As with all these things it comes down to perspective, I watched the full 80 minutes of the England Wales game and then the Wakefield Bradford game later. As I am from a Rugby League background, I kind of watched both games with a RL perspective. The 6 Nations game was tense due to the close scoreline, full of grunt in the scrum and the multi phase play and punctuated with penalty kicks as the primary points scoring. I think we have to accept that to the Union purist, this is a great game of rugby

The League game was full of running, creative plays and intelligent attacking kicks. To me, this was a great game of rugby

I think it is fascinating how the rules of Unions are such a great leveller of skills and ambition. If the Welsh and English Union sides had been playing League then Wales would have been the better team by 40 points – better handling and more athleticism nullified by the rules of the game

Rugby Union is a better sport to watch today than it has ever been but it still has some fundamental flaws that restrict entertaining play due to the rules rewarding of negative play. As it continues down its accelerated journey that RL has been on for a century, it will continue to get better

From a Union point of view, it probably was a good game compared to some of the gash they are usually served, but quality-wise it was mediocre.....Usual amount of knock-ons, forward passes, unfathomable refereeing decisions, monotonous kicking.

My main complaint has always been the total lack of continunity to the game.....Constant stop-start, it is much too forward orientated to ever be entertaining, the fact you can have over 20 consectutive phases of play without any progress forward, tells you all you need to know about how dull it is.

Before I'm accused of being a stereotypical League fan, I'd like to say that I'm never entirely won over by League's basketball-style scoring, where the scoring of a single try as become massively devalued by the fact that there is too much of an advantage to the attack over defence.....Union has the opposite problem, in that the rules actually stifle flair and excitement.

Somewhere between the two codes there is a perfect form of rugby crying to be let out....I wonder if either code has the balls to take a chance and give it a go?

It's a shame really that most sports are measured by their International product. In most peoples eyes the International is the top of the leaderboard and rightly so, it's supposed to be the best of the best. However I've never been a fan of International sports, the quality on show is generally very poor. The Rugby World Cup was very average, the Football World Cup in 2010 was appalling. It might seem like silly comparisons but if you took one of the top 4 Premier League sides in Football and put them against England, they would absolutely destroy them. Sure, that might be because of the influx of foreign players. I think the same of a lot of sports though. This weekends Premiership had some of the best games I've ever seen, both results wise and games I've watched on the tele and saw highlights of.

I don't think it's a coincidence that while the forward dominated England game has been on the tele, the reserve players of some teams have been playing open Rugby and scoring tries for fun in the league.

Sale 46-34 Wasps - 6 tries to 3
Leicester 42-15 Newcastle - 6 tries to 2
Gloucester 29-23 - Harlequins - 3 tries to 2
London Irish 23-30 Northampton - 3 tries to 4

Sale absolutely destroyed Wasps before bringing on some subs and losing concentration and conceding 2 quick fire tries. The Gloucester and Harlequins game, from what I saw was the best advert for Union you could see. The Irish game today, again, from what I saw was really good, fast tempo Rugby.

I do think some people fail to see that it's a competitive championship, The 6 Nations. Any Englishman would have taken a 3-0 win over Wales. It was actually a decent game, played at a good pace and I think we were robbed at the end. I still say it was a try despite how many people tell me it wasn't. We are a brand new squad with brand new coaching staff and it will take time to gel. Right now it's about grinding out victories and we failed to do that yesterday. Don't be surprised with the kick fest on show when most of the squad is made up of Saracens, Northampton and Leicester players, 3 of the most forward dominating teams in the league.

Just a quick one Shark J. Didn't you have a dig at rugby league last season becuase of the high number of tries and porous defences?

I did, and I maintain that. I was at Bradford vs Wigan last week (I'm a Wigan follower, not sure fan is the right word) and there were that many tries that most people were just talking and apart from those 50 or so kids (the ultras or whatever they're called) bouncing around all day, most people knew it was over at half time and the latter tries barely got a cheer. The skill level on show was very good and it was very clinical.

I know the differences between the 2 games so I know there's more tries in League. Part of me was joking, part of me was just defending myself in favour of Union.

But you're right. I was a bit gutted that Sale conceded 3 tries. We were the first team in 61 months not to concede a try at Northampton last week and we still lost. Then we concede what sounded like 3 daft tries against relegation threatened Wasps.

To be fair, I couldn't care less right now as we are in February and looking at a Heineken Cup place, even the play-offs. Usually at this time of the year I'm moaning to everybody about relegation. So it's all good!

Shark J is a crank. I never even realised you lurked down here in the depths of this forum

By crank he means I've known him for 7 years and he didn't know I posted on here, rather than a troll or a wind up merchant. He's a Leeds Rhinos fan so he's a bit special, God bless

but then you also have the likes of Exeter... jesus christ talk about dull. i'm sure that's about 3 games involving them now with no tries at all !!

Too right. People won't shut up about Exeter and how well they've done since they've come up. They are right of course, but they're a horrible team to watch.

I'm travelling on my own to Sandy Park next weekend, 9 hours on the train in one day. I'll take any win right now but I hope we try to throw the ball around because I know they won't.

I've watched England yawnion for 40 years, granted the last 20 totals about 40 minutes, but they have never done anything but kick & play conservatively. Unless it's against Japan & they are 60 up (20 penalties) then they might throw it around for the last 5.

I enjoy both codes but after at least 40 years of watching the five/six Nations competitions I must say that the quality of european international RU is at it's lowest ebb - probably the only exiting moments have come from the Scots who have tried to play open attacking football only to throw away two games trhough inexperience and bad discipline
From what i've seen of british rugby on tv and quite a lot of live french Top 14 games this season the product is becoming more and more boring and even CA Brive are now resorting to offering deals to get the crowds in.

