Rugby League - The English are Coming!

Lee Mossop, Gareth Hock and Mike Cooper

These are three names the average Australian Rugby League fan has never heard of. But in England they are three of the best forwards in the European Super League. What they all have in common however is that they have all signed with National Rugby League clubs in the past week. Hock and Mossop have signed for the bottom dwelling Parramatta Eels and Cooper has signed for the St George Illawarra Dragons.

In doing so these players have signaled the start of the English exodus to the NRL. With the increased NRL salary cap the trend of Australian players leaving the NRL for Super League are fast becoming over. Top English players will now be chasing the cash found in NRL contracts. England's best player Sam Tomkins is expected to be the next to join the exodus with the Warriors, Titans and Roosters all chasing his signature.

But was are the consequences in this?

Well the standard of the Australian game will only get stronger with the best Australian, New Zealand and English players all plying their trade in the down under in the NRL. This will lead to more fringe first graders getting less game time as NRL clubs look to bolster their squads with seasoned English players rather than fringe first graders. In England the local game will suffer as England's best leave. However in the long run, this will lead to English clubs developing more first graders for the English game, thus improving their depth.

The English National Rugby League team may benefit the most from the exodus. As their best players ply their trade in the NRL they will become battle hardened and will bring that experience back to the national side as they try to compete with Australia and New Zealand.

William Le Messurier