Quote ="just_browny"Was it the best game of rugby league any of us have ever seen? No.
Was it the best contest that it was possible to create for England mid-season? Absolutely. England looked up for the game and the Exiles, while not fluent, certainly didn't take it lying down. The conditions prevented it from being a free-flowing classic, but it surely gives the England set-up a better insight into where we need to improve than battering somebody would have.
Of course, I'd still like to see us playing France and Wales but I have no problem with this fixture/concept.
I think it's funny that people are saying the Exiles are finished because of a declining quality of import, when the best England have done so far is beat them by 8 points. We'll cross that particular bridge when/if we give them a good hiding. Otherwise, let's see how it pans out rather than scrapping it based on speculation.
In terms of what the concept is for, surely it is for giving England a chance to get a run out as a team, and trying to build combinations. One of the reasons for Australia's ability to function so smoothly as a side is the continuity they have in their team: Thurston, Slater, Smith, Cronk etc know each other's games inside out. Of course, they have the luxury that those players are also extremely talented.
Rugby league fans will moan and moan until the game itself dies, and then they'll really have something to moan about. In a way I'm surprised at Sally because I like his posts on Warrington, but sometimes I do think that he - like many other RL people - live in a halcyon era where Hanley and co were hammering the Aussies and we didn't need big ideas to try to change our position within the game.'"
I agree with you, up to a point.
My preference would to be have a probables v possibles. Not wanting to dilute the Exiles concept, which in its itself is a good idea. Out playing your opposite number, doesn't really give you a push towards a start. If the player opposite you, is quite literally up your , trying to take that shirt off you, it should spur you on to do your best. To avoid performances being a one-off, I would have the Exiles included as a round-robin tournament, to ensure the possibles maintain their level of importance.
