No union for rival codes

Paul (l) will ply his trade with Gloucester

In the wake of Henry Paul's defection to rugby union, BBC Sport's Rob Bonnet wonders what the future holds for the
13-man game.

It is time to revisit that old rugby league versus union debate, if only because Sports Minister Richard Caborn has been beckoned forward by Sir Rodney Walker, the chairman of the Rugby League.

Sir Rodney is a fellow Northerner who has appealed not only to the minister's sense of fair play but also to his regional loyalties.

Caborn's sharply upward learning curve on British sport this summer will have included familiarising himself with a few relevant facts, figures and personalities.

How many league players are going to make the switch now union's tracksuits, sharp suits and blazers have stopped squabbling?

The name of Jason Robinson should now be bright and clear on his sporting radar, even if it was only a tiny blip beforehand, and the same goes for Henry Paul, another former rugby league player now with union.

An England union international already of course, Robinson was a definite individual plus from a Lions tour that finished with a negative.

Paul will leave Bradford Bulls at the end of the Super League season to join Gloucester.

Although he may still want to play for the All Blacks, a trawl through the vaults of Somerset House for his grandparent's birth certificate would confirm his right to wear the white of England.

But it is the future, not the present, that worries Sir Rodney.

How many more League players are going to make the switch now that:

a) Union's track suits, sharp suits and blazers have stopped squabbling amongst themselves;

b) Union has, in England Ltd, real financial muscle and, according to Sir Rodney, serious predatory intent?

He says the RFU is "now making funds available to acquire players from another governing body's sport".

He describes the move as an attack on rugby league in direct contradiction of recent assurances that the RFU would do nothing of the sort.

Caborn is on a sharply upward learning curve

Who is next? Kris Radlinski, Kieron Cunningham, Paul Johnson?

Maybe, especially if England coach Clive Woodward reckons they could do a job for him.

The RFU is denying it but what worries Sir Rodney is that Woodward's say-so is the key to unlocking the Twickenham coffers that supplement the clubs' finances.

Hence Sir Rodney's appeal to the Sports Minister, which is not likely to get any immediate response, incidentally.

Caborn has a series of meetings already scheduled with the governing bodies of sport and his office is merely confirming that they will talk about it when the time comes.

And, in any case, what could the minister do, even if he wanted to?

Sir Rodney's statement points out that the RFU is "in receipt of considerable government funding".

It will not have gone unnoticed that, as chairman of UK Sport, he is not entirely without influence in that area.

But seeking to restrict the flow of funds to Twickenham would escalate the crisis enormously, with the two codes in danger of slipping back to the dark old days of mutual hate and suspicion.

Some might remark, of course, that they have never really gone away, and I have to say that the atmosphere between hosts and guests in the bars at Twickenham during this season's Challenge Cup Final was not universally cordial!

Furthermore, Sir Rodney's "drastic action" (his words, not mine) does not necessarily find support everywhere in rugby league.

I spoke this week on BBC Breakfast to Maurice Lindsay, once the Super League's chief-executive, now back with Wigan as chairman.

The best players with skills that apply to both codes will incline to the big clubs with the big money on either side of the divide

His view is that league must expect things to be a little bumpy for a while but that union will not be able to sustain its spending spree.

In fact, the only significant action Lindsay wants is for league to be free to spend more!

He wants the game's salary cap to be lifted so players can be offered the same kind of contracts in league as they are likely to be offered in union.

It is all right for him at Wigan, I suppose, where owner Dave Whelan's money will support a salary splurge, but other clubs might struggle, which is clearly Sir Rodney's concern.

So what we are left with inevitably are the brutal realities of the open market.

The best players with skills that broadly apply to both codes will naturally incline to the big clubs with the big money on either side of the 13 or 15-man divide.

Their grassroot loyalties may count for something, but their ambitions will count for more, and part of that consideration will be the size of the stage on which to perform.

Which brings us to the question of which is the bigger sport.

But I don't want to be answering angry emails for the rest of the week, so I'm not even going to think about going there!