Yes I read it. " If Sam wants to leave and there is a way out of his contract, ..." is plain English. If there is a way out of his contract that is supposed to be watertight for three years we have been lied to.

Actually, the more I think about this, the more it seems possible that this could be a rather clever way to get quite a lot of extra cash into Sam's bank account, without it counting on the salary cap.

The injury factor is clearly a risk, but then so is going on an adventure holiday and we don't stop the lads doing that in their off-time. This may well have been cooked up during the recent negotiations.

I regarded it as a disaster when I first heard about it, but now I'm not so sure.

Get a grip of your emotions. He hasn't suddenly left. This is a brilliant opportunity to get one over RU. All the publicity will be focused on Sam, Wigan and RL. This is a master stroke of publicity and Sam is still a Wigan player.

Wendell Sailor and Sonny Bill played for the Barbars when they were league players.

If Lenegan said that to try to hold off interest in him then I'd be glad he lied to the fans and everyone else. In that hypothetical situation, if there really was no way of making his contract absolutely watertight I'd be glad that he tried to keep interest in him to a minimum. Not that there's any reason to doubt what Ian Lenegan has said about the contract. He'll be here for 3 years I imagine.

^ a million times!!

Please explain HOW he earns a lot of extra cash? In none of the articles does it say he is being paid. He might get a match fee but what wil that be £2k? £5k - hardly a kings ransom,

If the answer you give to your own question there is correct, then I'd agree. But as you're clearly surmising, then we're no further on.

I'm only putting forward a possible explanation. I'll never be able to prove it's correct, as we'll never see the details of Sam's private deal with the RU people, but then you'll never be able to prove that it isn't.

That is simply incorrect they had both just converted to Union at the time. It is FACT Sam Tomkins is the first player contracted to rugby league to ever play for the Barbarians.

It'll all end in tears

The depressing truth is that Sam will receive more mentions in the national media due to his participation in a meaningless exhibition game than he has over his whole career winning trophies and performing for his national team.

That both saddens and angers me no end.

I have heard that Sam will be payed more than the Wigan club for this game.

Change the salary cap rules and then his boyhood club can sign him and he can emulate his hero Langer and still stay in League everyone's a winner except union

It may or may not have been mentioned in this thread, but it shows how desperate rugby union are.

The Barbarians are the best of the best, the cream of the union crop. If they can't fill that team with their own talent and need to look at the more athletic, mature brother in rugby league then so be it.

It speaks more about their game than it does ours - we know ours is better, and now they do too.

Sam must be ing himself - he's got nothing to lose.

^^This.

It's like a job interview for him for his move to union.

It does seem like a form of apprenticeship before he lands the big job in 3 years time.

being honest cruncher i didnt think it was a disaster when it was first announced, i just think after all the comments sam made about not liking union ect hes now give people more reason to dislike him even more!

I do not read it as showing desperation, it actually makes Rugby League seem subservient and irrelevant. Taking the best player out of a competitors Sport after a long, gruelling season in order to play an Exhibition game come across to me as taking a sideswipe at Rugby League. It's almost like saying 'you had a wonderful season in that little regional game of yours, now you are good enough to be invited to the real thing'.

It's also likely that getting a taste of 'how the other half live' and hearing from team-mates on the Barbarians how much they earn will turn Sam's head even more in regards turning to RU in the future.

I know he has a 3 year clause stopping him from talking to union clubs but that still won't stop them.

I'm pretty sure if it was a offer that Wigan couldn't turn down they would let him talk to union clubs.

IL has said he would never get in the way of a player wanting to leave, so if a club did come in for him with the RFU bank rolling the deal I can see it as a strong possibility. I'm just praying Wigan have another Shaun Edwards coming through the ranks some one with 100% loyalty and love for the town.

wonder if he'll find it much fun when he's under a pile of fat f*cks getting stamped on

I think it's a swipe at the Union players who have worked long and hard to be included in that team, only for the organisation to turn around and basically say;

'Sorry lads, we've picked one of the best fullbacks in the Superleague. Who, incidentally has never played union at a professional level and has infact just finished a long league and international campaign - cheers for trying lads, but he's actually better than you and he doesn't play your sport.'

That's what it looks like to me.

Agree with you completly, it could be a wake up call for English RFU.