Although the north of England is the stronghold of rugby league, and that most of the large clubs and supporters are based in that region, its connection with Wales and Welsh rugby cannot be overlooked. 

Apart from the separate set of rules for the sport, rugby league’s main characteristic is its professionalism.  Indeed, rugby league separated from the English Rugby Union in 1895 over the issue of players being paid compensation for wages lost because of their commitment to the club.

More than 150 Welsh international rugby union players have made the move to rugby league over the years.  Many of them went during the inter-war period: 70 international players between 1919 and 1939.  In 1967, the Welsh fly-half and captain David Watkins signed for Salford for a record-breaking £16,000.  The exodus continued into the 1980s and 1990s as Jonathan Davies, Scott Gibbs and Scott Quinnell joined rugby league clubs.

Rugby league also had a role to play in the eventual professionalisation of Welsh rugby union in 1995.  Media mogul Rupert Murdoch had decided to invest in the sport by increasing its coverage on Sky Television and it was feared that the rate at which players left Wales for the north of England would increase considerably.

As rugby league has succeeded in attracting some of Wales’s finest rugby union players, it is hardly surprising that Welsh players have shone on that stage.  However, three of the most famous Welsh rugby league players – Billy Boston, Gus Risman and Jim Sullivan – moved to the north of England when they were teenagers and before they had achieved fame in Wales.