Farrell to Union...

[taipan]

Still doesn't forgive the league players and their agents playing it up for all it's worth even when RU aren't interested!

So if a Tv interviewer or journalist fronts up to a league player who is coming off contract,and he is supposed to stay dumb and say nothing ?
It is the agents who are the ones pushing up the players price,it was John Fordham who pushed A John's barrow and going to union.
Whats to forgive :roll: ? the player is concerned as we all are about our financial well being and future,thats why union blokes like T Kefu go to Japan,and Harrison to Ireland,and others to France.
Everyone who is after a job is selling him or herself, WTH #-o
Who is to say union isnt interested anyway,you and I dont know who the Waratahs and Perth franchise are after.Journos like Jenkins and Growden
seem to get in on the act when they knew about Sailor and Rogers for starters in advance.

 

[fieldo]

Union will always want the good league players because they are match harden, been brought up in a very professional club structure, can tackle, are skillful, have the respect around young players in union because of their higher profile.

League has had 100 years plus of buying RU players and a number of them were either duds or took along time to get used to the fitness level required in RL. To be fair there has been a number of great buys for league however Internationals Kent Lambert, Brett Papworth,Ken Wright, Joe Karem, Robert Whylie, etc weren't some of them. They struggled at times or all the time. #-o

John Brass, Ray Price, Russell Fairfax, Nepia, and Di Watkins were.

Union have 100 years of catching up to do. :roll: Its taken RL 100 years to learn that developing juniors is a much better idea then trying to buy players from another code.

 

[Polynesian Warrior]

Thats the Good thing about rugby union Internationals . The top 8 countries can be world champions one week and gets beaten the next .
Its exciting to watch .

Well if there's a world cup in league . Then I guess the Samoan team would be from NZ as there's no league in Samoa . ;-)

8 countries #-o
-Wales ,Ireland ,England,France ,SA ,Australia and NZ -7 out of a total of 100 plus not bad.The problem England is getting beaten most weeks.

Samoa will probably miss out [-X then as they have no local comp,leaving Jamaica with a 6 team comp starting on April 16th to take their place or Lebanon or Serbia or Georgia.I am sure they will fill the gap admirably.

Here is Englands last 8 games and I didn't see them getting flock by 40 points .
You are just picking on England because this years 6 nations is the best it has been and that Wales and Ireland have improve .

England 19 Australia 21
England 32 South Africa 16
England 70 Canada 0
Engaland 39 Italy 7
Engalnd 43 Scotland 22
Engalnd 13 Ireland 19
Engalnd 17 France 18
Engalnd 11 Wales 9

Argentina have beaten Ireland , France and other top 7 nations in the past year .


Samoa will still be at the RLWC because players from NZ and Australia will make up the team .
They will probably make the Q/F or S/F of the RLWC and then have to wait for the next RLWC in 2110 for their next game .

 

[bayrep]

Whats the ratio for soccer and the Soccer WC ? there has only been 6-7 winners since the cup started 70+ years ago. How many countries play soccer ? Union has already had 4 different winners in the last 20 years. That state may not imrpoce over the next 20 years but then Soccer has got a 50+ head start on union.

 

[Polynesian Warrior]

Union will always want the good league players because they are match harden, been brought up in a very professional club structure, can tackle, are skillful, have the respect around young players in union because of their higher profile.

League has had 100 years plus of buying RU players and a number of them were either duds or took along time to get used to the fitness level required in RL. To be fair there has been a number of great buys for league however Internationals Kent Lambert, Brett Papworth,Ken Wright, Joe Karem, Robert Whylie, etc weren't some of them. They struggled at times or all the time. #-o

John Brass, Ray Price, Russell Fairfax, Nepia, and Di Watkins were.

Union have 100 years of catching up to do. :roll: Its taken RL 100 years to learn that developing juniors is a much better idea then trying to buy players from another code.

