JP couldn't have been far off winning a bench place at this afternoon's rugger match. Sat behind Andy Farrell, presumably as a guest of the RFU. Lets hope he isn't tempted into some coaching capacity by the rugger toffs.

He handed the Jerseys to the Union players last night, nothing more.

He did tweet it was an honour to present the "England RU lads their jerseys"

Its only supporters who hold such old fashioned prejudices, professional players respect each code as it should be.

It's quite an unprecedented move by the RFU, having a current league pro as a guest of honour. Hope they aren't trying to butter him up

Stuart Lancaster ex-Leeds RU player & coach, current England RU team boss, invited both JP & Sir Kev to address the England RU squad last year or earlier this year, so yesterday's events are not unique.

Too true. Sadly these dinosaurs still expect their prejudiced views to be taken seriously.

I am gradually bit by bit losing my prejudices Juan,But there are supposedly educated RU Journalists that have lots more prejudices and are far more dinosaurial than a lot of us.

Are you talking about John Inverdale?

Maybe JP is going to help Farrell coach the England backs. They can't possibly be any worse than they are at the moment under Farrell's astute management.

Maybe JP could help Chris Robshaw with simple decision making as well. "Really Chris? You want to kick for goal when 4 points down and 120 seconds left to play - and it's going to take 70 seconds to take the kick (although it would probably take less time if Owen Farrell could just shut up and do as he's told)".

My old club used to play Inverdale's team. He used to get the $h!t kicked out of him.

Rugby Union is a great game to watch
Rugby League is a great game to watch

You just need to appreciate each game on its own merits, and not compare them

bollox you lanky git. union is terrible to watch. you are easily pleased

big stupid muppet



remind me why they have pockets in their shorts again in yawnion

Everyone is entitled to an opinion, and I'd rather watch Union all day long than overpaid, prima-donna chavs kicking a round ball about and falling over a lot



I'll stick to watching Union, you can have your chavball

I admit one thing, anyone can play Union....even you managed to waddle about at it for a while, but then you we're only in it for money

Yesterday's england game was fairly dire, but 80,000 people, dozens of bars all packed before and for hours after the game (lots stayed to watch the NZ game). Beer gardens on the way back to the train station all packed.
I didn't see a single chav, see a single fight, have to warn off a single drunk from barging into my 9 year old. The guy behind me actually apologised for using the F word.
I chatted with the South Africans next to me , shared a beer and after match discussion with a couple of strangers and a copper was so relaxed he joked with my son about nicking his burger.
As a day out it was absolutely brilliant.

Terrible to watch? Depends I guess.

Sounds like a wonderful atmosphere and everything aside from the game seems spot on. But he said it was terrible game to watch and even when advocating yesterday's game you concede his point in your 1st sentence.

Of course, it's a personal preference but mine is Union is dull to watch.

I feel the same way about football, btw, so the big crowds at a union match make no difference because more people watch football than Union.

...and former working class League lads like McLaren, DHM and Shebert Dip that find themselves suddenly at the top table mixing with the Union Crowd remind me of Uncle Toms when they come on here with an air of superiority to salt of the earth working class league lads who still proudly wear the chips on their shoulder put there from many years of slimy, underhand attitudes from Rugby Union all in the name of killing our sport.

Sherbert only has this opinion since his lad gave up the rough Joe tumble of league to join the local kick and clap brigade.

I was having a bit of fun with dippy but on a serious note I agree with the crowd behaviour. It must be nice to go to a big game and not worry about drunks or fighting. However the game itself has not improved in 30 years. It's dull, unimaginative and boring as he'll to watch.

I went to a 6 Nations Ireland v England game at Twickers and had a great day out. Drinking together in the tents outside the ground before watching Ireland deservedly win the game. Afterwards loads stayed behind in the concourse bars and the karaoke was cranked up and believe me if the crowd didn't like you they let you know. All good natured though. After a couple of hours there it was back to Richmond for a few more. The banter was great and people were having their photos taken with Keith Wood who was holding court outside a boozer. The only thing I didn't like about it was the fact the game was so close given Ireland scored 3 tries to Englands 1. The drop-kicks are a joke! Also I had to buy a ref mike unit otherwise I hadn't a clue what the penalties are all about. The other thing is the scarcity of tickets driving the prices up. I paid £100 for the ticket but was offered 4 times that by some Ireland fans outside. Not a cheap day out but very enjoyable.

Boring to watch but great to play.

In the deep and distant past I played both League and Union and both were equally as fun but to actually watch a RU game is mind numbingly dull.

I caught about 10 minutes of the All Blacks vs Wales and the only time the crowd got excited was when the ball was being passed down the line, which was a rarity indeed.

That, in my opinion, is complete nonsense. The game has benefited hugely from turning professional.

The standard of handling, offloading & tackling have all improved greatly.

Try not to allow your hatred of Union to manifest itself into such silly comments.

I suppose International RL has come on leaps and bounds in recent years?

I would say I agree with your comments with the caveat of it depending on where you play (both club and position). If you play out wide for a team that doesn't use the backs its a horrible game to play (coming from an RL background). If you play in the back row and just get to run into contact all day, then its a pretty decent game to play. Still struggle to watch it on the TV though