The announcement this week that Sam Burgess will join Rugby Union side Bath at the end of the 2014 season should have disappointed all League fans. To see someone as young and talented as Burgess move over to the other code is a massive loss for the game but hopefully is the one that will finally let the RFL know that enough is enough.

Ok, so at the minute we haven’t lost too many ‘great’ players to Rugby Union and quite a few have ended up back on this side of the divide after a few years anyway, but now that someone as talented as Burgess has opted to change codes we need to look at why before any others decide to follow.

Presumably the answer that most fans will tell you is that he’s only gone for the money and I’ve no doubt that that is a major part of it. Who amongst us wouldn’t leave our job for a massive pay rise? Another major reason is the International game. I’m a fan of both sports but will never find a game of Union more entertaining than League. Somehow though, International Union matches manage to attract more fans than we can only ever dream of in this day and age and it is that reason in my opinion that urges players to move and Sam Burgess has already commented on his desire to play in the World Cup in 2015 which is also why Sonny-Bill Williams has opted to move back across to the 15-man code at the end of 2014 as well. Then there’s the media exposure that being a top International brings with it.

We haven’t only lost a number of players to Union over the years but a number of coaches as well. Mike Ford is the head coach at Bath. Andy Farrell and Shaun Edwards of course are heavily involved in the International setup and the former not only took himself across the divide in 2005 but his son as well who is now the first choice fly half for England. There is no suggestion he would have made a top League star but now we’ll never know unless he decides to give it a crack at the end of his career when his best days are behind him. Mike Ford’s son George is on the bench for on Saturday and is also a fly half. Two young, talented players who could quite easily have been the 6 and 7 for England Rugby League for years to come but instead will battle for the number 10 shirt at Twickenham.

It’s obvious that money is playing a huge part in all of this and that is why we can no longer be happy as fans to let the current RFL goings on happen. Major sponsorship deals given away for free being a prime example. The recent World Cup brought quite a few big name sponsors to the table but where have they gone now? We should be constantly selling our sport to businesses everywhere and not settling for a few lines in the media once a week when other sports are given page after page.

As a Wigan fan I have heard first-hand about the recent meetings that have gone on between the clubs and the RFL and it is clear that there are several clubs in our sport that are happy to just plod along and have no ambition of making this sport as great as it should be. Unfortunately the governing body appears too afraid to upset these clubs and prevent the sport from growing and until that changes we’ll never find the level of sponsor we deserve and will continually lose out to the 15-man game.