www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyu ... aders.html Thoughts?

www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyu ... aders.html Thoughts?

A few have been discussing it in the Rumour in Wrexham thread.

Personally I think it would be of huge benefit off the field for the Crusaders and also help with enticing young Welsh players to try their hand at League. He is sure to be the stadium filler they mentioned a week or so ago.

On the field, well at 35 and new to league he isn’t going to pull up any trees, but if he’s looked after himself he may go OK.

Are we living in a parallel dimension where we sign has-beens from the other code or something?

It would be good PR and that's about it. There again I had no idea who it was until I read that article.

If he was signing for Scorpions you'd say he would struggle to make an impact on the field.

It's a nonsense to suggest he can do well in SL.

Any opposing team would be delighted to see his name in the Crusaders line-up.

Who are Celtic Crusaders?

Good luck to them. It would certainly create a bit of good publicity.

The only Gareth Thomas I know was the original Blake in Blakes Seven.

Who is this guy?

Why, because SL is full of superhuman athletes and it's just the highest possible quality competition ever?

Get real. At second row he could do okay. He is big and strong and would be able to tackle all day. I doubt he'd do much in attack but the fact is that Union players are not doomed to failure in league.

A lot of the backs in the Guiness Premiership are better than those in SL.

He is 35 that is old even for Union.

What Noel said, this will show that Crusaders have no ambition if they sign him.

A welsh player, at crusaders? Surely not
I refuse to believe this rumour

Good publicity for the Crusaders but that's about it,can't see him making much of an impact on the field.

It would say agreat deal about SL if a player who was far from world class in his peak could come into a sport that he has never played before at the age of 36 and makes an impact.

Some people are unbelievable!!!

Open your eyes and see the bigger picture!! Would Gareth be a success at RL.......Answer = No

But would he give a New club a higher profile....Answer = Yes!

Would he open the eyes of Union fans in North Wales to RL......Answer = Yes!

Would be show younger Union players in Wales that they now have a viable alternative.......Answer = Yes!

Would he bring extra money into the club through bums on seats, sponsorship and extra exposure??..........Answer = Yes!!!

never heard of him till I saw this.

Clearly SL chairmen have been missing a trick then.

Instead of paying good money for young, athletic lads who have played RL since the age of 7 they could have been populating their squads with superannuated RU players.

As a publicity stunt it may have some merit. As a playing gambit it's a non-starter.

he'll certainly put bums on seats.......................

You’re right in that any other club trying it (other then Quins when Wilkinson is 35), it would be a waste of time and not boost the profile of the club one bit, but this is a new club needing all the exposure it can generate.

Someone had to make the joke I suppose.

Indeed, my club would never sign someone who couldn't play the game as a cheap publicity stunt

You Poms do make me laugh.

Stop pretending you have never heard of Gareth 'Alfie' Thomas just because he dares to play that rival 15 man code you all seem to hate!

Owing to his recent 'coming out' he has probably received more national press than the entire British Superleague put together!

For what it's worth I reckon he would be a good player for Celtic Crusaders. Just because he plays Union it doesnt mean he can't pick up League rules. The principle is the same...get the ball over the line and score a try.

I don't know who he is from name alone, mind you, all these Welshmen have the same names!

I think the thing that sticks most in my mind is that he hasnt got any teeth, he does look a total mess, even for a rugby player

If, and it is still up in the air, it comes off then it will be a very clever signings by the club.

I also think he will add a lot more than some on here give him credit for.

Bladdy HELL!
does North Wales have to have EVERYTHING that once belonged to Bridgend?
our Union region,
our League team now our most famous player of the last 20 years!

Gareth Thomas was, at his best, an incredibly fast crash centre who spont most of his time for Wales playing out of his natural position.

I've met GT on a number of occasions and please, even at the age of 36, don't think he's too fragile for League. No doubt he'll play in the backs, but he's almost as tall as Ryano and has a back you could land a plane on sideways.

Dismiss him at your own risk.

Everyone by now knows I don't give two hoots for the Crusaders, but him moving to League will give it a bigger profile down here in the South (where all the decent players - of either code - come from) so cannot be a bad thing.

This is the VERY FIRST thing Crusaders RL has done to contribute to the expansion of the game (if true)