Big mistake by smithy if true and will have the same impact as walker and pryce imo.
Money isn't everything!!

Perhaps not but when you're already a double champion (including a MOTM) and a current full international with an International hat trick to your name (and still unable to secure a permanent position with your club side despite all that) then I can't imagine a much better time to 'cash in' and accept a new challenge.

A new challenge which (I believe) will be a big disappointment both for the player and his new club if he goes to Union.

Edit: Internet playing up in the sticks today.

I'd agree with all of that. The one negative for Smith is that he is still relatively young and he is a 1st team squad player with the Champions. In fairness he probbly would hold down the wing position as long as he stayed injury free but there would always be the spectre of a bad game letting Hall in . If he does fail in Union - which is not guaranteed - but very possible, then he could end up in a worse position than Walker (who's actually fairly lucky to go to HKR IMO). Still with several years playing left in him, but dumped, out of confidence and unwanted.

One of my teammates down here is a big Wasps fan. I have already promised him that I'll be holding him personally accountable if they nick Lee Smith off us. Although he reckons they're likely to still be short of cash even with Haskell, Flutey and Palmer go. THey have a £4M salary cap in the Premiership, but the word among Wasps fans is that they won't be in a position to spend anything close to it next year.

I wait to see if this rumour is true, but I am a little sceptical. It would be a big risk for Wasps too, having parted with 3 international players, none of whom could be credibly replaced by Lee Smith.

Saracens paid for a 32 year old RL prop forward with dodgy knees and a dodgy back to solve their centre problem. Anything is possible mate.

Meh, if he goes it just frees up more space for Ben Jones-Bishop to come through and play more first team rugby - no great loss.

As Gareth says, prior to last year's Grand Final there would have been much apathy at the prospect of Lee Smith leaving. All of a sudden on the basis of half a dozen games it becomes a major loss?

True. Didn't work too well though did it? I'm not ruling it out, I just think it'd be a bit of a surprise.

That would depend who you asked with regards Lee Smith.

If you want to canvas the opinion of know-nowts (where's G1 with his word when you need him) and take note of what they have to say then that's up to you.

Smith is now a proven SL player, and one of the best players in his position in the country. BJB has 2 or 3 SL games to his name and hasn't come back from a shoulder reconstruction as yet. I'd say at this point in time it would be a big loss.

Where does Webb fit into the equation?

Farrell also went with a big dollop of RFU money (which is no longer on offer) making clubs 100% responsible for the full financial implications of their league raids these days.

BTW, I'd have tonnes of respect for Smith if he went to another league club.

Anyone bar a fekkwitt isn't going to want to displace Webb for Smith. You can't expect Smith to hang around as back-up full back, that is the role that clubs should be filling with Juniors like BJB. It also seems such a waste for Smith to go back to wing with the form he's shown at Full Back.

Therefore wouldn't it be great for the British game if he went to another SL club and was the 1st choice full back. Then, in a few years, if all pans out, BJB could be pushing to be Smith's successor as GB/England number 1.

Isn't that how the league will get stronger as opposed to us stockpiling the best FB in the league, the best British FB in the league and one of the brightest young FB prospects in the league. That is great for Leeds but not for the game.

(B+W)=Kal/El

You would think that of all people Edwards would be able to tell which league players might convert well to Union. But I just can't see Smith being a success - possible, but unlikely. But I'm not Edwards, then again maybe he has no say in certain recruitment decisions? Who knows.

They've seen him make a long kick into touch.

What more qualification does he need to play Yawnion?

or

B=(Kal-(ELxW))/EL

Personnally I think it would be a mistake, but with the state of the England Yawnion team he make walk straight in.

How about:

((BW+YS)-K))=S?

Nothing too much wrong with England. They were better than Wales for most of the game (3 tries to 1 in favour of England), same for the Irish game and if the refereeing had been even remotely even handed then England would have won both games. They are defensively far better than they were last year (and far better than Wales, Scotland and Ireland), only think killing them is that they have no 9, 10 and 13. That trio makes all the attacking decisions and Ellis was found out last week, Toby Flood is diabolical and we have no 13 in the country who has a brain like Will Greenwood had.

His speech about Martin Johnson in the RUWC final is one of the most vomit-inducing loads of b******s I've ever had the misfortune to watch!

what we should have done is dropped Scott Donald, and let him leave,

then have Smith as the best british winger in the comp, filling in at full back whenever possible for the next 2/3 years, with Hall on the other wing and brought in a top quality centre

when Smith is playing at Full back Watkins/Gibson/Ratu and Broughton can play on the wing

He is rather over the top I agree.

Did someone not put the top back on the cough medicine properly.

You've drunk too much of it.

You'd let probably the best winger in the competition leave to accomadate a slightly inferior winger who has shown real aplomb at full back, finally.

Riiiight.