FIRST of all this week I would like to pay tribute to two colleagues – Richard de la Riviere and Stephen Ibbetson – who have collaborated together to produce the ultimate Wigan book.
‘50 Wigan Legends in Their Own Words’ has been a labour of love for both of them, with Richard having transcribed the interviews with 50 Wigan icons and Stephen having designed both the front cover and the inside content of the book.
We don’t produce many books at League Publications, other than our annual Yearbook, but we do like to think that our publications are of a quality that will please all Rugby League supporters.
And I’m glad to say that this book passes that test with flying colours.
Richard has interviewed all 50 players featured in the book – some of whom have since passed away – and without exception they all have great stories to tell, many of them with great humour.
Anyone wanting to buy a copy should go online to www.totalrl.com/shop and order one while they are still available.
I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
Who’ll be in the Grand Finals?
As an interested observer of Rugby League in both the Northern and Southern Hemisphere, I think I can stick my neck out to predict who the respective Grand Finalists will be in both the NRL and Super League.
In the NRL, judging by their performances at the weekend, I can’t see beyond the current title holders, Penrith Panthers, and Brisbane Broncos, the latter having nilled the Melbourne Storm at the weekend.
Having said that, I would love to see the Newcastle Knights reach the Grand Final, given the quality of rugby they play, and I would like to see them facing the New Zealand Warriors, but unfortunately those two teams will clash this weekend instead.
In Super League, it’s getting hard to look beyond St Helens and Wigan when it comes to booking a date at Old Trafford.
If anyone is going to stop Saints winning a fifth successive title, it can only be Wigan.
I’m afraid that those of us who would like to see some teams reaching Old Trafford who haven’t been there before will have to look forward to seeing those two great clubs in the Grand Final.
But what a game it will be!
What might have been for George
In many ways, England’s 27-10 victory over Argentina in the Rugby Union World Cup on Saturday will have confirmed many Rugby League supporters’ worst feelings about the other code of rugby.
That England could win the game by scoring 27 points, but without any tries, is condemnation enough of the rival code.
On the other hand, there were a couple of mitigating factors.
On the one hand, Kevin Sinfield is the England defence coach and most commentators seem to believe that the England defence was excellent. I’m happy to take their word for it.
On the other, George Ford scored all England’s points, with six penalties and three drop-goals, the latter being worth three points in rugby union.
George is the son of Mike Ford, who is currently the Oldham coach and unfortunately enjoyed rather less success than his son as the Roughyeds went down 12-13 to the North Wales Crusaders on Sunday to bow out of the League One play-offs.
Oldham were playing at Boundary Park, where they will play all their matches next season.
Let’s hope they enjoy more success there next year.
George played his junior rugby in Oldham with Waterhead and Saddleworth Rangers, but from the age of eleven he attended a private school, in his case Rishworth, near the Yorkshire-Lancashire border and that’s where he was introduced to rugby union.
He carried on playing Rugby League, however, and was a target of several clubs, but ultimately, he joined Leicester, becoming the youngest player ever to appear in the Premiership aged just 16 years and 237 days.
And to be fair, he has never looked back.
Unfortunately we couldn’t have offered him the degree of celebrity he will enjoy playing rugby union, especially after his performance on Saturday.
Hot weather in September
Over the years we have published several letters from readers urging the RFL to switch the season back to a winter one, with most of them citing very hot summer temperatures to support their case.
The sort of weather they are talking about was with us at the weekend.
The Leeds and Wigan players looked as though they were playing in a furnace.
Unfortunately, though, the winter season always used to begin in August.
So the weather we have just experienced would actually have affected a winter season as much as it has the summer season.
That simply illustrates the point that it isn’t a simple issue.
Biting – who’s at fault?
And another issue that isn’t a simple one is biting.
This raised its ugly head when Canberra’s Jack Wighton was accused of biting a Newcastle Knights opponent, Tyson Gamble, in their NRL play-off game on Sunday.
Gamble tackled Wighton and had his arm around his head, with his forearm directly pressuring Wighton’s mouth.
Gamble then pulled away from the tackle and showed the referee bite marks on his arm.
The problem I have with this is that his arm shouldn’t have been wrapped around Wighton’s head in the first place.
If someone’s mouth is compressed by someone else’s arm, it’s a natural reaction to try to close your mouth and you are likely therefore to bite your assailant, even if it isn’t deliberate.
Bradford’s Jorge Taufua was banned for six matches recently by the RFL for a similar charge in similar circumstances and in my view that is a very harsh judgement.