England rugby union icon explains why he’d rather watch NRL over 15-man code
Former England rugby union international James Haskell
Former England rugby union international James Haskell has said he would watch NRL over union at the moment if given the choice.
Haskell won 77 caps for England during his playing career and also featured on the 2017 British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand.
The NRL is regarded as the top level of rugby league, and is beginning to attract a much larger global audience, due to things like State of Origin and the new Las Vegas games.
Speaking on The Good, the Bad and the Rugby podcast, the former international opened up on why he would choose to watch the NRL over a union game at the moment, and also cited the UFC as another example of a sport that operates like the NRL.
“I’d probably choose NRL at the moment”
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“If I had an option to watch the NRL or a union game I’d probably choose NRL at the moment,” Haskell said. “Because I feel like they’re proud of what they do and they own it.
He added: “Look at the UFC for example, they market it on what it is – a violent combat sport. You need to make sure you mitigate as many risks but you can’t hide away from why people want to watch it. I feel at the moment, rugby (union) is pretending it’s all things for all.”
Haskell also opened up on the things that are causing serious problems in rugby union, including the ‘archaic’ way things get done in the sport.
“The product on the field is great, but for me, it’s the way it’s marketed and sold, how it’s commercially run and how archaic it is to get things done.”
His comments come as rugby union continues to struggle with new laws surrounding tackle height and a lawsuit from former players over risks.
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