England: G Widdop (Melbourne); T Briscoe (Hull), M Shenton (Castleford), R Atkins (Warrington), R Hall (Leeds); K Brown (Huddersfield), S Tomkins (Wigan); A Morley (Warrington, capt), J Roby (St Helens), D Griffin (Huddersfield), G Ellis (Wests Tigers), S Burgess (South Sydney), S O'Loughlin (Wigan). Subs: L Robinson (Huddersfield), E Crabtree (Huddersfield), J Tomkins (Wigan), B Westwood (Warrington), B Harrison (Warrington), L Cudjoe (Huddersfield). Tomkins & Brown in the Halves. news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_l ... 096373.stm

England: G Widdop (Melbourne); T Briscoe (Hull), M Shenton (Castleford), R Atkins (Warrington), R Hall (Leeds); K Brown (Huddersfield), S Tomkins (Wigan); A Morley (Warrington, capt), J Roby (St Helens), D Griffin (Huddersfield), G Ellis (Wests Tigers), S Burgess (South Sydney), S O'Loughlin (Wigan). Subs: L Robinson (Huddersfield), E Crabtree (Huddersfield), J Tomkins (Wigan), B Westwood (Warrington), B Harrison (Warrington), L Cudjoe (Huddersfield). Tomkins & Brown in the Halves. news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_l ... 096373.stm

Given the injury situation it's probably the best team we have. Fielden was not considered to give him time to adjust to the time difference, Graham given extra time to put his dummy back in......... sorry, rested.

I'd expect those two to come in for the first game.

I'm glad to see Tomkins in the halves. Full back it seems will proove to be his best postion but his size would make him a target for the kiwis and convicts.

Widdop isn't much bigger than Tomkins. I think it boils down to necessity. Widdop is a decent young full-back from the little IU've seen of him but i think if we had any better options in the halves Sam would play at 1. Well he would if it was up to me anyway. The kid's frightening!

I can't see the logic in playing Sam at 7?

He's the leagues best 6 and for a good % of the season he was the leagues best FB as well. When you have a talent like Tomkins who is bang on form then quite simply you pick him in his best position and then work the rest of the backline around him. You certainly don’t shift him around to accommodate wasters like Kev Brown.

It’s not like there weren’t other options for 7 either. Both Deacon and Brough finished the season in good form and they are out and out 7’s.

Another option could have been Rob Burrow as well. Although his form wasn’t great when you have the injures we have at HB he’s more than an adequate stand in.

Like I said before it’s time the team was built around Tomkins at HB.

I don't think it really makes a different. With an international side where your only going to have limited exposure into playing as a team then your never going to build up the sort of partnership a true 6+7 would have (unlike Aussies who have all the SOO as well) so you'd just go with the split halves. Tomkins and Brown will probably play the same role just opposite sides of the pitch.

I think we needed a fit and on form Eastmond to have half a chance against Australia and NZ.

Put Eastmond in that side and (dare I say it) Sinfield at hooker and i don't think it looks too bad. At least we have some pace and size in the backs for a change with Atkins + Hall. I think Briscoe is a class act as well.

Still think we'll get hammered by the aussies as their backline is just unreal, any one of their backs would be hailed as the messiah were he English.

We probably will play with a split pitch but it still doesn't mean Sam shouldn't be the #6 in the side. He should be playing #6 for England for the next decade and again the team should be built around him playing there.

The long term HB partnership for England is Sam at #6 and Eastmond at #7 when one or the other isn’t available to play the other should still be in their same position. It gives continuity to the side.

But both positions are the same? In this instance its just a number on the back.

The only difference will be same putting the ball in at scrums.

They maybe the same apart from they play on different sides of the pitch and link up with different players. What's the point in playing Sam at 7 now and then swapping him back to 6 when Eastmond is fit? I don't see Australia swapping Lockyer to 7 when Thurston is unfit do you?

He should have gone with either Deacon or Brough at 7 and let Sam run the show at 6 like Lockyer has done for Aus for almost the past decade.

We need to be building a style of play which brings out the best in Sam. That for me is when he's playing with an organising 7.

You beat me to it!

Goulding over Hall, for me, but ah well doesn't really matter.

you do realise Brough has been a Scotland international for quite a number of years?

Sam has to play at 1.

I agree. With a halfback partnership of Eastmond and Tomkins, the Aussies and Kiwis would be caused real difficulties, as they were last year until Shenton was injured. It's clearly been a problem for England that there hasn't been a consistent spine to the team and no doubt that is what Macbanana is trying to set up, with Widdop at fullback. However, he has been undermined this year by injuries to key players.

I don't understand why Wigan fans are stressing over what number Tomkins is playing under. Who knows, it might be tactical genius from Mcbanana: he may be wanting to confuse the opposition. Or something. Either way, Saints' organiser is Pryce at present and he's a six, leaving Kyle to do the flash stuff while learning the role of organiser. It was working well for us until they both hobbled off the pitch so there is no reason why it couldn't work well for England, assuming whoever plays at 6 is as good as Pryce was for us in 2010.

It was only a couple of months ago that most on here were putting Sam at 7 for Wigan next season with Finch to play 6.

He actually played for Scotland against Wales at the weekend

Brough only recently chose to continue to represent Scotland recently. I am sure he will have asked the question re selection for England prior to announcing he would be representing Scotland again this time around.

I personally would have taken him in a heartbeat given the players we have out. Think a Brough Tomkins partnership has much better balance.

he started playing for scotland in the european cup in 2004

He did, although he opted out of a tournament recently to put himself forward for England. As he's not been picked it makes sense for him to turn out for Scotland again. [url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/rugby_league/article5679199.eceLink[/url

I thought Tomkins did great at 7. Pity he got injured. That will be us totally fooked then.

We dont have a chance with or without Sam T. Imagine what Maguire could do with a team of such quality, Steve Mcnamara is the worst possible coach we could have.

But anyhow thats irrellevant because we are stuck with him for this tournament at least. Against NZ we need to improve big time, hopefully Sam and Morley will be ok, depending on fitness I would go with:

1. Widdop
2. Briscoe
3. Atkins
4. Goulding
5. Hall
6. Sam T
7. Robinson
8. Morley
9. Roby
10. Graham
11. Ellis
12. Burgess
13. O'Loughlin

14. Fielden
15. Lunt
16. Joel T
17. Westwood

ahh ok, wasn't aware you could pick and choose like that. what a c*nt move by him though