of innane "he's not tough enough etc" which is just plainly not true.
It was a tough game to start in and at least he stuck to it.
Seen plenty of RL players get their head in the wrong place in a trackle and get knocked out. It's just a technique thing.

The other converts of the past have had an off season or even reserve games to get used to the game before being thrown in. Thomas is being thrown in at the deep end. The coach obviously thinks he can. I hope he can too. (Not just taking it in as an extra forward)

I hope he plays next week and gets the running chances. One thing I do know as Wakefield fan is that Tony Martin will give him good ball and guide him if needed. He's a good decision making centre. Our wingers always benefited from playing with him rather than the other wing.

Dual coders are just League fans who are trying to keep their friends happy. Im not saying RL players are genetically harder humans! Just harder because they play a far more intense and physically demanding sport than RU players.

If you want to argue that RU players are more mentally astute, or play a more technical game Ill agree with you. Tell me any RU players are tougher than RL players and Ill laugh at you. A lot.

Dont play the inferirority complex card, it makes you sound like John Inverdale.

Nope im a dual coder and prefer union to rl.

And yes there just as tough players in union ..... just to name a few that are based in wales alone tiatia(one hard git there would mix it with any of the RL lot even if he is 38.!), xavier rush, ian evans, ian gough, jamie roberts, andy powell, mike phillips, gethin jenkins and jerry collins.... dont go telling me these are not hard/tough/robust men.>!!

would all get found out playing league....

I would agree with you about ian evans, ian gough and jerry collins getting found out in RL, the point was they are hard/tough players.!!

The rest could easily make it.

But the sport has no chance of getting the calibre of player such as mike phillips, jamie roberts and gethin jenkins who could easily make excellent RL players.... but no way shall they convert the money they are on and the ambitions to win Euro cups, world cups and grand slams.!

World cups? Pmsl what you intend to get past that world 15 a side superpower of Fiji this time? behave yourself the day Wales win a world cup I'll give all my kids welsh names

I agree we have been very poor at world cups due to politics and imploding on ourselves getting new coaches in etc. Lets hope it doesnt happen this time. WAles have a very tough schedule ahead that should but them in good shape for the WC even if they dont win many of them have SA x 2, NZ x 3, Oz x 1, 6 nations tournament and england x 2. you cant say we are not testing ourselves against the best there.!

The problem with us is that we never seem to peak at the right time. If we can peak at the world cup for a change and go on one of these runs like we do when we win a grand slam then i see no reason why wales cant win a world cup with a favourable draw. You give the drwa england had when they won it in 2003 and wales would be quietly confident ie england in QFS, france in semis and Oz in final.... wales are more than capable of beating all of them and as i said when we get on one of these roles when we win grand slams we seem unstoppable. I doubt very much we could beat 2 southern hemisphere teams in the same tournament but if we had a draw like above i see no reason why wales couldnt win it.

This is a non arguement. Different people in different sports. End of.

I'm a RL man through and through but I've played RU at a decent level and I'd challenge any rugby league foward to stick his head in a rugby union front row and say they are not tough. It is just a different sort of pain.
They don't have to run full out at a group of tacklers like in RL (which requires mental and physical toughness - and technique) but the pain caused in a RU scrum is easily comparable in terms of mental and physical toughness - and certainly in technique.

They are just different.

The whole RU vs RL is pointless. Die hard RL fans will never accept anything you say against their sport. There are tough union players. Anyone who diss-regards that is an idiot. There are also talented union players that become the best of the best in league. Does Jonathan Davies ring a bell, Scott Gibbs, Scott Quinell, John Deveraux, Paul morrierty(sp). Look face facts. Players from RU can quite easily switch to league.

Don't get me wrong, players from league sometimes make it in union. But not as often. Jason Robinson strikes me as a good union convert. The best league player in britain at one point completly failed at union. Iestyn Harris. There were other factors but it happens

Totally agree with both above posts.!

Good post.

Disagree about Iestyn. He wasn't brilliant by any stretch of the imagination, but he was better than a lot of the tripe that surrounded him in that Wales team (and Cardiff too). When you're branded the saviour of a nation's national sport before you've even player, it's fair to say you're under a certain amount of pressure. He could have been brilliant with the right support, coaching etc. Unfortunatley it wasn't to be.

I think many people who follow only one code, and ignore the other, seem to forget how totally different the games are to play, and just assume because someone is a superstar at one code, they will be at the other because their code is 'superior'. There are many, many cases to prove that wrong and the truth is, different players react in different ways, you can only judge each convert on a case-by-case basis.

The old league is better than union thread i thought i was in planet rugby for a second, grow up he is a wonderful PR exercise for the crusaders at his best he would be playing 6, but he is like when john kirwan went to the then auckland warriors don't except him to do what davies or gibbs done.
No doubt he underestimated the french he proably has never heard of them before, ferriol is a top notch prop him along with elima and bosc are world class the rest are playing like bums.
There is no reason for union players to switch to league anymore the money is not better, it has turned full circle more league players are switching, but if the money bonanza happens many are talking of with the next nrl deal then union must be warned they could be back in the ballpark.
I played both i grew up in league heartland 3 hours from sydney orange, league is a tv sport while union is a player sport is the best way to sum it up.

These are the league players to make a good crack of union in recent years:
Wendell sailor- Played 30 odd tests, was in my opinion the best australian convert hard to tackle speed, was a star.
Lote Tuquiri- Played around 20 tests, a good played but lacked the foot speed at times to play.
Mat Rogers - Good utility back played about 30 tests including 2003 wc final, was one of the best aussie s14 players.
Brad Thorn - the best of the lot played over 40 tests made conversion in forwards.
Tasea Lavea - Played over 4 seasons sucessfully with auckland blus in super 14.
Fabrice Estabanez - After playing in the french elite with toulouse he switched codes to brive, now in france 6 nations squad massive step up.
Chris Ashton - After just 2 years in union now a english international.

Then we also had jason robinson, Hape, Vanikolo, Craig Gower with italy most have made a good fist of union.

Robinson was far the best, scored the only try in the WC final and was inspiring to the rest of the team according to Johnny Wilkinson.