He's just signed a new contract maybe read into that?

This is happening. Great publicity for the club but also for him. A world first if I am not mistaken and it is a WIGAN player.

If he gets injured they will pay us massive compensation and we are getting paid a bomb for it anyway.

All its doing is putting are so called best player in the shop window and letting him try RU to see if he can take to the game. Its an absolute joke we make him highest paid player in Superleague most players would walk around with a erection for a few years but no sam still not happy. Only people benfitting is RU as they
wont be taking a risk signing him for a big transfer fee in a couple of years because he will have RU experience and they will no if hes suited or not and vice versa for sam. They are a rival code ffs

They cannot even speak to him for 3 years and he is contracted with us for 5. He might play crap and they won't bother...

Well to say he cant speak to them for 3 years and let him play two week later at twickenham i dont like. Next thing he will be playing games at saracens then at the end of the 3 years he will go union after taking about £900,000 in 3 years. We might as well just have kept him to the smaller contract because in three years we will be back in the same boat losing are best player to union and he will be an even bigger name by then to and he will be right and ready for the england 2015 wc hes getting it all his own way.

Hope so

Letting Sam play for the Barbarians is like letting your partner have a hall pass.

While at the same time make Rugby League look like some kind of small time game before he joins "real rugby"

The media would not promote Rugby League if this happened, they would just mention how Sam will be playing Union soon enough after he is done with Rugby League.

Wigan and the RFL should never allow it to happen.

If he plays well then it's great publicity for Wigan, Rugby League and Sam. He has never even played the sport before, imagine if he plays as he can and tears them apart? He doesn't even play the same game, that would be a small victory for rugby league IMO. Let's be honest, this one game won't change his future, he'll leave in 3 years either way. Let's just remember, this is a Wigan rugby league player being chosen to play international rugby union, having never played the game, as he's that good. Rugby league and Wigan will gain exposure from this and for me that has to be a good thing.

Hopefully he only plays a cameo role for 40mins, imagine the uproar if he got injured playing in this game!

hopefully he doesnt play! he is a wigan player first and foremost, wane should have him wrapped in cotton wool until pre-season friendlies!

No, if we are going to remember anything let's remember he has supposedly just been made the highest paid player in the game and is supposed to be our player exclusively for the next three years. The fact he can leave in three years anyway has absolutely nothing to do with it.

You do not give players that sort of deal and then let them swan about in another sport that could get them injured. I hope it is just a stupid rumour but if it is not then letting him play in a Barbarians game undermines the credibility of any so called exclusive deal.

As to it being great publicity for Wigan I think you and others who suggest this need to get a grip on reality and realise it is the exact opposite.

great post and someone who like me is looking at the bigger picture.

How anyone can think this is good for wigan and rugby league I will never know!

He is playing.

One of our players will be playing on the world stage infront of a huge audience (probably in Wigan socks), everyone will know he is a Wigan player. Everyone will know the standards that Wigan RL have in their team. Our name and brand will be all over the place if he plays well. Added to the Saracens partnership we will be the only RL team that a RU fan will be able to name.

How is it bad publicity? Are you some kind of marketing/PR guru with knowledge we don't have?

Added to that it will benefit us financially, great stuff. It could also prove how much better and more skillfull our sport is.

Then Wigan are being utterly stupid. Announcing he is exclusively a Wigan player one week and the next letting him play in a Rugby Union game is ridiculous.

If this is true I don't think much of his judgement either. You don't take as much as a sport has to offer and do something like this. If he was fed up with being booed by Leeds fans playing for England does he think he is going to get cheered by RL fans for this?

I ask the question. Do you think the NRL/ARL would allow this.

do you think they would see it as a benefit seeing a league player playing under union rules?

If this happens then whole 3 years with no Union talk is utter nonsense! Also Wigan RL will not be all over the media if it happened. sorry but anyone who thinks that is living in a dreamworld.

Hope the RFL show some backbone and stop it happening!

I am sorry and I do not wish to seem harsh but what you say is rubbish from start to finish. If you think Wigan RL are an unknown quantity in sport you must be mad.

Back in 1992 I was in Fiji and when the locals found out where I was from they wanted to go and coach the local team! Wigan's reputation and place in sport in the world is well known. They know all about us in the major rugby playing nations of either code. I have been to most of them and trust me they know.

The idea we must court publicity and must market the club by our best player who supposedly just signed a contract to stop him going to a rival sport by him actually playing that rival sport is just stupid.

And why do you think Wigan are going to get paid for his services? The Barbarians do not pay players or clubs for their services to my knowledge. They certainly didn't used to.

The "Ba Ba,s" have also become far less popular in RU ever since it went full time because clubs who now pay their players don't want there prized assets getting injured in these games yet we seemingly will allow our most prized player exposé himself to that. These games are not anywhere near as prestigious as they once were and here we are cow towing to RU.

What will you say if he does his knee ligaments under a maul? That it was worth it for the publicity?

Of course I know we are well known in sport. But going to Uni with loads of RU lads I know for a fact some of them would now name Leeds or Saints as just as big a club as we are, the don't see the difference, they wouldn't have a clue about our players or our past success. A different generation to yours. This will change this younger generations view on RL, on the name of Wigan.

The club can and will be marketed through our best player on a world stage. We will gain more publicity from this than when he pulls on an England RL shirt.

I have been told Wigan will benefit financially form this. I don't see why IL would let this happen if it wasn't the case. I have also been told that we will get a stupid amount of compensation if Tomkins was to get injured.

IL must think it is a decent idea or he would have done anything to stop it happening.

If Tomkins tears them appart it will be all over the news, therefore WIGAN will be all over the news. Sorry Dave but whether you like it or not (clearly not as in most cases) but Wigan DO gain a lot of publicity from this.

to be honest i can see him completely failing if he does play. he has already stated he has no interest in union and has never played it and he wont be able to read the game like he does in league and this will make the union old boys think there game is better, but on the positive side it may show sam its not for him.

worse case is that he has a stormer of a game and scores 4 try's and union throw all the money hes way in 3 years and we are no better.

Our sport needs as much publicity as it can get. We were all hoping that some kind of miracle would happen and England would win the 4N. This was a ridiculous dream. So if Sam can take any of the media attention from kick and clap to league, and him and the club gain financially, then why not?

If anyone believes that this clause in his contract will prevent him talking to anyone for 3 years your deluded.

All it does mean is that if he does, and then goes, the transfer fee will be bigger than previous.
He'll be gone writhin that 3 IMO.

Anyway, i'm off to ask my partner if she fancies trying it out next door. If he's any good in bed she can negotiate a move.
Madness

Sam will basically be on trial letting ru look at him to see if hes worth the transfer fee, i sometimes wonder did sam ever want to stay at wigan or was it just he had a long term contract and the transfer fee was to high to risk but putting him on trial will reduce the risk and the publicity it will get will be how good will it be to see him play for england in 2015 wc which will happen. What happened to player burn out as well.

You seriously think that a club would be unsure about signing him, but would be ok doing it after he played one game for the barbarians?