Why would he? He is not a good enough player to be a major success in Union. He has no real talent or ability. Just a fairly big and strong player who has been able to get a year in the centres for Wigan because they've no one else.

His career path will likely be a quick introduction to club rugby and a place in the England team for their next friendly after his move. He'll then drop out of that side and end up back in league a year or two later with little chance of ever getting anywhere.

Tompkins isnt worth that money... If Union want to throw it at him, good luck...

You see how crazy they all went over Ashtons try v the Wallbies. Doesn't take much to impress them.

England RU took Matt Banahan and Mike Tindall to the World Cup as centres, you cannot get two players who sum up the plhrase "just a fairly big and strong player" better than those two

Ashton was on £20-30k as a full-time pro in 2006, up to £35k the following season. He wanted a more than double your money deal of £75k, with Wigan offering close to that figure, but Northampton offered him £140k a year in the second-tier of English rugby union and it now suggested that his market value wage is over £300k, which may be difficult for the Norhampton club to find space under their cap of £4m, rising to £4.5m for next season.

Don't know if the £12k would be as an academy player because he made his debut for Wigan at 18 years of age and may have been on a very small deal as a part-timer who may not have even trained with the first team.

Imagine receiving a call from a recruiter who offers you 3-4 times your salary.

Anyone that can come up with a good explanation of why you wouldn't take it is a better man than me.

Its not like wendyball when someone moves from a huge weekly wage of 10k per week to 30k per week, we are talking about the difference between being financially secure by 30 and just having a decent house and car at 30.

It doesn't mean I like it

Quite simple really,what does he gain by saying at league with a ever decreasing profile for the sport,moves to union runs in 2 tries national hero.

Scores length of field tries for league at wembley no one knows him

He would be a idiot to stay at wigan if they are offering that sort of money a proper international platform[instead of playing at leigh in front of 6 thousand fans v wales) 18k at wembley for a double header.

Wow warrington are building a couple of cornors to there stands,I bet man utd are feeling threaten by your stadium suddenly jumping to 16 k crowds



And the kid ashton was on less than 12k when he broke into the wigan team and all credit to the kid he went back to wigan and said union were interested and had offered him 100k a season,wigans reply was well we will up you to a gauranteed 12k and reveiw again at the end of the season,well the lad from wigan is not as thick as wigan thought and off he went for more money and now a higher profile


As for leigh going burst,well first of many in the coming 12 months sadly,but if you lot say the games great and we nearly fill wembley and we nearly fill old traffold well who am I to argue........yep the games in great hands going from strength to strength

enjoy your Rugby Union this weekend!!!

Well thought out reply

Great you forcefully proved me wrong with all well thought out reasoning on were our game is growing and going from strength to strength

Remember us old moaners remember when our sport had a higher profile before popcorn rugby league was wheeled out under uncle mo and his disciple lewis the tennis star and not forgetting cummins at the refereeing level turning our game from a contact sport were you contested things to 5 drives and a kick and hope

ASBO Tomkins?? Please explain?

£12k as an academy player before his 18th birthday does not sound an outrageously low wage to pay any youth team player in either code.

well done.... fantastic comparison..... you really have proved that rugby league is dead...i bet man utd are celebrating its demise as we speak.

Will you be going to Leigh for the Wales game or Wembley for the double header?

No wonder Tomkins is off with Shaun Wane taking over the Piedome hot-seat.

Wigan will only go one way with this bloke at the helm.....and it isn't up.

Based on what??

If he was a highly rated coach then Shaun Wane would have got a top job long ago.

Wigan have has 2 seasons of success. But a swift return to the mediocrity we've seen from the Pies in the vast majority of the Super League era looms. You heard it here first.

Why don't you just crawl on outta here, and take your negativity with you.

So I take it no one can give a good reason why he should stop in league?

Is it for the international scene?

The media profile?

The money?

The chance to play in the big games?

Oh come on your all telling how great super league is these days,if it is why are we losing the young talent now?

Once they get the young talent whats left????

Agree with JIC RU has all the money & rep for internationals. It used to be the other way with money at least!

Worst thing that ever happened to RL was RU going professional.

Why did the Welsh RU boys come to RL? Money, would you not do this?

Your career can be over in a second in rugby, why not make the most of it?

RU is peppered with RL players/coaches & makes their game much better.

I went to Northampton 2/3 years ago on a freebie they were playing the champs from the season before Wasps, last 5 mins S Myler threw the pass for C Ashton to score the try to level the score, Myler then kicked the goal to win.

How much fun did I have with the RU fans???

