England new boys Shontayne Hape and Chris Ashton are pure rugby league products but have skills to thrive in union according to Dave Hadfield in The Independent.
"There is no great surprise over Hape being picked. His ability to slip a late pass to his winger, as he did so effectively for Vainikolo at Bradford, might be rare in league, but it appears to be virtually unknown in union – which is why they tried to make a centre out of Andy Farrell, after he had finished his league career hobbling through games at prop.
"Ashton is a different case. A raw novice when he switched codes two seasons ago, he grew impatient for bigger paydays than a club like Wigan, hidebound by salary cap restrictions, could or would provide. He is not the tip of a threatening iceberg of defections, more a case of a player, like his Northampton team-mate, Stephen Myler, who is actually better suited to union than league."
RSS feed
