Nah it isn't he is shocking in defence, he was rubbish against the Giants in the Challenge Cup and even worse against Saints at your place, his tackling technique is very poor and can't see him getting anywhere near the England team in future.

He couldn't tackle a pig in a ginnel!!

I was there and didn't hear him being booed.

I was there and he was getting booed constantly, but it was mostly playful and he got a very good reception when he went round the ground afterwards. He was also applauded when he did good things during the game.

The exiles did much more damage to the bar in the Village hotel than they did to the England team.

With the prospect of a GB touring team, do you think the Exiles team might benefit from being expanded into a wider group to include the players from other home nations?

Those left out of the current England set up whether by their own volition or that of the coach might make the game more competative by having a point to prove. A team full of 'Brough's' opposite guy's that have 'their jerseys' might just provide the intensity needed to put bums on seats and give a better run out.

went kendal on the ale..far better and before you ask...i never watched any of the game werent interested

The standard of the Exiles team shows just how poor the level of Antipodean imports is at the moment, and they're only going to get worse.

Scrap this fixture, and give Lancashire v Yorkshire one last try - but as a single game rather than series. In addition, the England side should then play France every year.

As Dropkick says it's about the best trial we could have. Alternatives are Lancs vs Yorks or Possibles vs Probables but none is going to set the pulse racing.

well considering regular matches currently don't, nothing do.

i'm all for knights versus england/possibles probables. Only downside to it, there's zero guarantee that macnamara would drop someone from the full team if he were outplayed by his oppo.

Personally i wanted to see someone get smashed in the first tackle at friday's game, or someone get shoulder charged to fook, to set the tone.

You'd like to think a prop would do that to someone he'd like to displace in the rep team, surely?

The only way to get a truly competitive fixture, in my humble.

West v East would at least create a rivalry for the fans.

Yeah. You know what your talking about.

No, really.

Hardaker 1 - No Nowt Huddersfield Feckwit 0

You're a bit obsessed with this West v East. In sure you throw it out there when the league structure comes up too



Can't see it generating much interst. peope dont identiy themselves as West or East. I've never heard someone use the terms.

If its rivalry your after then you might as well go with Lancashire v Yorkshire.

England possibles v probables stays closer to the current format of giving England some preparation. Like others have mentioned McNamara will have made up his mind anyway. He's not going to drop someone because they were poor for one game.

I'd never watch the game though. Just sounds like a glorified training session.

Going to keep banging my Exiles drum. Give it say five years (one game per year) and drop it if The Exiles are getting beaten easily every year.

The last two games have been crap but the first one at Headingley was great and the one at Langtree not bad. Much better than games against the French.

It's all a bit nonsense though, even my W v E, and there are negatives with them all Lancs v Yorks?
Wire and Widnes are Cheshire, Saints are Merseyside, Wigan and Salford are Gtr Manchester.
Plus it makes us look parochial and London players play for who?
Oh not to mention players like Tomkins, Ben Harrison, Rhys Evans (opted for England)

Ideally i'd like Home nations played through the year mid week stop team hopping and have a GB touring team with the home internationals used as recruiting.

If you think Hardaker is good enough to face the Australians it is you who knows nothing.

rhys hanbury tore him a new last night for that try

Would you put in Hardaker or Ratchford. Zak didn't look that good last night.

Probables v Possibles was how they used to select the touring teams many years ago.

I would like to see that reinstated, but with a slight difference.
Probables forwards with Possibles backs v Probables backs with Possibles forwards.

Get back to playing proper international matches against actual teams instead of matches against contrived teams like the Exiles. Whether that be Yorks vs Lancs or England vs France I don't care.

Really shocking defence last night wasn't it, must've saved at least 3 or 4 tries with one on one tackles.

The Tackle on Hock who broke the line whilst stopping the try and causing him to lose the ball was a particular highlight of his 'rubbish' defence.


Guffaw

He tackled about 3 of your players 1 on 1 in the CC, and saved about 3 tries including halting Crabtree in full flight. But being a Hudds fan you probably weren't there to see it.

--and you still got beat --

I think it's a pity that once a year the NRL champions fly across the world to play one game on a Friday night and go back again, and a few months later there's a debate about the lack of meaningful opposition for England. Is there not some way that an England v NRL champions fixture couldn't be built in, possibly in October in non-World Cup/Tri Nations years, with the World Club Challenge taking place then too? England v NRL champions would be a game with both teams really out to prove something

He was outstanding.

I agree with that. Team changing is the thing that annoys me the most. The whole purpose of the Scotland, Ireland and Wales teams is to grow the games there. I know Wales have had some great sides in the past filled with ex-RU players, but those days are gone. Now having those teams filled with Englishmen and assorted others who fly the flag of convenience to get a World Cup chance isn't going to inspire anybody in those countries to take "their" team to their hearts.

Like it or not accent plays a huge role in this. You could have a lad born in Edinburgh to Scottish parents who relocate to Leeds when that lad is five years old. He is of course Scottish, and will gain more exposure to RL by growing up in Leeds, but if by the time he reaches professional age he is good enough to play for Scotland he has a Yorkshire accent, Scots will class him as English. It's just a simple reality. Getting lads who the public can relate to into those sides is a massive challenge I accept, as I also know it happens in every sport, football and RU included. If a sport is already popular in the country, meaning the fanbase is already there and a few home grown players will always make the grade, then it doesn't matter as much. In a minority sport I think it does though.

Now having a couple of "foreign" players improving the quality of the team can be a good thing obviously, but only if those players are 100% committed to the cause and aren't just filling a gap until they get their much hoped for England call up. It is therefore imperative to me that once your choice is made that has to be it. If you want to play for Scotland, Wales or Ireland and meet the qualification criteria then fine, do so, but only on the grounds that you commit to them for the rest of your career. If you want to use them as the chance to gain a bit of experience and hopefully play in the World Cup, before transferring to England then forget it. Allow an amateur lad who is actually from that country and has no desire to play for any other to fill the spot instead. As long as players are allowed to hedge their bets, how on earth can any true national pride develop?

PS: East V West is a rubbish idea, sorry! People do tend to identify themselves as northern or southern, but that wouldn't create much competitiveness in Rl terms. East V West would be as meaningless as England V Exiles.