If Joel wants to go to RU good luck to him, personally I am suprised Sam isn't going with him!

errr playing rugby league?!

The only guarantee upon moving to begin with is more money.

The international scene and media spotlight is not a gurantee. He'd need to adapt to a new game to a good enough level.

What if he hates playing rugby union, doesn't like his surroundings and never makes it to internantional level and more spotlight. It's a cliche but money doesn't give you happiness. If he moved to union that's [ipotentially[/i all he'd have more of.

Wigan won't be paying him peanuts either, he's one of the top players.

At wigan he get's to be in comfortable surroundings with friends, playing a game he enjoys, while earning a not too shabby earning either. (don't beleive some of the wages being touted for J.Tomkins or compare it to premiership football, it's decent money compared to your average person off the street)

Why do people automatically assume someone wants more media profile and therefor union wins?

Some players might be shy and hate being in the media spotlight and it may distract them and add more pressure. Not every young rl player want to be the centre of attention.

These decisions are alot more complicated than you dress them up. Money is a factor but if you make all your decisions in life based on money you can end up in a pretty bad place in terms of internal happiness.

Now take your negativity and toddle off.

Negativity eh?

The lad as achance to play in the second biggest comp we have the 4 nations and chooses to drop out to tie his deal up,what does that say about our game?

Internal happiness? you are the deli lama and I claim my £10

Can you see a union man say he is pulling out of the six nations to have a chat with salford reds??? no me neither.

So the arguements for staying are internal happiness oh right

Plus the lad who said they are copying us not really,there sport as contested scrums and line outs,your right they are taking our coaches and now were taking the older players but now they have turned there sights on the younger players which is the major worry

Nothing. He's one player. You're making out like every rugby league player has just packed up and said 'no not playing anymore. I want to play RU because i'll get criticised and written about in the press more and i can play in front of 70k at twickenham instead of old trafford'

If union want to pay silly money for a middle of the road second rower that's their choice.

Since 2004 off the top of my head high profile defects i can think of

Farrell
Vainikolo
Hape
Walker
Smith
Ashton
eastmond

Farrell vainikolo and hape gave their best to league and were no great loss. The only loss was in Union's bank balances.

Walker and smith went then came back pretty quick. I wonder why? how could they turn down all that money media and fame? Rugby uinion is after all the promised land



Ashton and eastmond - fair cop. That's 2 genuine losses in 8 years.

Oh my, it seems our players just can't resist the lure of the promised land.

After the worse cup as ended,thank god,England rfu have come up with a cunning plan,they are going to sign the all blacks to play for Barrow rfl,there being they can sign them all back up again to play for England in the next worse cup,BARROW dont fall for it,you will be relagated to the north west counties.

Farrell left league a prop to play centre in union
Vainikolo was a shadow of the player after two major knee operations
Hape was half the player he was after the Volcano left and injuries took their toll
Walker actually did okay in union, but the extra weight on his return has taken its toll
Smith can't even get close to the Leeds team after a horror stint at Wasps
Ashton looks good but tbh would he be still be playing at fb for Wigan; no
Eastmond looked the real deal a while ago, now he is old news and he will struggle in the Aviva Premiership as wingers have got alot bigger since Jason Robinson made the switch.

I'm willing to say it is just Eastmond and even then do Saints having a running scrum-half who can boss and team with more of a kicking and passing game.

If Joel and Sam Tomkins do go then it is much bigger than any of the above names as they are the same as Farrell; quality English players who we all expected to have 10 year careers in international rugby league.

The RFL is trying to address the problems; the licensing system and getting clubs to bring more money into the game, broaden the appeal, make it a national game, get clubs to have balanced books, bring kids through, get an international game, have internationals at big stadia, have big games at big stadia, and all of this seems to be along the road to raising the salary cap, it will be a small raise but it is expected within the next few years that it will increase from £1.65m for top 25 earners, but with union going to £4.5 for all players at the clubs (they do have over 40 man squads) from 2012-13 we will continue to see a drain for those who want to double, or even get 5 times their wage, rather than an extra £10K a year.

The RFL is getting the clubs in order, but it takes time to do the business off the field, so we can give the players a better option than we are at the minute.

If its true that Tomkins is being offered £400K a year by Union then he would indeed he foolish to turn it down. However, given that is a tenth of the current Union club salary cap, which has to account for around 30 players its not rocket science to realise why Union clubs will only make those sort of raids once in a blue moon and not be after every promising young League player.

I appreciate it's devastating for fans of the club that lose a good player to union but seeing as the game only loses 1 or 2 players a season, some of them not even our top players, its hardly devastating to the game as a whole....