The only bit I have seen this year was the last 10 minutes of a Scotland game a week or 2 back. They did throw it from side to side to try & break through. But with 15 defenders stood 3m apart it is almost impossible to get through, which the Scots failed to do. I almost felt sorry for them.

It's no secret that NH union is often a chore to watch but every so often you see a game that is highly entertaining and keeps your attention for the full 80 minutes. As for negative or just plain boring, I'd include Bath and Worcester this year.

Shocking news about Otago RU. If such a famous name can go bust maybe the stories about NZRU's problems are true.

I think it’s crazy in what passes for a good game in Rugby Union? I watched the England v Wales game and or me it was average at best. No continuity, no real attacking guile and the only reason it was tense was because of the close scoreline.

Now I come to work on the Monday and ask the Union fans what they thought and they all tell me what a great game it was and how England are getting better. I just don’t get it.

Just how good is Owen Farrell? People at work are telling me his amazing but again they are saying what a great goalkicker he is and will be the #1 goal kicker in the world. They don’t tell me how good his handling is, his passing, his step, his tackling, his ability to attack the line but it’s all about his goal kicking. It’s like they think he should be picked simply cos he can kick goals.

Compare with Jamie Foster. His kicking was excellent on Friday night but he has been slaughtered on these boards because the rest of his game was pants. I'm afraid a team that can pick Rob Andrew for 1000 tests is never going to expect too much.

[urlhttp://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/provincial/6489057/Otago-rugby-union-headed-for-liquidation[/url

Can't really comment with much knowledge on Otago, but the NZRU have admitted that there are other unions with "bridging" loans.
The Wellington Hurricanes had an average home gate of 23,300 in 2006...5 seasons later they got 11,280....52% down. Now, given that the Majority of the fans are drawn from within 25kms and the rail line runs directly to the station, together with the fact that you can walk to the stadium from the CBD in 5 minutes and get a bus from the immediate city suburbs (pop 450k) in about 10 minutes, this loss of fans is down to 2 things........Apathy and SKY TV.

Sky are a required evil, in that without their cash, the game would not be able to survive. Apathy is a different matter though......I can buy a ticket walk up for as little as $25 or a Season Ticket for $199 which includes 7 S15 games and 5 ITM games for the Lions........that works out at $16.50 a game.......less than a tenner in pounds!

New Zealand Rugby Union have a responsibility to take back certain aspects of control from the individual Unions, including a good chunk of the central marketing budgets...
The Blues v The Crusaders got 32k......but the Chiefs v Highlanders got 20k less than that.......this is only a few months after the entire country went Rugby mad.......I sense a certain amount of "field of Dreams" marketing has taken place.....an over reliance on the RWC effect and a misplaced exectation that fans would flock back......they won't and if the Hurricanes are as bad as expected this year, I would expect another drop in their average atendance.

Rugby Union is still the Number 1 game here in NZ, but that's only because the gates at Soccer, Cricket and League are nothing to write home about.

[url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-south-east-wales-17199835Wales rugby union players Tom James and Ceri Sweeney bailed after Cardiff assault.[/url

I watched most of the Eng v Wales and to me it was dire. England have no idea apart from popping over goals. I will say that the England try at the end was a try. But why with a min to go and a pen did they boot it into touch while being 5 meters out. Only to waste time to set a line out up. Tap and go unless there is a rule where you can't.

The rest of the time was too stop start with these phases that the fly half stands around having a fag before deciding to get the ball out and boot it for a line out. A union fan that I know called league stop start for play a balls. Feck knows what a phase is.

Winning the ball by sheer hard, tiring graft followed by then punting it back to the opposition so they can attack you again has to be the height of disrespect for the forwards and doesn't exactly exude confidence in their ability or fitness.
It's bollox to watch.
Ping ping for egg lovers.

An accusation from union and soccer fans that I've never quite been able to understand. The ball is play much more than in either of those two sports and the constant whistle blowing of modern day soccer means it's up there with union, but obviously nowhere near American football in terms of breaks of play. Continuity is important to some sports but it's a misconception that it's requisite or indeed present in many.

If I switched channels to a league international 4 times for between 10 - 30 seconds & nothing whatsoever happened I would be scathing.

GF,could it be that the NZRU have sat back on their 'laurels' for too long and while other sports haven't caught them up, they have opened the eyes of the paying public to alternatives?
I know a large percentage of the Australian Super 25 clubs' budgets come from television money so maybe you're right when you pose Sky as the necessary evil.

Is the ball in play more in RL than Basketball, now that is a dull sport, that attracts billions of dollars, wtf, it's more tedious than the stop start NFL.

Maybe a case of wanting too much too soon? As much down there as up here.

The irony is that in the SH, professionalism will destroy Union's old structures but maybe help its expansion; in the North, it will destroy its own expansion but save its old structures.

I mean, look at how many times we've all been on here saying that Newcastle's demise is imminent. And now Wasps. In the early days of pro union, having a Newcastle team and a pro Leeds team all seemed a great idea and was easily achieved by injecting a ton of cash into what was still an amateur game.

But in England right now the growing or returning teams lie in places where popular interest has always veered towards union, and where crucially the cash does now too. Bristol, Cornish Pirates, London Welsh, Bedford...heartland teams. I bet Sky dream of Bristol returning to the top flight to take on Bath and Gloucester.

If Newcastle go under, the RFU et al will be embarassed to have only one team north of the M69. But the moment Wasps look like they're in trouble, I bet there will be calls for an expansion of the league. Which won't benefit Wasps as they skid back into oblivion, but will almost certainly make the league more "southern". Expansion ruined for a generation, but certainly a stronger, and richer game, with higher average attendances.

Usap Perignan to play Toulouse at Lluis Companys, Barcelona on 14th April. They're aiming to fill it and I think they will.