Shame Watkins is injured again. He would have looked good partnering Atkins.

Ya talking Nads Pal

Ablett is a fanatstic player (who is in a poor run of form these last three or so games). His place is fully deserved. He's a better rugby player than any fit alternative for the centre. Cudjoe may be a better athlete but he doesn't have an ounce of Ablett's rugby skills.

Surely you would put Goulding in at centre ahead of Ablett, he has formed a good partnership with Charnley who has been selected on the wing!! Sinfield is not a SL 6 let alone an international 6. Chase looked lost last year and hasnt excelled this year so i dont know why he is selected. JP is lacking at SL level so he wont be much good against the exiles let alone the Aussies. Surely this game is part of the preparation for the world cup in which case why is JP playing and why havnt more youngsters been given a shot?

Tomkins
Charnley Goulding Atkins Hall
Lomax Brough
Crabtree Roby Mossop
Hock JJB
O'Loughlin

Burrow, Prescott, Hill, Tickle

Something along those lines is what i would have gone with!!

Again you make more sense than our incumbent buffoon.....although I would draw the line at Crabtree and Tickle Pretty desperate barrel scraping in some positions I'm afraid. Ablett is just a little better than Tickle for international status I would suggest.

Take out the likes of Charnley and Tomkins, and this must be close to the oldest England side since Peter Fox's Dads Army of 1978. Planning for next year's World Cup is clearly well under way. Steve McNamara - the little coach that couldn't.

Absolutely spot on.
Half that team or more are either not good enough or wont be around for the World Cup.
We would be better letting the England team play the Exiles in one game and then play the Knights in another.
Back to the old Rugby Union fixture that had the Probabales versus the Possibles.

I don't disagree. However, I do wish Ablett would play to his potential more often than he does. Too often for me he's just solid when he has the skill to be so much more. He's 26 now and its time he started to develop into the player his ability warrants.

Who would you have in instead of some of the dads army?

Sadly Lomax is out injured, otherwise he would certainly have been one. Darrell Goulding, as others have mentioned. Michael McIlorum, Jermaine McGillvary and Mark Flanagan have all shown up well this season.

Couldn't agree more.

This England Team is the Same Old Article. Losers......Unfortunately

In place of whom? Goulding in place of Ablett (he's only a year younger than Ablett) is fair enough on form. Lomax for Sinfield again fair enough, but I doubt Lomax will be Saints long term SH nevermind England's. Do you really think McClorum is a better option from the bench than Burrow? McGillvery before Hall?

Goulding is playing in a better team than Ablett is at the moment. I don't think that necessarily makes him a better player.

Burrow is there to change the tempo off the bench, I don't see McIlorum doing that in the same way.

will be interesting to see how many of the NRL lads are in the team for the world cup

Burrow over McIlorum makes sense if McNamara uses him correctly, he might as well not of bothered picking Widdop during the 4 Nations because he didn't seem to know what to do with him.