I totally agree watching him play was extremely inspiring sat in the stands playing under him as captain must have been an immense experience. His intentions for leaving Wigan were not financial based he dedicated the large majority of his playing career to our club with 100% passion and for that I will always wish him the best in life where ever his career takes him.

you dont like RU, we get it..................

Wrong!! I hate the b@stard, evil, te stained, ignorant, pompous, pretentious sport.

That maybe so but without it Rugby League wouldn't exist.

Up until his involvement with RU I could nearly agree with you, since his departure to 'them' I have no interest in what he does. It all to do with cash kids, as we know if the same levels of cash was in RL he'd be coaching over here.

What he does in RU has nothing to do with Wigan RLFC. Whereas winning the last derby V Stains at their ground has now been set in stone forever in Wigan RLFC history books.

I think you should pay some respect to an absolute Wigan legend, it's fair enough labeling Joel a money grabber because that's what he is but Andy's career was pretty much finished in Rugby League he had injury problems galore and probably would have retired. Going over to Union only prolonged his career and you can't hold that against him he had won every thing at Wigan.

We're not going down that route again are we?



Like I've said about any former Wigan player, Good luck to him..

The Whole "he's gone, I don't care how he's doing" line is getting a bit boring now. He is a Wigan legend and I don't see what is wrong about discussing the achievements he is now making outside of our sport.

Person works for money shocker!

Exactly. I go to work just because I like it. If they didn't pay me I'd still turn up and do my best. If another company offered me 4 times my wage but said it would be easier I wouldn't even consider it!

Makes my hoop wink to be honest!

Personally seeing one of our home grown ex player being named in the England RU coaching set up only makes me smile and be proud of the sport I love and follow and of our great club for continually producing the excellent talent we have for many years. It just shows time and time again our sport can produce the talent where as Rugby Union seem to struggle in that area. If only our game was backed financially and commercially then players like Faz, Edwards, Tomkins, Owen Farrell, Ashton, Myler etc would still be playing for the better code of Rugby. Imagine a England RL coaching set up of Edwards and Faz? mind boggling to think what we could achieve at those two at the helm

if i could be nosey for a moment, could i enquire who you work for?

Oh no! I find myself agreeing with you, again.



My question would be why shouldn't we be interested in what Faz is up to? He is a Wiganer, a Wigan legend and a legend of British RL. His high profile in RU means he's often in the press, but stories and comments about him are often accompanied by very complimentary references to his RL playing career (and because he is so well regarded now within RU they rarely contain any sly digs at RL, but are very respectful of RL). That actually reflects well on our sport and Wigan (town and club).

I'm sure he will return to RL some day, but whatever he does he has my best wishes.

Something inside me quite likes the idea of International RU being heavily staffed by ex-Wigan RL greats, showing the world that they have more basic rugby knowledge in their little fingers than the likes of Rob Andrew and Martin Johnson have in their entire bodies. But I always ask myself the follow-up question "why aren't they doing it in Rugby League?" The inevitable answer then follows "because Rugby League has never made these guys adequate offers to tempt them, and probably never will" - and that always leaves me a bit depressed.

Agree, but there's little we can do about it. I don't begrudge them doing it though.

Neither do I. I begrudge the RFL for letting it happen.

That may be a simplistic response, given the financial power the two codes enjoy (or in our case don't enjoy), yet it frustrates me the way RU seems to have come on in leaps and bounds in so many ways (except on the field, I hasten to add) since they went full-time pro, and yet we haven't. As a game overall, we haven't developed ourselves as a business, we havent created a stronger international dimension to make us a more attractive prospect, or improved our standing in the eyes of the UK at domestic level - if anything we're less visible now than we were in the days when Shaun Edward plied his trade in Cherry and White.

For this reason, I can never celebrate the sight of our guys doing well in Union, either as players or coaches, because it just reminds me how inadequate we are, even though we have by far the better product.

The problem for RL is the pish poor intenational game. Look how many countries play RU to a 'high' standard and then compare it ot how many countries play RL to a similar standard

its shocking

Alan Sugar.

ok.....

i had a point i was going to make with your rpely but now i wont bother

Tease

Might I remind you, Wigan Warriors use to be called Wigan R.U. and my grandfather was very proud to be a follower, as indeed he was equally proud to watch them, when they become Wigan R.L.

Without Wigan R.U. there would not have been the Wigan Warriors we watch today. I feel your comments are not only negative, but also extremely unnecessary.

And without soccer there would be no rugby union. So what?

Wigan were never called Wigan RU as far as I am aware.

Wigan were and perhaps still should be called (The) Wigan Football Club.

Wigan, Hull and Oldham are examples of where the first football club to form in a town played the oval ball game (although some clubs weren't sure which code of football - association or rugby - to play). Which is why when people formed soccer clubs in those towns/cities had to find different names for those clubs (Athletic/City).

That's my dull factoid for the day.

I refer the honorable gentlemen to the point I made earlier.

Rugby Union is a horrible sport played by, watched by, commentated on by horrible people. (IMO!!)

Some very bitter comments on this thread, nobody cared or commented on Union until they started pinching our best young players, and why wouldn't they, they are a bigger, more worldwide sport with a lot of money. Its not RU I hate, its the RFL for sticking with the communist cap as it is and letting this happen.