this thread and the obsession about RU is hilarious, 5 pages of thesis about something that'll never happen because of a few paragraphs that a no-mark journo wrote

Union is full of problems. Once Union globally decides to drop to 13 a side and abolish line-outs I can see a re-unification of rugby under a single code and the rules can evolve from there.

Within 5 years of re-unification, the England team would be made up largely of players from Yorkshire / Lancashire and England would win the World Cup.

Unions full of problems? It can't be doing that bad, you pay good money to watch it



if only it had the money, geographical spread and was in the Olympics like RL. Oh hang on...

People pay good money to watch One Direction concerts globally too.

Yeah but it's undeniably the most overrated, tedious, unskillful game on the planet.

Without the old school tie brigade and British Empire spreading influence it wouldn't be anywhere. Give Rugby League the same leg up that Union has enjoyed and without doubt it would be a bigger better game.

Only a fool would deny that!

One Direction and Justin Bieber are comprehensive proof that attendances and popularity are no guarantee of quality.

Judder I was ridiculed and derided by the 'leagues i know best mob' ages ago for daring to even suggest such a folly.
For even daring to suggest that Union was following a similar evolution exactly 100 years after we turned professional was like i had uttered a heresy.
Its inevitable,anybody want to know what happens next in union rewind to leagues evolution from the dark side, granted different paradigm now union becoming league-ish ,league having to face the possibility of hybridising and having to lose a few rules in order to fullfill rugby's grand plan.

Can you imagine the monumental logistics of basically what is tantamount creation of a new sport?.if I recall werent the 'northern' teams consistently the strongest before the great schism?so yes you would think the Lancs/Yorks players would be the bedrock but it would depend solely on which players adapt to the rules fastest,too many permetations.

If you think that is hilarious you havent seen what Doctor Strangelove has got up his sleeve .

Steve Hansen & Conor O'Shea might disagree with you.

We had this 120 years ago. League has evolved, Union's still stuck in 1895.

To be fair they're probably about 1903 now!

Just to live to see Inverdale's face when the working class northerners start battering the upper middle/ lower upper class southerners and he has to do commentary on it.