No international fixture should be considered a warm up or preparation for any other international fixture, IMO (unless you're talking about an England Knights team or a WC group game against a minnows nation). The idea that three or four games one autumn will somehow prepare you for three or four games twelve months later just seems daft to me.
So much happens in a year of RL. You've got no idea who will have retired, who will be injured, whose form will have nose-dived or whose will have taken off. This mentality of long-term performance planning, if anything, just leads to the selection of players who haven't justified their selection, all in the name of 'continuity'.
As far as I'm concerned, the mentality behind the England or GB setups should be quite simple: when the series is approaching you pick a balanced squad out of the best performing players available. You then pick the team that is best equipped to win its next test match, give them a simple game-plan and send them out knowing that victory in that test match is more important than anything else. Screw next year.
The whole tournament has been a holiday team bonding throw away exercise. I reckon we will be much better next year, not that im defending Bennett mind you. I will have a look at the squad next year before i bother tuning in. I fear their will be too much loyalty to NRL players regardless of ability (Hodgson), too many players living off reputation (Hall, McGilvray), and Aussies. I don’t like us picking the likes of Coote, Austin etc. Maybe im xenophobic, i just think its stupid.
screaming in the family corner, scaring the kiddies
Rimmer and Sinfield lets be frank are not dynamic and are barely professional. I doubt they read red vee but I would not be shocked if Saints do not keep an eye on threads. The major risk of keeping Bennett is supporter and media apathy for next years Aussie series.
I myself if nothing changes would swerve the tests excluding the one in London. The RFL are like St Helens Council they think we will just dutiful turn up and spend our cash. Beware the consequences of taking fans for granted. I feel this sport especially the RFL needs a clear out it is still too much in the mould of Nigel Wood and we all know what he brought to the table, a lot less than he left the table with.
I just think everything is too half arsed really.
We’ve got a coach who lives in Australia and coaches an NRL team full time. Straight away he misses a hell of a lot on the field, off the field it’s harder for him to build relationships and communicate with players, it’s more difficult for him to build a relationship with the clubs. Warren Gatland didn’t coach Wales for a year purely so he could watch more games and get around the clubs/countries prior to the Lions tour.
They don’t play enough games, there might be a mid season test somewhere but it’s still not enough and we didn’t even have that this year. So you’ve got all these players playing for different clubs, playing under different tactics, different systems etc, how is it possible to bring everyone together without any games? It’s not.
Essentially, they threw a group of people together after a 9 month season and hoped for the best.
I always thought the exiles idea might have been worth preserving with, it wasn’t ideal but at least it meant they played a couple of games in England against a half decent team.
Steve Prescott MBE (1973-2013)
V