I also notice he assumes all RL players have at some point "turned their backs on RU", and he fails to mention former Ireland defensive coach Graham Steadman contribution to Irish rugby.

Or Mike Ford as a coach & Rocky Elsom as a player.

I wonder if he complained when all the RU converts to RL went back into RU & helped the Lions beat the springboks on the 1st Lions tour after the onset of professionalism?

Tait, Gibbs, Bentley, Bateman.

Young & Quinnell too?

Correct, but only Gibbs,Tait & Bentley played in any of the Tests.

It's not just about the RFL "getting their act together though" nowadays you need money, lots of it, and thats something which the RFL simply don't have. As other people have mentioned the marketing for RL is relatively poor, but again to have good marketing you need a lot of money. The simple fact of the matter is that there is a lot more money floating around in Union than there is in League.

Just as an example I remember a few years ago Heworth basically having a whip round and then getting some of the 2nd team lads to build a new dug-out. At York RUFC a group of local businessmen who are union fans have part funded the rebuilding of the changing rooms and bar area, and consistently put money into the club.



This isn't to say that the RFL have/had no faults, but things are a lot easier to do when you've got plenty of money.



We also need those 60-80,000 people who attend the Grand/Cup Finals to start attending internationals too.

I'm currently watching French RU on ESPN. The simple reason RU doesn't score tries, is that they don't know how to attack utilising passing.



It is quite embarrassing.

Yep, their attacking skills are pathetic (in general). Their passing is generally slow and inaccurate (and for some reason every single pass is spun regardless of the distance, never quite worked that one out) and their lines of running are rubbish/non-existant.



There are obviously a few exceptions but only a very few, however I have been quietly impressed the few times I've seen Cipriani play.

I decided to have a quick look back at some of Mr Bills previous pieces of prose for the Belfast Telegraph and back only on the 12th of December he wrote this -



[urlhttp://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/rugby/peter-bills-university-challenge-to-professional-code-14595370.html[/url



I suddenly think that Mr Bills piece on the 26th December is more of a cry for help... I think he is clearly coming to the realisation that, in general, RU is indeed a poor spectacle and is struggling to come to terms with the fact that a game he clearly loves is no longer satisfying him in terms of on-field action and entertainment.



I really honestly think someone from HQ or the RFL should invite him over, all expenses paid, to come to either Leeds v Cas on the 5th Feb or indeed the WCC at Elland Road. It would be interesting to see what he would then write when he got back!



Personally, I think he should give in and start and watching Super League.

Ok, I thought this Peter Bills was Irish but I think he might be South African.



[iPeter Bills is Chief rugby correspondent for Independent News & Media worldwide. He contributes regularly to the group's titles in Ireland, South Africa, New Zealand and England, including 'Rugby News' magazine in London.

Peter is an award winning sports writer who has been writing on rugby union for almost 40 years. The author of 12 books on the game, he is also a former editor of 'Rugby World' and 'Rugby News' magazines in London.

He covers rugby all around the world and has written on the game from every major rugby playing nation, from Argentina to New Zealand, South Africa, Fiji and Japan plus all over the Britain, Ireland and Europe. His columns on rugby appear in many of those countries.

He has worked with some of the greatest names in the game on their autobiographies including Gareth Edwards, David Campese, Jean-Pierre Rives, Bill McLaren, Willie John McBride, Corne Krige and Dean Richards. He also wrote a special anniversary book on the history of London Irish and his most recent publication is, 'Rucking & Rolling', a look at international rugby over the last 60 years.[/i



It would be interesting to know whether he has ever seen a top-flight RL game in the flesh and whether someone should make sure he should! He is clearly a reformist judging by his other pieces!

That's quite a CV he boasts, which makes his ignorance all the more impressive, and his moaning all the more petulent

That has to be one of the finest disections of RU Vs RL i have heard in a while and i know you only scratched the surface. Nice one, my faith in southstander is returned from exile.

He's clearly yearning for the days when international Rugby Union matches consisted of 60 scrums a game ...