www.vipboxuk.co/rugby/232861/1/n ... nline.html Sorry its a bit late mate

www.vipboxuk.co/rugby/232861/1/n ... nline.html Sorry its a bit late mate

Enjoyed every minute of it, maybe not a classic but cracking guts and all defence.

Gould summed up the first half "the game is getting in the way of them getting at each other". The worlds best attacking players were on display yet you could have been watching siddall v west hull in the old days the amount of grubby play and up the middle ball under the arm play. Opened up a bit in second half but mistakes galore then started. Game one was brilliant, game two rubbish.

Not that it matters, record crowd, record TV audience. Classic example of hype over substance, like rugby union really.

I was more sprawled on the couch than edge of the seat TBH. Too much niggle for my liking although the JT reach-around slap at the PTB that caused Cam Smith to get one was funny! The forearm in the face near the end of the game when he was put on report not so much. Not a classic by any stretch of the imagination. Interesting to see what "Fatty" and the crew make of it on the Footy Show.

The refs let the PTB get so slow that neither side could comfortably get any ball movement. Having said that, NSW's attack is really limited in ability due to inferior halfbacks (Reynolds was dire), whereas Queensland simply underperformed.

As a game it was poor quality, but just like RU internationals the closeness of the game and scale of the event are what made it special. Sadly, Australia will never play as conservatively in attack against England.

I'd add that if England started to indulge in that sort of messing about at every PTB against Australia, you can bet your bottom dollar they'd be penalised off the park. Different rules for origin indeed.