stevecl

Fascinating. Thank you!!! Particularly loved the rather quaint "these are the differences page". Does the layout of the forwards - 4 and 2 - mean anything or was that just how the typesetter squeezed them in, it seems inconsistent with how the backs naames are arranged in a rough formation as we are used to seeing today. Does anyone know if there was a reason for the venue? It does not appear an obvious one for a 'Northern Union' team??

That does not necessarily follow at League 1 level and the WWR experience - admitedly not the best of role models - says that each season you end up re-booting as the previous season successes earn better deals elsewhere and the previous season failures are jettisoned.

Speaking as Wales RU - and RL - fan I was glad to see the back of Burgess in that game. He was effective for the time he was on but I never saw how Bath thought he was a 6. RU forward play is way too technical (NOTE : technical does not mean better it means different) to learn the game in a hurry. Had he wanted to stay he was IMHO definately a 12. He wasnt well used by England which is odd as Lancaster is a good coach but maybe other pressures elsewhere. There were some odd sound-bites at the time, there is a vid of him saying he "felt like a union player" and equally you can fine one saying "he always felt like a league player" but that may be down to his handlers at the time.

Dream on…….. It will take more than one person. We are constantly told here how rugby (union) is the ‘national sport’ when spectators and participant numbers would suggest soccer is #1. There is an entrenched RU bias in the media and she will do well to affect that on her own.

As the holder of the record number of Welsh caps I might churlishly take issue with the "An english coach....." bit, but good luck if true.

I don't know the situation but my immediate reaction is that it is hard to see how this ends well for them. If you resign from the governing body how do you get to compete in said body's competitions and hence any meaningful competition?

Raiders - by 1 Cougars Crusaders Oldham Hornets

11 and 14 are some of the few positions Wales RU are not short of talent. Sign him by all means if he comes on a “free” but I can’t see why Wales would buy him out.

Damn, clicked "submit" too soon. What I mean to say - and it was not a code comparison I think they were bothered yes but somehow it has lost it's way on the channel, too many competing calls on the purse maybe. I grew up in the "other code" but back when I started watching Big League on Sky, the coverage was streets ahead of anything the RU coverage could offer. I guess then the latter was probablty confined to BBC with the World Cup on ITV. I think they saw it as a vehicle for those Friday evenings and put a lot of effort into a decent production team and it worked. A lot of guys I played with at the time were watching the "other game" and commenting favourably on it.

I think they were bothered yes but somehow it has lost it's way on the channel, too many competing calls on the purse maybe. I grew up in the "other code" but back when I started watching Big League on Sky, the coverage was streets ahead of anything the RU coverage could offer. I guess then the latter was probablty confined to BBC with the World Cup on ITV.

I tend to go with those here that say "less is more". Why do I need someone - I am watching it for fecks sake and yes radio is different - but why do I need an "expert" to tell me that x passed to y. I sense the summarisers feel the need to earn their gig and fill every silence. Perhaps there is a feeling if they are too quiet then the producers will callin someone "more interesting" - meaning someone with more waffle.

But it's not just as east as "holding your nerve" for 10 years while you get beaten up as you develop younger local players. I think that unless you can get a full squad in "one hit", any emerging gems are going to get cherry picked by the other league 1 sides and higher teams and you never quite get that critical mass you aspire to. My sense - no names to hand - is that this happened to WWR and all the previous incarnations of the side and a mix of better RL teams and the "call of union" soaked up any emerging talent.

You have a better memory lol

Good to see wwr win but puts the Cornwall job in perspective when you lose and are “nilled” by the team that couldn’t buy a win for the last few years.

As many as that? Oh and you forgot "dim" since we are talking Wales...