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Willie Mason has made some questionable remarks about rugby in relation to the ongoing Mark Gasnier saga. His comments appear at the end of this article at RugbyHeaven:
http://www.rugbyheaven.smh.com.au/ar...861417799.html
but this is the main bit that caught my attention:
"The game's not as hard, they don't train as hard," he said. "There's a longer life expectancy in the game - especially for outside backs like Gaz and Tong (Willie Tonga). The game's not as hard, they get paid a hell of a lot more and you can play until you're 38.
"It's a lot easier on the body, it's not as hard as 26 rounds, three Origins, a tour and a Test."
In amongst all the chest-beating and hand-wringing of the leaguies, I'm still surprised at these comments. I've always thought that every rugby player has to have a far greater range of skills (rucking, mauling, scrummaging, line-outs) and a greater knowledge of things going on in the game rather than just the guys either side and in front of you. I think a measure of the "hardness" of a game should not solely depend on your ability to take countless hit-ups.
I'm interested in people's opinion on this. Not trying to start an Us vs Them war.