Sorry Mr Lenagen you have totally lost the plot on this one. He may as well say why don't you have a look at our player so you can decide if you really want him in 3 years time. Apart from those who think IL can do no wrong I doubt there is any Wigan fan who wants to see Sam risked playing RU. And he isn't an exceptional player in RU either. He's never played it at this level.

Quite frankly I am astonished any chairman would agree a huge contract with a player one week and then let his prized asset swan around in a sport he has never played that could cause serious injury. What next? Skydiving or ski jumping?



I agree. There is no need for Sam to show case his talent playing RU because he doesn't play RU and I have absolutely no idea what IL means about the codes showing mutual respect for each other.



Me too. If he plays well we gain nothing, if he doesn't the headlines will be all about how RU has overtaken RL since Wigan played Bath.

Will Bilko be adding the fixture to his 'RL on tv' page?

Can you imagine if we'd have had message boards like this in the mid 90s when Connolly and Robinson went to RU for a few months in the off-season?

Connolly, Robinson, H Paul, R Paul, Mike Forshaw, Offiah... They all did an off season in RU didn't they?

Had they just signed contracts to the equivalent of £300,000 at the time?

I'm getting a rough idea of what it would have been like.

At least.

Any evidence to back that up? I have my doubts

Indeed. No salary cap and some Jack Robinson contracts. Given how our finances ended up not long after I'd say there were plenty of players on at least the equivalent of £300k today.

Yep, although not sure about Mike Forshaw? Weren't Connolly and R Paul both at Harlequins and Robinson and H Paul at Ba(r)th?

Any evidence that they hadn't? Players of that era were on more than the current lads. The big rusty statue in Tesco's car park is your evidence.

I doubt it. Even then there was limit and to suggest Wigan were playing half a dozen players about £1.5m does not wash.

The money is a side issue anyway. Letting your best player risk possible injury in another sport is IL's biggest mistake since he got here. It is quite frankly rank stupidity on his part.

Isn't it amazing how the reasons for Wigan's financial downfall vary from thread to thread depending on the subject matter.

I thought Wigan went bust due to a new stand?

My evidence would be most of them players named are still working today not one of them has retired and traveled the world with their suggested wealth.

Discovering a collapsing coal mine underneath it didn't help.

I'm sure even you would agree with that.

Just seen this quote in the WEP:
Yeah, I bet he did, lad. Since Andy Clarke sold his business and, effectively, the Tomkins lads to the RU-based agent Joel's gone to union, and we've had to pay Sam mega-bucks to keep him in RL.

I can see no benefits whatsoever from this for Wigan or RL, plus Sam runs the risk of being injured in what, even for yawnion, is a meaningless fixture. Is it ego or money that makes him want to do it? Can't see any other reason. I've always liked Sam but I'm furious with him, his agent and IL over this one.

Martin Offiah? Jason Robinson? You'll not catch either of them plastering your ceiling anytime soon. If anyone thinks players of that era weren't earning around the equivalent of Sam's money today (I'd suggest about £200k against 15 years of RPI) then you'd be deluded.

Meh, I'm no architect



I truly hope the horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach about both Sam's appearance at Twickers and the tie up with Saracens is misplaced.

I'm yet to hear a single decent reason for either development which is not based in fanciful "they're our best friends and in no way want to see the back of us" land.

For those arguing that he could get injured. Should we tell him he can't play for England RL in the future because he could get injured and that it means he's not focused on Wigan RL. LENEGHAN OUT!!!!....

Jason Robinson was the captain of a league winning Sale side, won both the six nations and world cup with England so you can't really use him in your argument as he would have been on a fortune in Union. Offiah on the other hand agent/pundit and wasn't he on the ice skating show? I wouldn't say he was sorted for life through money earned from Rugby League.

Yeah right

Wigan and Sam are swimming with sharks

Rugby League player represents his country in the sport he's CONTRACTED to, I'm happy with that as all rugby league players and fans should also be committed to their country.

Rugby League player represents a sport he isn't CONTRACTED to in an irrelevant friendly, lack of commitment to rugby league and you can't argue other wise.

blah blah blah

I'm not interested in forming an argument, I remember only too well the money being handed out to players by uncle jack. Offiah's rolling in money and taking easy pickings. You're upset about the issue and I can respect that, personally I can't see it's worth getting knickers in a twist about and no-one bleating about RU being some kind of big bully and Sam being a naughty little boy will alter that.

What disappoints me is that in the new contract Sam had signed, I'd hoped we'd found a way to fend off the Union Sharks, and that it could be a model for new contracts offered to all our other top players to keep them in RL.

But already we've got a development like this, which indicates that Union is simply not leaving us alone.

It's very disheartening.