haha fair enough well you never know these days.

The issue is fundamentally different.

RU has always been the "go to" rugby code and is played on a wider scale internationally and domestically. If you ask 95% of the population about "rugby" they will probably give you an answer the implicitly talks about Union.

So right from the start, RU has an implicit advantage in terms of widespread availability and recognition.

However, until now RL had an advantage over RU (which crippled itself by hanging onto 19th Century tradition). It's players were, by and large, fitter had a more professional attitude to winning and perhaps due to the laws of the game, generally more skillful.

RL could rest on it's laurels, attract the big names from RU (especially those from "poorer" backgrounds who could be attracted by money more readily). It was run by self interested little cliques who's ears went "pop" if they drove far south enough, except maybe once or twice a year when they had their "day out".

RU became professional. Things changed. Admittedly not immediately, it took time for the players to become fitter, more technical and overally just "better". Of course they helped themselves to RL coaches, why wouldn't they? They took the odd player, some worked out, others didn't but it really didn't matter- the professionalism that they took with them rubbed off on the rest of the team.
Many ex RU players returned to the fold. Gibbs, Bateman, Tait, Quinell all went back better players than they were.
The result? RU is now right up there with RL in terms of attitude, fitness and application.

Any RL players that go to RU will now be the cream of the crop. There is no need for them to take "average" players. RU is crippled no more.

Many RL fans don't help the game either. Ridiculous comments like "RU is a toffs game" (go to Bristol or Gloucester and say this, I'm sure you won't have to buy a round all evening), or "They are out to get us" - why would they? RL can nurture any players that fall through the RU net until such time that the RU clubs can buy them.

This myopic anachronistic attitude of some RL fans, is shared by some of the people who run the game. The tail certainly does wag the dog in the form of small Yorkshire clubs.

The CC is slowly strangling the life out of the quality of players in the game. If I had a talented son there is no way in the world I would be steering him to choose RL over RU. Chris Ashton isn't a patch on Josh Charnley, nowhere near as good a winger in either code, yet Ashton is more than likely a millionaire, and Josh (probably!

) is not.


All this said, there is hope for the sport. RL is a very exciting sport to watch, relatively simple to grasp (compared to RU) and is immensley popular in Aus.

However, in order for it not to dwindle into a semi-professional game, it needs to quickly identify it's target audience and adopt a meaningful marketing plan.

I am not sure the current administration is capable of this.

Absolutely well put!!! What a lot of Wigan fans forget is that Wigan once played RU. My grandfather was just as proud of watching the best RU team - Wigan

as I do watching IMO the best RL team - Wigan

Lets not go there

I felt he had totally lost the plot with those comments. Proud our ex-players are winning things playing RU? Why? I have no issue if he is pleased for them on a personal level but I'd like to think his emotions when seeing them running around in another sport are ones of regret they aren't still here, not pride.

The comments as as misguided as saying he understands having won a CC's and GF's here players don't have the same challenge any more. In Social Psychology there is a phenomenon known as "when belief creates reality" which applied in this context means if you keep saying such things people (in this case the players) will decide there is no challenge any more despite any normal sportsman who has tasted success once wanting to repeat it. If he keeps banging on like this the players will quickly conclude they have done it all and their club chairman thinks they are all better off in the NRL or playing RU.

When Sam signed his special deal IL said he was confident Wigan could offer an attractive package for players to come here. He is undermining his own position with comments like these.



I have said the same kind of thing myself elsewhere. He seems to be aiming to keep Wigan at the top of a game of declining standards rather than addressing the declining standards that are a result of a lack of money in the game.

As well as coming out in favour of the SC he has also asked the question why would he want to pay the players more money? This is not good IMO.



I have said exactly the same things elsewhere.



When he first arrived IL did a very good job of restoring the clubs image in the game which was never very high under Mo and DW. I always felt once he had gained the browney points he would use his influence as the owner of one of the games leading clubs to try and improve matters in the way both you an I are on about. He hasn't done this. Instead he tows the RFL line by not only voting against increases in the cap but as I said not even wanting to raise wages for players. He has also voted in favour the other great stupid idea of late which was the stupid U19 rules.

Unfortunately IL is more of an ally to clubs who are holding the game back who continually block increases to the salary cap.

This also shows why the current structure is a block to progress because if IL did suddenly try and show some leadership for the sport and proposed anything radical it would all too easily be voted down by the other chairman as Koukash soon found out.