League referee defects to Union

Even in the strange, unpredictable world of rugby league, the defection of referee Karl Kirkpatrick to rugby union is one of the more bizarre developments.

The Warrington official looks to have taken his whistle home after being

passed over for Super League matches in favour of the game's six full-time

officials.

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It is a shame to lose the services of a referee who controlled a Super League

Grand Final as recently as October and his loss could quickly be felt if one of

the full-timers goes down with injury or, dare we say it, a loss of form.

At 42, and with precious little experience of the 15-man code, Kirkpatrick

faces an enormous task in getting to grips with the myriad of rules in rugby

union and it will be fascinating to follow his progress.

Of more concern to rugby league is the likelihood of Chris Ashton and Brian

Carney, two men at the opposite ends of their careers, following an increasingly

well-worn route to the other side.

At 30 and with a body put on the line in fearless fashion so many times for

club and country, Carney has clearly enjoyed his best days and is unlikely to be

a major loss, especially since he left Wigan in 2005 and announced his

retirement from the game in January.

Ashton has yet to prove himself, although he certainly showed rich promise

during a difficult season for Wigan in 2006 and was rated among the top three

young players in Super League.

He looks set to join former Widnes and Salford stand-off Stephen Myler at

Northampton and become the fourth young player to switch codes in 12 months.

Karl Pryce went from Bradford to Gloucester while Chev Walker moved from Leeds

to Bath.

Each defection on its own will not create waves but it is the drip effect that

ought to concern rugby league chiefs, along with the fear that a trickle might

suddenly become a flood.

The RFU and the Premiership clubs will eventually agree a deal to centrally

contract England's leading players, the result of which could have serious

repercussions for rugby league.

The Premiership clubs will need to find replacements for their England

players, who might only be available for a handful of matches in a year, and

while some will look abroad others will increasingly turn their attention to

league.

A sweetener of around £15million from Twickenham coffers will make the rugby

union outfits even more attractive to league players whose clubs are stymied by

the effects of the salary cap.

Four years ago, the RFL came up with an initiative to keep their leading

players away from the clutches of union by topping up their salaries from a

central fund and it was enough to persuade Keiron Cunningham and Kris Radlinski

to turn their backs on lucrative offers from the WRU and Twickenham.

Perhaps the time has come to operate a similar scheme.

The game's governing body is not awash with cash but a relaxing of the

salary-cap rules, with exemptions for rising internationals such as Ashton,

would allow clubs with spare cash to put it to good use and would not,

therefore, impact on the game as a whole.

The clubs could also do their bit to help keep their leading players by

encouraging the growth of international rugby league.

In addition to having more money, rugby union can attract new players by the

lure of the Six Nations and World Cup competitions as well as the hugely

successful European Cup.

Next year's RL World Cup will bridge an eight-year gap between global events

and, while the Tri-Nations Series has been a step in the right direction, it is

small beer compared to the big prizes on offer in the rival code.