He is basically playing as a guest, its great publicity, whats the big deal?

My guess is enough to make it worthwhile. Presumably Sam will be rewarded financially as well. Maybe he signed his new deal on the premise that he could take advantage opportunities such as this.

So people are against this because he might get injured, Is that it?

He's playing for the Barbarians not Sale.

Spot on. Its obviously worthwhile or we wouldn't do it.

Because union is the devil

Believe!

Thats a great excuse for not wanting him to play.

Talk about mountains out of mole hills, jesus, he's the best player in OUR sport, playing as a guest in another sport and possibly ripping them to pieces, WHATS THE PROBLEM!

Well I'm gonna enjoy watching him play. Hogan's right though, the timing of this couldn't be much worse.

Who knows he might play so well, that Addidas wish to sign him as ambassador for the brand. Not that he'd be able to sign the deal though, well not without declaring it on the cap, at which point it'll be turned down.

You can't call Sam the best player in our sport the four nations proved that he has a long way to go before he can match Slater.

Well i'm afraid thats how many feel.

i personally think its going to be great watch sam represent wigan and RL.

Yeah, that's all Sam is thinking. I can't wait to get out there and represent Wigan and RL . . . .

Unfortunately, all Sam seems to care about is Sam, and this is just one more step on his road to playing union. IL has rolled out a red carpet all the way from Wigan to Twickenham for him, which seems ludicrous.

Can you imagine the RU letting one of the England elite squad play in a RL friendly on national TV the week after a World Cup final or 6 Nations decider which they lost? They wouldn't give us the time of day, and rightly so.

It's laughable and makes us look incredibly small time that we go out in the press making grandiose statements about what a huge stage we are letting one of our players play in, for a meaningless RU friendly the week after he represented England against the Aussies.

We are that small time though! He will go wherever he can get the best deal for himself no matter if Wigan let him play in this or not.

www.loverugbyleague.com/news_665 ... rs-us.html

www.loverugbyleague.com/news_665 ... rs-us.html

That's completely different, and you know it.

Playing for your country at your sport vs Playing for the Barbarians at another sport.

If he's injured on International duty, that's the perils of producing top players. If he's injured having a fanny about with the rah-rahs when he should be focussing on Wigan then that's a completely different matter.

So don't let him play then, problem solved and criticism avoided.

Dont really care what you think to TBH.

I trust IL and sam todo the 3 years he's agreed to..until i get evidence that his contract is a pile of e then i'll start worrying.Until then Sam tomkins is a wigan player whos had a invite to play for the baba's. nothing more nothing less.

Which he could have turned down and gone into the press saying "I had an invite to play for the Barbarians and was flattered, but I've just come off a tough 4 Nations series and see rest and getting myself in shape for 2012 as more important than a union friendly. I'm 100% focussed on RL for the time being."

Job done.

Mr Lenegan, why don't you just rebrand WWRLFC to WWRUFC.

Seems a very strange decision and one I wouldn't be happy about at Warrington. I would be peeved if one of Warringtons players went off to play a game of Union like this.

Is Lenegan toying with the idea of changing the code of the team, what with the link up with Saracens? Preparing for the Hybrid Game?

I agree. Ever since RU went full time the Barbarian's have struggled to justify their existence in the sport. National teams started to field weakened sides against them and there has been controversy in RU about players who ought to be resting (southern hemisphere players at this time of year) taking part.

If people bothered to look all the playing objections as to why Sam ought not to be playing are often made as to why RU players ought to decline the invitation as well.

What Sam playing will achieve is raise the profile of a flagging RU tradition and the RU types must think that is great. It is not an international but it is a friendly from a bygone era that lost its shine quite some time ago and IL is making it out as if this is some great big deal. He has been had if you ask me.

Isn't this game on Saturday a charity event?

Shakes head in disbelief..!

The club have not only resigned themselves to lose their best young players to RU, we're now practically handing them gift wrapped on a "try before you buy" scheme now" !!

Spot on. I wonder how many of these "whats the problem with it" people on here still feel the same should Sam suffer a serious injury, and before anyone starts on the "well he is insured" malarky, its not like home insurance...new for old, if he's injured then he could be out for the season and as i season ticket holder i feel that the Wigan board allowing this to happen is ludicrous to put it mildly.

That seem's to be most peoples view against it, lets just wrap him up in cotton wool in a padded room until the season starts.....



Wigan may not have much to gain by doing this, but what do they have to lose? The possibility of him getting a long term injury is a slight concern but if that where to happen, i have no doubt he will be insured in such a way that if he where not able to play for wigan as a result of an injury picked up playing another sport.. wigan wouldn't lose out financially atleast. He'd be missed on the field of course, but were all talking hypothetically. Ian Leneghan won't be that stupid.

People are making a massive deal out of this just because it is union. Like it or not. There's a big chance that sam may decide in 3 years time that he wants to go to union, one match wont exactly change things.

If the rfl decided to arrange a similar one off barbarians v aussies match or similar in the off season, no one would be crying about it, and i don't see what the difference is here. Just because it's a different sport doesn't mean he shouldn't be allowed to bloody play a one off match in our off season!.. I'll have a problem with it if he starts missing wigan games in the middle of a season to go playing rah rah, then and only then will it become a problem.


where is all this try before you buy nonsense coming from?? Its a one off charity event for christs sake!

Then you would be correct IMO, as usual, Wigan fans just want something and someone to moan at.