Perth city was ok, Kings Park is lovely but the outer suburbs were bland, new housing estate - nothing - americanised shopping centre - nothing - new housing estate (you get the drift). It's also too hot for me in summer, ridiculously isolated and expensive.

As I say each to their own, Sydney wasn't for me either

Likewise, love visiting Sydney, Melbourne and London but give me my 4x2 with pool two streets from the beach and 20mins from the city at a price us mere mortals can afford any day. I love the heat, being able to take my boat over to rotto for a snorkel, day on the river wake boarding etc but I love the water and outdoor lifestyle so Perth suits me just fine.

When did you move though? 4x2 with a pool near tge water is not as achievable these days. 'Rotto' I take it you mean Rottnest? Why not just say 'Rottnest'? Bloody expat poms trying to be Australian eh



Anyway it does sound like Australia and especially Perth suits your lifestyle perfectly. I like culture, the English Countryside, proper pubs, being closer to other cities and being so close to the rest of Europe. I also as strange as it sounds prefer a cooler climate, I can think of nothing worse than 35+ degrees anyway were wildly off topic now

Back on topic - we should find out before the season KO's.

You are very demanding!

Australia has cities with real pubs {try Paddington, Glebe and Balmain in Sydney). Australia has English countryside (try Bangalow, just north of Ballina and just south of Byron Bay). Sydney is not that far from Melbourne. If you want a cooler climate try Tasmania, the Perisher Valley or Mount Kosciuscko, or even just Canberra in winter. If none of that satisfies you try New Zealand, which is part England, part Scotland.

The only thing that Australia does not have is proximity to Europe.

But, as compensation, if you live in Sydney or Brisbane, you live in cities where rugby league is king!

That is why Sam Burgess is likely to stay put in beautiful Sydney.

The English RFU and Bath have denied ever approaching Sam Burgess. www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/leag ... 31w5i.html

The English RFU and Bath have denied ever approaching Sam Burgess. www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/leag ... 31w5i.html

Why am I demanding? I get all I want here in beautiful Yorkshire.

Why do people get so hot and bothered when you say Australia isn't for everyone.

I lived just outside of Balmain and yes it's gots a couple if ok pubs but they are far from proper pubs, most pubs in Sydney have a gambling room with banks of 'pokies' not my cup of tea I'm afraid.

Why should I try Canberra (a most dreary place if ever there was one) to have a colder climate, there's nothing wrong with living and actually preferring to live in the UK you know.

Love the English Countryside in general, but New Zealand blows its socks off. I'm here because London had served its purpose.....middle age and later years will be spent here wearing jandals (flipflops to poms, thongs to Aussies) and board shorts with a 300 day a year tan (as much as a ginger can tan).

In the UK I lived to work......here I live first and worry about work later....

Burgess would be mad to leave Sydney. That family has a real chance to become a dynasty in RL terms there......and a media career beckons upon retirement! ( along with a job as an agent for young poms coming south)

Agree RE the burgesses.

But wearing board shorts and flip flops all year round sounds awful to me - again different strokes for different folks

Xmas dinner involves opening 2 tins of beer, drinking 1/3 of each and ramming the 2/3rd full tin up each of 2 chickens, then place the chickens, standing upon the tins, on the BBQ, close lid and cook! Beer Butt Chicken...




...you carry on peeling sprouts if you must

Which is an American thing I believe?

It also look quite awful, you can keep it.

It may well be American.....but I can assure you, you'll have to go a long way to get a more moist chicken.

Look at this thread....it's gone all Delia...

Let's be 'avin ya!

Luckily I'm able to cook a chicken properly without shoving a beer can up its arris and sticking it on a gas BBQ but yet again each to is own

It seems that Australia offers Sam Burgess his preferred lifestyle. Sam Burgess is in process of becoming an Australian citizen. That is why I just can't see him blowing his his highly paid, high profile, high prestige job at South Sydney Rabbitohs (where he is routinely rated one of the top 10 players in the NRL), for a precarious "challenge" and uncertain future in an English rugby union, whose relevant national and club authorities have not even approached him.

Daily mail (fail) backpage splash tomorrow, it's a done deal, £500k fee + one of the highest earners in Rugby.
Tapped up by the gobe Andy Farrell.

www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyu ... plans.html

www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyu ... plans.html

It seemed credible up until they said the fee was £500k. Not a chance in hell that they would sell him for that.

The fee is probalby only compensation for the remainder of his contract and a gesture seeing as he's moving sports rather than clubs.

It wouldn't drive him to make the move but it might be a small factor, he moves and there is more than likely more game time for his brothers.

Very disappointed, Farrell the snake.

Must be going for peanuts if the club signing him are to stay under the cap. The good performance against SBW must have gone to his head, he'll be trying his hand at boxing next.

The fee isn't paid to him, it's paid to souths, who are, all told loaded. Hence 500k seems suspiously small to convince them to sell.

This is straight out of your Rah Rah party manual, right?

I know, the point is he's moving sports, he could just walk away from his contract and Souths would have to pursue him for breach of contract, there is no framework whereby they could pursue his new club.

Yes there is, if that were true, contracts would be even more meaningless than they are already in sport. Any new club/ company would be liable for any settlement the souths demanded, regardless of what sport they played. If they refused, souths would take it court and will either use sam personally for the price deemed a suitable transfer price for him (which his new team will ultimately be responsible for), or he is put in jail for breach of contract.

In that scenario it's similar to the breach of contract Harris was guilty of when he signed for Bradford. How well did that go for bradford?

The only way he could use your argument is if he told souths he was desperately unhappy ...

Edit: I'm not denying this now seems an eminent possibility I'm just saying for 500,000 I'd of chipped in at saints for the signature!

What framework is there for the NRL/South Sydney to pursue this, are they going to ask the RFL to ban him from playing Rugby Union?

They can pursue the player for breach of contract, i've always stated that, but they can't stop him earning a living if he's no longer playing Rugby League.

I find it hard to see how they could pursue this with Bath, Leicester or whoever. How would that work?

Because of the difficulties it's easier for them to accept an offer of compensation that relates to the remainder of his contract.

In England Breach of Contract is a civil matter and not one that would get the defendant sent to prison.

They don't need to stop him playing union. In the worst case scenario (for burgess and the rfu) if they convinced him to walk out of his contract without souths agreeing a fee for it, then souths can go to town in the courts. He would be liable for the perceived value souths felt that had lost due to his breach: prize money, sponsorships, attendences they could easily go for the $5-10mill range (very ambitious but that's what you do in this case) - either the rfu can pay it for him - and souths get far more than the £500,000 - or they refuse to pay that - in which case they can get burgess sent back to aus, for ignoring a court order, which is a criminal case and he can be incarcerated for.

It seems like it's happening, but the numbers quoted baffle me. It's not even like bath have loads of cap space free so they can pay him a tonne - I just don't get it

Sonny Bill Williams left Canterbury with 4 years on his deal to run, he had to pay $750,000. Sam's got 2 years left.

Without a international game of note this will always happen.