Suliasi Vunivalu shock code switch

[taste2taste]

Where would you put any of the mentioned players on a pitch?

Some dual-code players do incredibly well. SBW is a prime example of this. On the flipside Benji Marshall and Sam Burgess are great examples of guys who were good in League and terrible in Union. The misconception is that swapping between the two is easy.

In general Wingers are the players who can switch between the two games easily. Forwards are practically impossible to switch, fullbacks also are not good for the switch case in point Folau was shit compared to actual Union fullbacks like Halfpenny.

Izzy was sh#t in Union ?????? Are you serious or trolling ??? I'm assuming trolling yeah ??
Izzy is the leading try scorer in Super Rugby history and won the John Eales medal more than any other Wallaby in history ... Not bad for someone who's sh#t and couldn't make the switch to Union :/

I wouldn't call Burgess time in Yawnion a failure either. He played for England in the '3rd biggest world sporting event' Rugby World Cup with his biggest mistake being he kicked when he should have passed in a knock out game making him public enemy number 1 with all the league hating Union jerno's.

As for Slater, Inglis, Smith, Thurston or any other Kangaroo you can name ? Considering very average league first graders ( Rona, Nabula, Korabete) can play for the Wallabies, I doubt they'd have any problems making the switch.

 

[Someguy]

Has been the storms weak link for a few seasons imo (along with a declining chambers). He was either going to be let go to earn overs to play for a struggling NRL team and fail or go to union, I think he made the right choice for all involved.

 

[typicalfan]

Folau was by far and away the Wallabies best in his time there. He was carrying spuds. In League he was pretty much Daniel Tupou, in Union he was Hayne, Inglis and Slater rolled into one.

 

[reanimate]

Folau was by far and away the Wallabies best in his time there. He was carrying spuds. In League he was pretty much Daniel Tupou, in Union he was Hayne, Inglis and Slater rolled into one.

How bad the rest of them are was on full display tonight. Let them spend another few million on poaching another NRL player, look where that approach has taken their game in Australia in the past 20 years.

 

[Mr Spock!]

How bad the rest of them are was on full display tonight. Let them spend another few million on poaching another NRL player, look where that approach has taken their game in Australia in the past 20 years.

Yeah I think the wing position is the least of their problems.

 

[taste2taste]

Yeah I think the wing position is the least of their problems.

The pub I was at had the rara on 1 screen and the 9's on another.
No lie, in the time it took to pack a scrum ( that resulted in a penalty kick) the 9s had scored 2 length of the field tries.

I'll never understand how Union ended up having the greater global reach.... I guess its something to do with the Southern Union not agreeing to rule changes that would make the game a better spectator sport way back in 1895 :/

 

[ReddFelon]

Izzy was sh#t in Union ?????? Are you serious or trolling ??? I'm assuming trolling yeah ??
Izzy is the leading try scorer in Super Rugby history and won the John Eales medal more than any other Wallaby in history ... Not bad for someone who's sh#t and couldn't make the switch to Union :/

I wouldn't call Burgess time in Yawnion a failure either. He played for England in the '3rd biggest world sporting event' Rugby World Cup with his biggest mistake being he kicked when he should have passed in a knock out game making him public enemy number 1 with all the league hating Union jerno's.

As for Slater, Inglis, Smith, Thurston or any other Kangaroo you can name ? Considering very average league first graders ( Rona, Nabula, Korabete) can play for the Wallabies, I doubt they'd have any problems making the switch.

Folau was shit at Rugby. He was one of the worst fullbacks in the sport (scoring tries doesn't make you a good player when your position is predominantly defensive). He had zero kicking game and no defense. You're effectively the prime example of a one-eyed leaguie who doesn't get the differences between the two games. Burgess selection for England was completely undeserved, such that the coach for England was fired and England dropped to the lowest ranking they'd ever had during that period.

You're mistaking Michael Cheika selecting duds for the quality of rugby players.

Slater was a great League fullback, in Rugby the fullback plays a completely different role. Inglis the same, Smith would play what role? Scrum half? It's not even slightly similar. Thurston would be a terrible #10, his size would be a complete detriment, but he also didn't have the right kicking game.

 

[Brutus]

Shock me.

A Fijian NRL player wants to switch to union.

Sivo will follow no doubt in a year or two.

 

[mongoose]

the All Blacks currently trouncing Ireland, such a global behemoth when a nation of 4 million is miles ahead of anyone else....

