Re: Sam Burgess... : Fri Aug 28, 2015 1:28 pm  

Rugby Union does seem to have a lot more specialist players available than league,no doubt due to their bigger player base at club level & they come across to me as a sport that would not have a lot to do with the concept of a utility player.

Re: Sam Burgess... : Fri Aug 28, 2015 3:01 pm  

ninearches wrote:

Rugby Union does seem to have a lot more specialist players available than league,no doubt due to their bigger player base at club level & they come across to me as a sport that would not have a lot to do with the concept of a utility player.

Rugby Union tend to think that all rugby league players are very similar. RL players usually end up playing centre or wing in rugby union. Very few move to play any other position as the game is so different. There's not many union players who switch between being a back & a forward. I don't know of any back who has transferred to Prop or Second Row ... it just doesn't happen. It's not really anything to do with the player base.

Re: Sam Burgess... : Fri Aug 28, 2015 6:25 pm  

Dezzies_right_hook wrote:

He played well in the France game.

Aside from the odd spark of individual brilliance I thought he looked completely out of place. Defensively he's all over the place. The French exploited his lack of positional sense on at least three occasions and it was only through their own ineptness that they failed to score two or three tries.

He's not a Rugby Union centre. He never will be.

Perhaps he'll make it as a dynamic flank forward. But the obstacles are tremendous. I doubt whether he'll remain long enough in the sport to overcome them.