you think bluey has won 2 grand finals and a tri nations by being into team spirit and togetherness?

he is a lot more clued up than some s give him credit for on the technical side.

puig aubert summed smith up perfectly for me. very clever coach who often trys to be too clever. i think peacock said roughly the same in his book.

i just think he's a pr1ck myself

Neither was Richie. A test series whitewash against the soon to be World Champions perhaps buy not Wales and the French.

The bit I remember from Peacocks book was that he called Smith a genius.

Why?

Instead of concerning ourselves if we have the right man for the job, shouldnt we be asking ourselves do we have the right players and systems in our game to create and keep these players?


I think we all know that answer

You cannot polish a turd. No matter how much the Chuckle Brothers get into a frenzy of SL and the players being World Class, the real deal was on show last night.

correct


Tony Smith can only work with the standard of players available to him

Is Steve Mcnamara the left man for England?

He doesn't help himself though by saying he's picking "on form" and with an eye on the future then completely contradicts himself with his selections!
He is and always will be a leeds legend but i also think he got it seriously wrong at the WC as did the players.
At this moment in time i don't think he's done the team or himself any favours with his selections either.

So, Friday night was not good, the antipodeans look in a differnet class so far. Which players should Smith have picked that would have made a significant difference to Friday's performance? Which players is he leaving out that the Aussies and Kiwis are mortally afraid of?

If we struggle again in this year's international tournament, various fans will call for the coach's head. Fans of all clubs will fervently believe that if he'd picked their hero instead of somebody else it would all have been so different. And they'll all be wrong. The forwards have a chance of achieving some parity if they put in a big effort. I still wouldn't rule out us picking up a win in the next 2 weeks, but even that won't disguise the fact that we are desperately short of outside backs in this country. That isn't Tony Smith's fault.

Is he the right man for the job? I honestly don't think it matters.

He's not the right man for the job, his ego has allowed his effected his judgement.

The team hasnt got the right ballance and has a criminal lack of attacking options.

The first part may or may not be true. The second part probably is true, but I'm not sure it's a coaching fault, do we really have the players available, particularly in the back line, required at the very top level?

I think that there is something psychological that stops GB performing. Basically we haven't the hunger and desire to win that the Southern hemisphere teams have.

Rugby is close to Christianity in NZ, it's intense from Jersey Flegg all the way to the top in Australia. It's a meal ticket for you, your family and your tribe in the Pacific Islands. What is it to our lads now? It used to be a way out of the mines, out of the mills, steelworks and out of construction. And many players went back to those professions after their playing days. We all know that. What is it now? Just way out of Subway and off the doors of nightclubs for a lot of them. Hardly the same motivation is it?

It's interesting to see that the question of underperforming England teams across the board doesn't get linked to the debate on what it means to be English. To pull on that shirt should be the ultimate accolade and should engender some of the "Empire building" spirit that put England at the forefront of Industry and all things good in the first place. But it doesn't. It seems to me that English players respect the jersey more because it is a demonstration of what they personally have achieved rather than as an opportunity to go and do the job for the glory of their country. What we saw from the Kiwis the other night was grim determination and an almost tribal hunger to put one over on their neighbours.

The one thing that will go Englands way I reckon is the fact that neither side takes us seriously enough to play with any kind of intensity. the question I'd ask is will England?

Is Tony Smith the right man for the England job? I don't think so because to be honest I prefer an Englishman leading his national side. BUT, if his mind games and general demeanour can implant some form of pride and passion into the national jersey that the Leeds players had in theirs. Might just work.

I agree with you. Other than Senior Shenton has been the best british centre in the competition this year. So if thats our only option then you can hardly blame the coach.

That said though, I am a big believer in games like this in having big game players, not necessarily players in form full stop. Personally I would have had Smith at fullback, and Price and Gilmour in the centres, but thats an option the coach as decided to not consider.