League clubs have been buy rugby union players for over 100 years because of their skills and toughness .
Most made it league and became legends in rugby league and I can count on my fingers how many didn't .

Rugby kids have their own rugby heroes and legends that they look up to . Alot of Australia rugby kids and rugby kids around the world also look up to players like Jonah Lomu and Caucau , Sella , Blanco , Lima etc .

Most of the rugby players that made the switch didn't take long to become stars in league .
Hell there have been some league players struggling in rugby union and some of them have decide to go back to Superleague and league .
Go and check your rugby league history . You may find that most records , legends and stars in league for over 100 years were rugby union players from Wales , Ireland , Scotland , New Zealand , England and South Africa .

League have been professinol for over 100 years . But rugby union has now caught up and its only been pro for 10 years .
It didn't take league over 100 years to learn juniors developments and stop buying rugby union players .
They just stop buying rugby union players because rugby union now has more money than rugby league .
And league had over 100 years of professinol behind them . ;-)

 

[rugged]

So is Farrell g o o o o r n e or not?

 

[taipan]

Union will always want the good league players because they are match harden, been brought up in a very professional club structure, can tackle, are skillful, have the respect around young players in union because of their higher profile.

League has had 100 years plus of buying RU players and a number of them were either duds or took along time to get used to the fitness level required in RL. To be fair there has been a number of great buys for league however Internationals Kent Lambert, Brett Papworth,Ken Wright, Joe Karem, Robert Whylie, etc weren't some of them. They struggled at times or all the time. #-o

John Brass, Ray Price, Russell Fairfax, Nepia, and Di Watkins were.

Union have 100 years of catching up to do. :roll: Its taken RL 100 years to learn that developing juniors is a much better idea then trying to buy players from another code.

League clubs have been buy rugby union players for over 100 years because of their skills and toughness .
Most made it league and became legends in rugby league and I can count on my fingers how many didn't .

Rugby kids have their own rugby heroes and legends that they look up to . Alot of Australia rugby kids and rugby kids around the world also look up to players like Jonah Lomu and Caucau , Sella , Blanco , Lima etc .

Most of the rugby players that made the switch didn't take long to become stars in league .
Hell there have been some league players struggling in rugby union and some of them have decide to go back to Superleague and league .
Go and check your rugby league history . You may find that most records , legends and stars in league for over 100 years were rugby union players from Wales , Ireland , Scotland , New Zealand , England and South Africa .

League have been professional for over 100 years . But rugby union has now caught up and its only been pro for 10 years .
It didn't take league over 100 years to learn juniors developments and stop buying rugby union players .
They just stop buying rugby union players because rugby union now has more money than rugby league .
And league had over 100 years of professinol behind them . ;-)

Darcy,Stumbles,Morgan, just a couple of union names as forwards who went to league and were duds,and there were plenty more.
Most league stars were from union where ? not in Oz for starters. Not in England Robinson,Bishop,Watson,Reilly,Millward,Stephenson,Hanley,Huddart,Lowe from England real stars were league born and bred>Carney came from Gaelic football.
You talk rubbish French rugby union was professional for decades ,against the wishes of world rugby union.Where did one of their greatest players Sella come from .You guessed it league.They poached as many rugby league players as league did from union in Oz.
You are right union has more money than league,and despite this it has not helped the English rugby union in their present position,also they have over 300,000 participants,compared to the English rugby leagues 64,000.
This years tri series,the SOO and tests in Oz, the latter already sponsored by Bundaberg Rum will add more money to league coffers.