 

[reanimate]

Folau was shit at Rugby. He was one of the worst fullbacks in the sport (scoring tries doesn't make you a good player when your position is predominantly defensive). He had zero kicking game and no defense. You're effectively the prime example of a one-eyed leaguie who doesn't get the differences between the two games.

He was that bad at Union he somehow got the Waratards to win Super Rugby. He must have been playing the game completely wrong for that to have happened.

 

[taste2taste]

Folau was shit at Rugby. He was one of the worst fullbacks in the sport (scoring tries doesn't make you a good player when your position is predominantly defensive). He had zero kicking game and no defense. You're effectively the prime example of a one-eyed leaguie who doesn't get the differences between the two games. Burgess selection for England was completely undeserved, such that the coach for England was fired and England dropped to the lowest ranking they'd ever had during that period.

You're mistaking Michael Cheika selecting duds for the quality of rugby players.

Slater was a great League fullback, in Rugby the fullback plays a completely different role. Inglis the same, Smith would play what role? Scrum half? It's not even slightly similar. Thurston would be a terrible #10, his size would be a complete detriment, but he also didn't have the right kicking game.

Sorry, but you're the prime example of an ignorant and arrogant rugby supporter.

The reason Chekia picked those players is because they were better than anything available in rugby.

The reason Burgess was picked for England was because he was better than anything in English rugby.

Time and time again league players have switched to Union and been successful. How many union players have successfully made the switch to league ? Union legend's Tana Umaga and Rocky Elson couldn't even get a run in first grade when they tried.

I know you rara supporters like to think Union is an intellectual sport that us simple leagueies can't understand but it really isn't. This world cup has shown Union is still 2 decades behind league, they can't even run a simple block play without stuffing it up.

And before you use the tired old line 'play rugby see the world, play league see Penrith ' that isn't entirely true these days. Rugby is the number 1 sport in a country that has a smaller population than western Sydney. In every other country its a minor sport. Only in the past few years league has tried to grow and is making huge leaps in Jamaica, Lebanon, Serbia, Toronto and in 2021 will have professional teams in New York and Ottawa... Not too bad for a sport that's only played in Penrith.

 

[ReddFelon]

Sorry, but you're the prime example of an ignorant and arrogant rugby supporter.

The reason Chekia picked those players is because they were better than anything available in rugby.

The reason Burgess was picked for England was because he was better than anything in English rugby.

Time and time again league players have switched to Union and been successful. How many union players have successfully made the switch to league ? Union legend's Tana Umaga and Rocky Elson couldn't even get a run in first grade when they tried.

I know you rara supporters like to think Union is an intellectual sport that us simple leagueies can't understand but it really isn't. This world cup has shown Union is still 2 decades behind league, they can't even run a simple block play without stuffing it up.

And before you use the tired old line 'play rugby see the world, play league see Penrith ' that isn't entirely true these days. Rugby is the number 1 sport in a country that has a smaller population than western Sydney. In every other country its a minor sport. Only in the past few years league has tried to grow and is making huge leaps in Jamaica, Lebanon, Serbia, Toronto and in 2021 will have professional teams in New York and Ottawa... Not too bad for a sport that's only played in Penrith.

I mean it's the national sport of Wales, but let's not have facts get in the way of your tired out "muh small fish". My god though, professional teams in New York and Ottawa? Good thing there's not 11 Professional Rugby teams in the US already.


Thanks for proving my point that you're a one eyed leaguie, you can't even make a point without devolving into that ancient Code Wars bullshit.

Here's a rundown of everything you said that was incorrect;

Cheika was a useless bellend who was propped up by his buddies in the NSWRU. His predecessor Robbie Deans was fired after his test match win percentage fell to 60% in 2013. Cheika never even had a percentage that high, that he hired a defence coach who's previous experience was as defence coach for the Super Rugby team who had the worst defence stat is a testament to just how out of his depth he was.

Players like Eto Nabuli and Curtis Rona were given opportunities, they've since been dropped. This has less to do with the quality of players and more to do with the five year failure of the ARU in selecting randoms who they think will go well at the expense of their own developed players. It's literally why the Wallabies (A team I can't stand for the record, because f**k them and the entire ARU for what they did to WA) have gotten progressively worse since 2013.

England had far better options, hence England being a powerhouse the last 4 years with the majority of the 2015 team still playing. Lest we forget Benji Marshall and his 6 games for Auckland. Or Will Chambers at the Reds being dropped from the extended practice squad in 2012.

Laughed hard at the World Cup though, considering the very first pool match of the 2019 World Cup outdrew the final match of the 2017 League World Cup. So far behind though.

