One union player who i did enjoy watching when i was growing up was Phillipe Sella.

In one interview he revealed he played League upto the age of 13, and said "thats where i learnt to tackle"

Kyle Eastmond for one.

I know it wasn't for England but there is also Iestyn Harris.

Eastmond, Stephen Myler.

Owen Farrell & Luther Burrell both have league backgrounds too.

Everyone has done it,

Garry Connolly, Robbie Paul & Henry Paul all seamlessly switched into Union during their League off season and murdered the opposition. Will Carling described Connolly as the best back he had ever seen in his life while One opposition coach who had just watched his team get roasted by Robbie Paul said he'd never seen anyone with footwork and agility to match Paul.

Vainikolo, Hape, Robinson, Burrell, J Tomkins, Eastmond, Ashton & even a knackered old prop with dodgy knees who's League career was over due to his inability to handle the physical demands anymore called Andy Farrell all played for England in the backs after just a handfull of games.

I'm half expecting to see Adrian Morley and Jamie Peacock turn out in the centres for the England Rugby Union team.

Burgess will stroll into the England team in any position he decides he wants to!

Any position in the three quarters.
He wont be playing prop and it's unlikely that he will be in the pack, although No. 8 could be ideal for him !

Any position =#FF0000he decides he wants to

SBW played 7 minutes in total in the rwc semi and final. Burgess will need time to adjust to the defensive system in union.......no matter how one eyed some posters on here are.

SBW would also stroll into the England RU team. The New Zealand team is a different story, but then again, the person you quoted didn't mention NZ.

I wasnt going to bother responding to the insanity of the any position claim. instead i compared apples for apples as both burgess and williams will play in the same position.....

Notwithstanding the fact there is no such thing as "the defensive system in union", I haven't seen Sam miss a tackle as yet in his Union career, and I don't expect I will do.

Good for him..........im stunned the rfu just don't buy the entire england rl team and be done with jt if its that simple

They could, I'm sure all but the odd one or two would take the money, the RFU would never do it though because it's tantamount to accepting, in the most public and graphic way, that Rugby League is the superior code.

Playing in the pack is a different story to playing in the backs though. You might find Union tedious and devoid of skill, but the set pieces and the breakdown are skills in their own right, and it would take years for a league player to perfect these things. What does set the league boys apart typically is handling, footwork and defence, which make up for any technical deficiencies they have. If you combined the England RU pack with the RL backs you'd have the best RU team in the world by a distance imo once the League players had settled in and learned the game.

I've also heard rumours about the Australian RU talking to some of the league boys about playing for the 7s team at the Olympics. Guys like GI would tear that competition to shreds.

Next season is the 150th year of both Hull FC and Bath. It would appear that as part of the celebrations there will be a cross code game. We haven't had one for a while. It will be interesting to see how Union has developed over the last decade now that League techniques are being used more and more.

Super sammy could well play 4 to 8 and 12 & 13......but front row, either half or he back 3 he'd be found wanting. If you want him to make a big impression the 12 or 13. If you want him injured, play him in the front row.

MZH, it will be interesting to see a cross-code game. i think both codes can learn from each other, RL 9s has been copied from RU 7s idea and groundwork so it works both ways.

There have been a number of cross code games in the past and they have all been literally games of 2 halves.
Despite what many think on here, Union cannot be grasped in a couple of training sessions, the rucking, mauling, lineouts and scrums are utterly different in the other code.
Equally, the speed, tackling, passing and defence is far superior in League.

A Union player has a great defensive game if they make 10 or 12 tackles, where the top league tacklers will make 30 plus tackles each game and the scrimmaging is just not an area that is comparable.

We had many years n our sport of cherry picking some of the Union boys and in a number of cases it worked well and now the boot is on the other foot and they are cherry picking some of League's best talent.

Because of the wealth of the Union game and the draw of playing much higher profile international competition, plus the desire for some of our top players to want to test themselves in "the other game", the trend is likely to continue.

Spot on.

Below is a list of Aussie, Kiwi and English Professional League Players who have switched to Union in the modern era (1995+) together with the position they played in Union.
Andrew Walker Wing/FB
Wendell Sailor Winger
Mat Rogers Centre
Lote Tuqiri Winger
Timana Tahu Centre
Israel Folau Winger
Barrie-Jon Mather Centre
Jason Robinson Wing
Andy Farrell Centre
Chris Ashton[32 Wing
Kyle Eastmond Centre
Joel Tomkins Centre
Sonny Bill Williams Centre
=#FF0000[uBrad Thorn Second Row [/u
Lesley Vainikolo Wing
Craig Gower Fly-half
Shontayne Hape Centre
Tasesa Lavea Centre
Cooper Vuna Wing
Henry Paul Fly Half/Centre

Now, I know you like tails of Craig gower not showering because union wasn't hard enough to make him sweat, but the FACT is that of this list of 20 players, ONE BECAME A FORWARD IN UNION....and as I have already said, Thorn is a legend. Professional Rugby Union forwards are no longer the lumbering fat lard-'rses you like to laugh at.

Sam Burgess will be best suited to the role of centre.

Of course it would



Suggest someone might want to slip this into Sammies stocking this Chrimbo

That reeks of this thread having bugged you and some degree of your own smug self relief at having got the results of your Sunday labour off your chest and posted on here. Suspect you intend your list to be one of RL players who have been selected for international RU teams. Are you forgetting or ignoring the fact that there have been literally hundreds of professional RL players who have gone to RU mainly at the end of their RL careers for a further few years sport (and many of whom were RL forwards and who also played in the forwards at RU)? Supporters of probably every RL club could give an example.

You post reeks of some misplaced sense of superiority....though god knows why



The question here isn't about "twighlight" code switching, it's about top tier/international sport. The claim that Sam Burgess could play in any position is a false one and the list I posted does go some way to highlighting exactly how false, but you'd rather shift the goalposts further away from facts and instead make unsubstantiated claims as to top flight union being littered with League players grafting away in positions numbered 1-8.
Feel free to post a list of all the Aiva premiership, Rabo 12, Top 14, Super Rugby or Currie cup teams players who match your claim......

I'll even start it off for you
Leicester Tigers 0
Northampton Saints 0
London Irish 0
London Welsh 0

carry on....

There are still some hanging about.

That wasn't the claim earlier in the thread. The claim was that Sam Burgess is good enough to be able to get in the England RU team in any position HE CHOOSES.

Sam Burgess is the most talented rugby player to be produced in the UK in a generation. At least.

By common consent of all sensible people, he would choose to play for England RU in either the centres or back row. That will be determined once he has tried out different positions at club level.

Sam Burgess will certainly not choose to play international Rugby Union in either the front row or second row. For that game's own reasons, the qualities needed to be good in those positions are not qualities related to what rugby is really about. As per the OP; running, passing, tackling and kicking.

What Rugby is really about eh?
To run, pass or kick, you first have to win the possession. It is those blokes at 1 to 5 who you dismiss that do that for you in union. They may only make 3 tackles and 10 yards all game, but they are a key part of union.
As for 6,7 or 8......like Farrell before him, burgess will play where England's coaches tell him. He is gifted, but v McCaw or burger for a loose ball in the dark place that is the ruck and maul, he'd be made look very stupid very quickly.

Couldn't you find a picture Of George rose at manly???