Yes, and we got oodles of cash for him, so we didn't have to release him when his contract ran out (as happened with Shenton). Simples.

Pssst! Wanna buy an award winning stand-off with four years left to run on his contract? I'm sure we could come to some arrangement. Know what I mean? Wink! Wink!

I'm sure it has been explained to you several times but you still keep bringing it up?

And Georgie: sounds like one of those older blokes when sloshed.

It wasn't me, it was my brain.

Go read Rangi's quotes/comments after MoS, after signing his contract.

As much as you'd like to think otherwise, Rangi loves it at Cas. End of.

Mistakes corrected.

I don't remember all this fuss when Fasavalo played for England.

There was, the difference being that Chase is actually good enough for an England shirt.

There was from me.

Nor a lot of criticism for Tony Smith.

But because it's McNamara, he's 'incompetent', 'useless', etc etc.

McNamara is incompetent, useless, etc! He has done nothing as a manager at any level, he couldn't run a bath. He is not a man that installs passion amongst fans.

I have no gripes with Rangi playing for England though, look at other sports and England have had people from other countries playing for them for years. I would rather pay to watch Rangi at half back than the likes of Rob Burrow

McNamara may not be a good coach, but given that his job might possibly require him to make England as competitive as possible, he's doing more than I would have expected. He's added 3 players in Widdopp, Reed and Heighington who add hugely to our depth (Reed was selected in the NRL team of the year in one mag here), and now a class player in Chase.

The message to the poor 'English' kids not getting picked is simple - get better. Thank goodness we have a coach willing to tell them that - albeit by not selecting them. I have no time at all for suggesting we pick a 'pure' side that gets mullered - seen it before thanks. I suspect the Exiles game was enough to convince McNamara that our next generation is simply not good enough yet.

What England need is more of a win at all costs mentality. I've seen enough heroic failures (and even more dreadful efforts) to last me a lifetime. I want to see us regularly compete. Most of all I want to see England something in my lifetime.

I think that the real issue is that although Rangi is not English he qualifies to play for England. Some contradiction here surely?

Chile

Hallelujah. Someone who agrees with me. Depth = competition = striving to win a place = better players.