You still never actually said which positions those players would be set at. Let's be real, you couldn't tell the difference between a Loosehead Prop or a Tighthead Prop. It's got nothing to do with faux intellectualism, it's just that your active negative approach shows that you don't know anything about the sport. I may as well ask you to explain which AFL players would do well in Basketball as your knowledge of the two would be on par with your understanding of Rugby.

 

[ReddFelon]

He was that bad at Union he somehow got the Waratards to win Super Rugby. He must have been playing the game completely wrong for that to have happened.

Ummm, did you actually watch that game? All of the points came from Foley and Adam Ashley-Cooper.

 

[taste2taste]

I mean it's the national sport of Wales, but let's not have facts get in the way of your tired out "muh small fish". My god though, professional teams in New York and Ottawa? Good thing there's not 11 Professional Rugby teams in the US already.


Thanks for proving my point that you're a one eyed leaguie, you can't even make a point without devolving into that ancient Code Wars bullshit.

Here's a rundown of everything you said that was inco
Cheika was a useless bellend who was propped up by his buddies in the NSWRU. His predecessor Robbie Deans was fired after his test match win percentage fell to 60% in 2013. Cheika never even had a percentage that high, that he hired a defence coach who's previous experience was as defence coach for the Super Rugby team who had the worst defence stat is a testament to just how out of his depth he was.

Players like Eto Nabuli and Curtis Rona were given opportunities, they've since been dropped. This has less to do with the quality of players and more to do with the five year failure of the ARU in selecting randoms who they think will go well at the expense of their own developed players. It's literally why the Wallabies (A team I can't stand for the record, because f**k them and the entire ARU for what they did to WA) have gotten progressively worse since 2013.

England had far better options, hence England being a powerhouse the last 4 years with the majority of the 2015 team still playing. Lest we forget Benji Marshall and his 6 games for Auckland. Or Will Chambers at the Reds being dropped from the extended practice squad in 2012.

Laughed hard at the World Cup though, considering the very first pool match of the 2019 World Cup outdrew the final match of the 2017 League World Cup. So far behind though.

You still never actually said which positions those players would be set at. Let's be real, you couldn't tell the difference between a Loosehead Prop or a Tighthead Prop. It's got nothing to do with faux intellectualism, it's just that your active negative approach shows that you don't know anything about the sport. I may as well ask you to explain which AFL players would do well in Basketball as your knowledge of the two would be on par with your understanding of Rugby.

So much typical rugby ignorant & arrogant crap here I don't know where to start :/

Sorry, I forgot to mention Union is Wales national sport ( although soccer is its no 1 sport) so, that makes 2 countries with a population less than western Sydney that have union as the number 1 sport.

Firstly I'm not going into a "code war" as mentioned I've been watching the WC.

My comment about league being 2 decades ahead of Union wasn't about crowd numbers or TV audiences it was about basic attacking structures. I understand the codes are different ...but holy cow, in union they struggle to run the most simple backline play. It seems anything more complicated than 'hands' gets stuffed up.

Your opinions about wallabies selections are totally yours, but I think the national coach would have a better understanding of who's best to pick.

I get your point about Benji, but Chambers has just picked up a lucrative contract in rugby yeah ? And you get my point of Umaga and Elsom failing hard in league ?

My point about Ottawa, Toronto and NY is that its the first time league has tried to venture outside of safe waters and in Toronto's case has been more successful than anyone could have predicted. Yes, union has a USA domestic comp but hows that going ? Average crowd size of what ? 1.5k?

And you're absolutely kidding yourself if you don't think Thurston, Inglis, Slater, Smith wouldn't have dominated rugby, put them at 9,10,13,15 for all I care. If Barreck Barnes could play scrum half I doubt Thurston would have any troubles .... Oh hang on, let me guess, you didn't agree with Barnes being selected because he was an ex leagueie ?

Again, you're kidding yourself if you think rugby is a super intellectual sport that only you, NZ and a few people in Wales can understand. It really isn't.

PS don't do the pseudointellectual thing and correct my spelling and grammar. Its late and I wrote this on a phone.

 

[Walter sobchak]

Ever heard of a travel agent?
If this is why people played sport everyone would play soccer.

Play in huge tournaments like the World Cup and see the world at the same time.

 

[reanimate]

Ummm, did you actually watch that game? All of the points came from Foley and Adam Ashley-Cooper.

According to this Union expert, that doesn’t matter:

He was one of the worst fullbacks in the sport (scoring tries doesn't make you a good player when your position is predominantly defensive).

