League or Union

[BoredBloke]

This has to be the one and only time that I will ever find myself agreeing with Benno.

[benn0]

This has to be the one and only time that I will ever find myself agreeing with Benno.

I'm off to take cold shower.

[Forumbore]

I will not say which one is better or which one I prefer. Rugby league is a simple game, whereas union is far more complex. I might suggest that League is a game for Northerners who either do not have the intellect (which is what the southern Union fans would say) or cant be bothered with anything that is not straightforward. whereas southerners prefer a sport that supposedly engages the brain.

It is a class thing really.

[Forumbore]

So the fact that a fatty can play Union at a semi decent level makes it a better game?

I'm still trying to get my head round that one.

League as a spectacle is everything Union wants to be. Granted it has never made it's mark internationally in the same way Union has but that's more to do with the fact that it's just too tough a game for the vast majority of the population.

If league were a better spectacle then it would be shown more. Having said that it is more popular in Australia than Union. Union dominates simply because of money and that a number of rich blokes have bought into union because they have no friends. Jumping into a bath with middle class rugger buggers is somehow appealing to the likes of Tom "No mates" Walkinshaw and others.

[DaveB]

You only get those for football

[Forumbore]

Where's the "I don't give a tulip" option?

Nobody gives a tulip whether you give a tulip or not

[DanTheMan]

Union wasn't a professional sport until a few years ago. But the money the league stars were earning wasn't anything near the money the rich union daddy's boys were inheriting. I think it used to be a class thing between the codes but now union is professional a few league players are swithcing codes and it seems to have made union more appealing to league fans. And vice versa. Nobody outside of union would have heard of Jason Robinson before the world cup but now they do and so they started looking more closely at the league players. OK every now and again a waste of space like Henry Paul switches but I still live in hope that Adrian Morley might go to union. Every times someone switches codes they introduce some of the fans to it also. Doesn't seem to work so well the other way aorund though. Llomu had no intention of going to league where he might have prospered once more.

[benn0]

I will not say which one is better or which one I prefer. Rugby league is a simple game, whereas union is far more complex. I might suggest that League is a game for Northerners who either do not have the intellect (which is what the southern Union fans would say) or cant be bothered with anything that is not straightforward. whereas southerners prefer a sport that supposedly engages the brain.

It is a class thing really.

If Rugby League is such a simple game how come people like Sean Edwards, Mike Ford, Phil Larder, to name but three are making such a good living by transferring their knowledge of league into Union in a coaching capacity?

League has always been the more innovative of the two codes. Union has been slower to adapt because to do so would alienate the vast majority of participants. It is a social sport for 99% of the people who play it. Many people play Union to get fit. You cannot play League unless you are pretty fit to begin with.

Sorry if us Northern whippet loving peasants can't be as classy as you Rich southerners.

[Forumbore]

If Rugby League is such a simple game how come people like Sean Edwards, Mike Ford, Phil Larder, to name but three are making such a good living by transferring their knowledge of league into Union in a coaching capacity?

League has always been the more innovative of the two codes. Union has been slower to adapt because to do so would alienate the vast majority of participants. It is a social sport for 99% of the people who play it. Many people play Union to get fit. You cannot play League unless you are pretty fit to begin with.

Sorry if us Northern whippet loving peasants can't be as classy as you Rich southerners.

We do have a chip on our shoulder do we not? Must be difficult for you with all your earnings to look your fellow cloth capper in the face eh?

Let us move away from the "class" elements of the two codes

The reason why league coaches have so much to offer Union is because league is simple (I never said that a game was better just because it was more complex) and therefore league players need to tackle effectively and pick the best running lines, their game is not confused with all the other nuances of Union.

You will not however find these people coaching line out play, scrummage, rucking and mauling.

[benn0]

We do have a chip on our shoulder do we not? Must be difficult for you with all your earnings to look your fellow cloth capper in the face eh?

Let us move away from the "class" elements of the two codes

The reason why league coaches have so much to offer Union is because league is simple (I never said that a game was better just because it was more complex) and therefore league players need to tackle effectively and pick the best running lines, their game is not confused with all the other nuances of Union.

You will not however find these people coaching line out play, scrummage, rucking and mauling.

You brought up the class element. Not me.

As for the line-out play, scrummage, rucking and mauling, you're welcome to them. the vast majority of League followers prefer the ball moving around at high speed, the ball in play for as long as possible, and players who are comfortable and accomplished at the basics of the game, ie Passing and tackling.

The 'nuances' of the Union game that most of its followers refer to are merely a smokescreen for the the fact that in terms of basic skills and all round fitness, Union players remain light years behind.