 

[Polynesian Warrior]

Mate ! Go and read who's who of rugby league and see how many Welsh , English , Scottish , South African and and new Zealand rugby union players were stars in rugby league for the last 100 years .
You will be surprise at how rugby union players made it in league .
Jim Sullivan, Gus Risman, Tom van Vollenhoven, Trevor Foster, Martin Offiah, Lewis Jones, Billy Boston, Jonathan Davies, David Watkins, Cliff Watson, Alan Tait, Ray Price, Micheal O'Connor, Ricky Stuart, George van Rooyen, Robert Walker, Alex Murphy, Alan Bateman, Scot Gibbs, Clive Sullivan and even league journalist Ray French .
And there are many many more .(include the NZ rugby union players)
But once again you think we are talking about Australia again .
What is it with you guys and Australia ? Is that the only place you feel safe talking about ?

I really don't care if the French rugby was pro for a while . Phillipe Sella wrote in the NZ Herald on the eve of the 1987 RWC final that he played rugby before sighing with Agen .
I didn't know about his league background or he could have played both codes as a youngsters .
He made his French rugby union debut at the age of 20 so he must have played club rugby at 18 or 19 .


You don't have to be rich to be successful Taipan . The Kiwi league team have fuc* all money and players but still hold its own against GB and Australia .
Some paranoia dreamer told me on another forum that PNG has over 2 million league players .
Seem to me the Kumuls will soon be playing the Jrs Kangaroo's .

 

[taipan]

Mate i am fully aware of Offiah and the others I know a fair slab of league history even visited the George Hotel in Huddersfield the founding place for the English Rugby league,since when is Millward,Farrell,Bishop etc Australian they are Poms,and BTW Ricky Stuart is league born and bred before he ever played union via school.
Mate if you use that as a guide all players involved in the formation of rugby league were union players Messenger for starters so what ?.A bloke by the name of Horstman who played union for Harlequins has signed to play league for the LOndon Broncos.
Of course you dont care of French rugby union was pro for a while(that was exactly the way the IRB thought for decades ignore it -shamateurism),if you did it would stuff you argument.There are numbers of league players in France who were poached by the union,and they were brought up on league.
You dont have to be rich to be successful,did I say that of course not,however you brought up the fact that union have now more money than league.You emphasised the importance of money.Thats my point England with all their money won the world cup and now are being beaten in the 6nations.
PNG has f...ll money to use your language,and they are still the national sport of that country,and the game there continues to grow.
Some paranoia dreamers told Australians and the rest of the world 3billion people would watch the 2003 WC,and state governments believed it.
Rugby union players are prepared to play league in countries which do not have much money,as they like the sport-Holland,Jamaica,USA,Serbia and Georgia.
Professionalism in rugby union,has been a blessing for rugby league,because if union players want to try league,they cant be banned(in most cases)because league is pro,which was the reason in the past.
So it means there will be more league players who have played union,good on em

 

[douglasallen91]

So is Farrell g o o o o r n e or not?

yep hes off to saracens

 

[Polynesian Warrior]

Jim Sullivan, Gus Risman, Tom van Vollenhoven, Trevor Foster, Martin Offiah, Lewis Jones, Billy Boston, Jonathan Davies, David Watkins, Cliff Watson, Alan Tait, Ray Price, Micheal O'Connor, Ricky Stuart, George van Rooyen, Robert Walker, Alex Murphy, Alan Bateman, Scot Gibbs, Clive Sullivan and even league journalist Ray French .


Ricky Stuart is league born and bred before he ever played union via school.


Well if thats what you want us to believe then I guess 90% of all Kiwi's internationals were union born and bred then .

 

[taipan]

I am still trying to work out what your point is PW, if you cant understand my post why even bother to reply.I have stated that league has players from rugby union,so the hell has rugby union in France from league players, many of them so what. League has poached union players out in the open,union has poached league players whilst union was amateur.
So the players you mentioned made up all the classy players who ever played rugby league,pull another one PW its starting to crumble.
BTW Farrell has been fast tracked into the English rugby union squad and is likely to play in Canada this year.So much for the need for a couple of years to understand the rules.We all know MacDougall was fast tracked into the Scottish squad.
As far as the NZedders go no surprise there,the fact they play rugby league now they may in fact prefer to play that code. :-({|=