 

[Canard]

Folau was shit at Rugby. He was one of the worst fullbacks in the sport (scoring tries doesn't make you a good player when your position is predominantly defensive). He had zero kicking game and no defense. You're effectively the prime example of a one-eyed leaguie who doesn't get the differences between the two games. Burgess selection for England was completely undeserved, such that the coach for England was fired and England dropped to the lowest ranking they'd ever had during that period.

You're mistaking Michael Cheika selecting duds for the quality of rugby players.

Slater was a great League fullback, in Rugby the fullback plays a completely different role. Inglis the same, Smith would play what role? Scrum half? It's not even slightly similar. Thurston would be a terrible #10, his size would be a complete detriment, but he also didn't have the right kicking game.

Hahaha, quality troll.

 

[ReddFelon]

According to this Union expert, that doesn’t matter:

I'm just curious as to how you thought he got them to win? Actually review that entire season, every single victory they had came about because of Foley kicking an average of 15 points per game and almost all of that came off the scrum and lineout they had because their forward pack was essentially the test team.

 

[ReddFelon]

So much typical rugby ignorant & arrogant crap here I don't know where to start :/

Sorry, I forgot to mention Union is Wales national sport ( although soccer is its no 1 sport) so, that makes 2 countries with a population less than western Sydney that have union as the number 1 sport.

Firstly I'm not going into a "code war" as mentioned I've been watching the WC.

My comment about league being 2 decades ahead of Union wasn't about crowd numbers or TV audiences it was about basic attacking structures. I understand the codes are different ...but holy cow, in union they struggle to run the most simple backline play. It seems anything more complicated than 'hands' gets stuffed up.

Your opinions about wallabies selections are totally yours, but I think the national coach would have a better understanding of who's best to pick.

I get your point about Benji, but Chambers has just picked up a lucrative contract in rugby yeah ? And you get my point of Umaga and Elsom failing hard in league ?

My point about Ottawa, Toronto and NY is that its the first time league has tried to venture outside of safe waters and in Toronto's case has been more successful than anyone could have predicted. Yes, union has a USA domestic comp but hows that going ? Average crowd size of what ? 1.5k?

And you're absolutely kidding yourself if you don't think Thurston, Inglis, Slater, Smith wouldn't have dominated rugby, put them at 9,10,13,15 for all I care. If Barreck Barnes could play scrum half I doubt Thurston would have any troubles .... Oh hang on, let me guess, you didn't agree with Barnes being selected because he was an ex leagueie ?

Again, you're kidding yourself if you think rugby is a super intellectual sport that only you, NZ and a few people in Wales can understand. It really isn't.

PS don't do the pseudointellectual thing and correct my spelling and grammar. Its late and I wrote this on a phone.

Remove chip from shoulder, "I'm not going into a code war", proceeds to spend the entire time bringing up "pseudo intellectuals" this is on par with Stallion claiming that everyone who went to a private school had a hand in the Bears demise.

Also the national coach is a failure, he got into the job by using his NSWRU connections to force Ewen McKenzie out of the job less than a year into it. He's held onto the position solely because of who his friends are and if you don't believe that take a look at every coach prior. Not a single one would've been kept on if they'd taken them to their worst season since 1972. He's known for being a workplace politician who throws anyone he can under the bus to stay in charge. Case in point he blamed their terrible 2017 and 2018 campaigns on Stephen Larkham.

Smith would be red carded off the field because referees don't take the bullshit that NRL refs do. Slater the same as Inglis, you ever see Slater boot a ball from inside the 22? Ever see him make a ball and all tackle on a breakaway with support? Nope. Fact is, if it was so easy why didn't they all cross to Top 14 or the English Premiership? Top 14 clubs have no salary cap and regularly pay $22 million AUD per season. English clubs have a salary cap of about $16 million AUD. So unless Smith and Slater were so stupid they couldn't do the maths, there's no reason why they wouldn't try it other than the fact that they knew they wouldn't succeed. Just like Ben Barba and his 4 games at Toulon.

 

[typicalfan]

If I saw Slater boot the ball from his own 20 I would think he has lost it, not that he would be perfect for RU.

Slater actually came into grade with a good kicking game, he only ever used his short kicking game rarely. His game never relied on it.

Folau was a winger and sometimes centre in league. Behind Hodges at the Broncos and Inglis at the Storm. Folau was too one dimensional to be seen anything more than this.

RU has been in decline since the aftermath of 2003. The current standard has been seen and predicted for over a decade now.