THERE are few sports fans more arrogant than a rugby union hating, rugby league fan.
Which is why I was delighted that athlete Dwain Chambers came through his rugby league debut in relative comfort.
When Chambers began a one-month trial at Castleford, rugby league fans were falling over themselves to tell you he wouldn't last two minutes in their rough, tough man's game.
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I forget the details, but the gist was that it can only be played by 20 stone superhumans who were born down't pit either in Wigan or Keighley and raised on a diet of babies, coal and Tetleys mild.
Chambers made a mockery of all the testosterone-fuelled talk when he came through 40 or so minutes of his debut for the reserves unscathed and described it as "a bit of fun".
Posted by: John Bolton, Bolton on 5:16pm Fri 2 May 08
You may not like Rugby League, Neil (and that perhaps explains why it gets such poor coverage in the Bolton News) but at least get your facts right. I am an avid RL fan, but I don't hate Rugby Union as a game - I, like many others, will find it hard to excuse the way the establishment backed RU discriminated against League for around 100 years. It's interesting to note that since Union went professional - realising that it was losing popularity to League, football and the rest - it has repeatedly tampered with it's rules to make it more like League, but it just can't go the full hog and admit that League is the more entertaining game - see the furore over the new "Experimental Laws". One thing I don't doubt is that Union is just as physically tough as League.
Iread most of the RL press and I can't recall many people in the game actaually hoping Dwain Chambers would be a failure - indeed most of us welcomed the publicity given that the game gets so little media coverage. It is clear that this was not just a publicity stunt and Chambers has worked hard in a short space of time to actually get the basic skills to get him on the field. Most of us RL fans don't doubt his courage - this is a tough sport - but we always doubted whether he would be able to play to anything like a decent standard given his age and his lack of any previous rugby experience. He has the physique and, as we often say in League "there's no substitute for pace" but he clearly lacks the stamina and basic technique at this stage. He played in a reserve team friendly against York - a team near thee bottom of National League 2, well below Super League standard - and he did OK BUT he was on the pitch in spells for less than half the match, made only 3 tackles (most players make 20+ in a game), carried the ball 5 times (dropping it twice) but only from simple back of the scrum moves. So this was hardly a baptism of fire - I'm sure he would have found it far tougher at Super League level!
What would be good would be to see some pampered, overpaid Prima Donna of a soccer player have a go at League (or Union !) - 2 minutes? I doubt it, most of those cissies wouldn't get up after the first tackle!
You may not like Rugby League, Neil (and that perhaps explains why it gets such poor coverage in the Bolton News) but at least get your facts right. I am an avid RL fan, but I don't hate Rugby Union as a game - I, like many others, will find it hard to excuse the way the establishment backed RU discriminated against League for around 100 years. It's interesting to note that since Union went professional - realising that it was losing popularity to League, football and the rest - it has repeatedly tampered with it's rules to make it more like League, but it just can't go the full hog and admit that League is the more entertaining game - see the furore over the new "Experimental Laws". One thing I don't doubt is that Union is just as physically tough as League.
Iread most of the RL press and I can't recall many people in the game actaually hoping Dwain Chambers would be a failure - indeed most of us welcomed the publicity given that the game gets so little media coverage. It is clear that this was not just a publicity stunt and Chambers has worked hard in a short space of time to actually get the basic skills to get him on the field. Most of us RL fans don't doubt his courage - this is a tough sport - but we always doubted whether he would be able to play to anything like a decent standard given his age and his lack of any previous rugby experience. He has the physique and, as we often say in League "there's no substitute for pace" but he clearly lacks the stamina and basic technique at this stage. He played in a reserve team friendly against York - a team near thee bottom of National League 2, well below Super League standard - and he did OK BUT he was on the pitch in spells for less than half the match, made only 3 tackles (most players make 20+ in a game), carried the ball 5 times (dropping it twice) but only from simple back of the scrum moves. So this was hardly a baptism of fire - I'm sure he would have found it far tougher at Super League level!
What would be good would be to see some pampered, overpaid Prima Donna of a soccer player have a go at League (or Union !) - 2 minutes? I doubt it, most of those cissies wouldn't get up after the first tackle!
Posted by: Dr S, Daisy Hill on 7:42am Sat 3 May 08
I've been a Rugby League fan for over 30 years. The only reason we have had to hate Rugby Union over the years has been the Rugby Union establishment's dismissal and outright repression of League and the southern-focused press's bias against our sport. I can see this press bias is alive and well long after the barriers between the two rugby codes have been broken down (and Rugby Union has snaffled half our rules and coaches to make their code nearly watchable).
Most League fans I have spoken to would love to see Chambers do well at the highest level within our game. He has survived his first reserve-grade fixture and shown that he can catch the ball and run which is a good start. However he has a good way to go before he can be any use in a Super League fixture for Castleford. Reports suggest his attitude in training has been superb; so who knows.
I personally would rate his chances higher than England Rugby Union's chances of ever lifting the World Cup again, and considerably higher than me ever seeing unbiased reporting of rugby league without insults aimed at it's fans. Not very high!
I've been a Rugby League fan for over 30 years. The only reason we have had to hate Rugby Union over the years has been the Rugby Union establishment's dismissal and outright repression of League and the southern-focused press's bias against our sport. I can see this press bias is alive and well long after the barriers between the two rugby codes have been broken down (and Rugby Union has snaffled half our rules and coaches to make their code nearly watchable).
Most League fans I have spoken to would love to see Chambers do well at the highest level within our game. He has survived his first reserve-grade fixture and shown that he can catch the ball and run which is a good start. However he has a good way to go before he can be any use in a Super League fixture for Castleford. Reports suggest his attitude in training has been superb; so who knows.
I personally would rate his chances higher than England Rugby Union's chances of ever lifting the World Cup again, and considerably higher than me ever seeing unbiased reporting of rugby league without insults aimed at it's fans. Not very high!
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