Surely his body needs a rest when you consider he played in the World Club Challenge, SL, Challenge Cup and Internationals.

My thoughts exactly. If he performs like he did yesterday, he's simply going to convince the Union fans that Rugby League is still a northern provincial game where average players are over hyped in the media.

The lads 22. Give him a break.

Fair point. At what age does he grow a pair of balls?

You already have and you already do

Very weak, do you know Barry Mackenzie or Phipps?

I think its a disgrace at so many levels.

1. Its undermines Wigan and Rugby League. The idea that an elite player in rugby league can just go and play a game of union whenever they come calling is nothing short of a joke.

You think if the Barbarians wanted Billy Slater the NRL would even entertain the request. They would tell Union where to go and rightly so.

2. What if Sam suffered a serios injury and was out for the start of SL in 2012. Our best player being injured playing rugby union. Absurd.

3. The media will only use it as a proof that sam is going to Union and him playing means he wants to go to Union. They wont care about Wigan one little bit.

4. If he played badly the RU media and pundits will no doubt use it as a way to knock rugby league.

5. Its RU FFS. I am now getting really sick of these so called link ups with that sport. Things like this only portray the message that Rugby League is the little brother of Rugby Union.

Wonder if they have changed their minds after last nights performance

Good to know our international representatives are fully focused on the task in hand during major tournaments. Or was this all dreamed up after full-time last night?

So England best rugby league player gets a taste of plaing in front of 70,000 at Twickenham when players always say the attraction of playing in front of so many at international level is too big to turn down?? Yeah really shrewd move Wigan!!

Ridiculous





Just what will it achieve. RL should have nothing to do with RU. When England RU trained with Leeds Rhinos they tapped up Chev Walker. As it turned out, he failed but that sort of thing shouldn't come around.

edit: not tapped up, but you know what I mean

Will the RFL actually respond to this news or sit back and do nothing?

Why do people assume that Sam Tomkins would be a success at Union?

He was poor last night, and thats in his own sport. The Wallabies would target him from start to finish. It would be a disaster.

If anything this would be good for RL. He would realise how different the 2 codes are and stay in RL where he belongs.

What can they do?.

The SC already limits the ligitimate earning powers of the top players.How would they feel if the rfl were to now attempt to stand in there way of earning money outside of the game?.

The Wallabies will have never of heard of him!

It isnt about publicity. The NRL/ARL dont see themselves as Union's little brother. They would tell Union to run and jump! The same if AFL proposed the same deal.

Explain to me how Sam Tomkins playing in a Union match is going to give Rugby League more publicity? The same media who ignore our sport will not suddenly report this in a way that benefits League.

This will be reports as Union being the bigger and better sport that can attract League's best players at a whim!

As for Wigan's image, all it will do is put out another big sign to the world of rugby union that Wigan Warriors are still a feeder club to Rugby Union.

The whole 3 year contract with no union contact is a mockery!!

What on earth is he thinking. hes getting a good salary at wigan now. The best if what people are saying are true. Take a rest you have a long season ahead with wigan! unless he doesnt give a toss and simply want to put himself in the window for a union club in the future! either way if i was a union player for Aus id want to smash him it shows arrogance that he thinks having never played rugby union before that he can play at the top level on his first game!

I suspect that it a way of geting him more money without going into the salary cap, it will also give him a higher media profiole thus allowing him to earn more from outside the game (& yet again avoid the salary cap),
Would the NRL let thier players do it? they are talking with union to play Kangaroos V wallabie's match.
Would we play a union player? No because we dont have any games that we could do it in, we dont have anything but the club game, Internationals are few & far between & most of our suporters are not that interested anything else we even struggle to attend challenge cup games now.

So the Wigan fans who argued that the Tomkins brothers were not lovers were proved right then!
1 walks out on a newly signed contract and it's looking likely that the other was talking out of his anus when signed his new deal and said he had said 'no' to union.
Sounds like something a lover would do to me!

Now that would be funny.

If this does happen i can only see Sam going to Union..We all know what these so called Contracts are??...5 years and he*s not allowed to talk to Union or NRL and the next thing he play at Twickers..The mind boggles...

no chance he will be a league player in 3 years let alone 5.

he obviously wants to leave!

would this happen if it was the other way round...NOT A CHANCE.

Lets get Tindell in for a test match...get some second rate royals in ..always good for the broad sheets.

In Sam's opinion, Joel has made "the right decision" in joining Saracens

Wigan have to offer a record breaking, cap changing contract to get him to agree to honour at least some of the contract he only recently signed (remember the Wigan fans celebrating the loyalty he and his brother had shown the club and the sport? How times change), then have seemingly no power to stop him earning even more cash by jumping in bed at the first opportunity with the dark side.

Player becoming bigger than the club?

Wonder if this will work two ways and we see a top union player making an appearance for the Exiles? That would give the game some exposure.