I can.
Sonny Bill Williams is being signed from Union to League. It is a big story here, because at NZ$10 MILLION over 2 years, it makes him the highest paid Rugby Player of either code, in the world. He is squeezed into the "cap" on the basis he's been recruited from Union.
It will make headlines in 'stralia, the UK, NZ, the Pacific Islands, Canada, North America...in fact pretty much everywhere. Then we have 10 weeks of static as the off season ticks along, before the RL press continue to preach to the choir and the mainstream, press in North America return to their staple diet of Yank Sports and soccer football. SBW may add the odd extra bum on a seat in West Yorkshire, but he's a complete unknown in North America......like that bloke from Parramatta who tried out for the 49'ers and failed.

Looking at the England RU squad from the recent World cup, I reckon , George Ford and Owen Farrell would easily make the starting 13 of any of the top 5 SL sides. There are another couple of loose forwards who I think might make the grade as well.
The reason you can't think of a top name RU player is one of the reasons that our game is seen as tin-pot in terms of wider public opinion in England and why a load of fat English blokes beating New Zealand in Japan peaked at a 10,000,000 TV audience figure on ITV, whilst BBC figures for GB v NZ have been harder to come by



BTW. If you use the SBW was a League player first stance then 2 things.

1. He should count against the cap and not be considered a Union import, which is how argyle is getting him in.
2. Jason Tamalolo was a Kiwi RL player first and therefore shouldn't have been allowed to switch to Tonga!

As I say. Given the current low standard of SL, I think it a tad disingenuous to sweepingly decry all current top flight Union payers as "not being good/well known enough" to boost SL.

National news coverage in Australia this morning re SBW signing, with the ABC sports commentator saying he'd never heard of Toronto Wolfpack and giving a short history of the club. Other articles say Noble has been swamped with NRL player resumes today.

Another news bulletin this morning speculated that SBW could captain Samoa in the World Cup and other high profile Samoans like Payne Haas and RTS could join him.

Have Ford or Farrell played any RL of note?

Unlikely. SBW doesn't qualify as a New Talent Pool Player, but does as a Returning Talent Pool Player. The dispensation for a player returning from union amounts to 50% of their salary in year 1 and 25% in year 2, so using that would still leave a huge sum of money on their salary cap.

What they're using is the other dispensation, for a marquee player, which allows that only the first £150,000 of his salary counts towards the salary cap.

Ford has admitted he would like to play Rugby League, and probably even more now after that abject England performance in the union cup final and rumors persist about Farrell wanting to play Rugby League again.
If they are going to switch its going to have be soon, but all down to money i would have thought.

You make it sound like playing rl requires a degree
.. Its not the most complicated gamw in the world as a stong tongan ack just proved
....

Anyone saying RU players can't cut it obviously doesn't even remember the recent past when a lot of our top backs were from RU. If anything I'd say the professionalism of RU would mean they'd be more likely to make it now.

The english RU back line and A team back line would walk into the Rugby league england team back line with the exception of Makinson

And this is my point. Not RU vs RL (this time anyway).

NRL players are paid millions. If Toronto are willing to pay millions for each player, how long before existing players start demanding huge pay rises?

The sport cannot afford that level of increase and we'll end up with rich prima donas like in football.

Demanding is good. It's something the game should do more of. It's no good going cap in hand to Sky for an increased TV deal while the clubs are openly paying peanuts under a little-changing salary cap against a backdrop of static viewing figures. Up to RL to up the ante.

Interesting comments from Steve Diamond (Sale Sharks coach) regarding the RU salary cap:

Rugby union will "bankrupt itself" if clubs are not stopped from breaching salary cap rules, says Sale director of rugby Steve Diamond.
Premiership champions Saracens face a 35-point deduction and a £5.36m fine after an inquiry into business dealings between owner Nigel Wray and players.
Diamond spent two years as Saracens head coach between 2004 and 2006.
"It's a bit naive to think they can get away with it with the processes in place," he said.
"There's got to be a punishment to make them stop doing it. And it's not about them and us - the other 11 clubs pointing the cross-hairs at them.
"It's for the good of the game because if it's not stopped the game will bankrupt itself."

Sounds like RL in the 90, although it didn't prevent the Viv Nicholson culture of spend, spend, spend.

Also, Noble, of all people, should know where things could end

A Wakefield fan that doesn't want the salary cap to be increased...….

Wonder why.

And a Wigan fan that does


You'll still bust the cap, no matter how high it goes but, it's unlikely that Trinity will.

If you read any of the thread back you will see that I'm ok with the cap increasing. Although, with only 5 ? clubs spending the full cap and even fewer using both Marque spots, raising the cap is merely window dressing and there is probably only Toronto that really have the cash to spend much beyond than the current limits.

Wigan need to keep the cap down , or they may finish without their own stadium

Wolfpack tweeting a big news story to be officially announced today. In fact it's now official https://www.torontowolfpack.com/toronto ... -williams/

Wolfpack tweeting a big news story to be officially announced today. In fact it's now official https://www.torontowolfpack.com/toronto ... -williams/

That promo vid they released is awesome. Dude flattened Leeds rhino's back in the day!!

Where did you see that?

Fantastic signing by the Canadian heavyweights

He did. Finished on the losing side though

On the Hunslet Hawks website, as he's going there on loan first.

Quote ="JEAN CAPDOUZE"Where did you see that?'" https://twitter.com/SuperLeague/status/ ... 03521?s=19

Quote ="JEAN CAPDOUZE"Where did you see that?'" https://twitter.com/SuperLeague/status/ ... 03521?s=19

A little bending of the cap rules by claiming him as a union convert and not a third marquee signing?
Very slippery Toronto, very slippery.

A nice little promo.

I hope that the Toronto Wolfpack can find a bigger stadium than Lamport for their home games next year. Sonny Bill Williams may well become a cult hero in Toronto and attract huge crowds to the games.

Not possible, he's played RL before.

He would qualify as a returning RL player under SC rules surely ?