100% agree.

His best games were at 9 and 7, positions he didn't really play at club level. Very unusual for that to happen. I remember Wally Lewis commenting very favourably about him after the first time he played at 9.

I went through a few of his games for GB and in addition to being moved around the place, when he was played in the halves one time, he was paired with Paul Deacon! Talk about a lack of balance. They then played him at loose forward in a series against New Zealand but with a halfback pairing of Leon Pryce and Rob Burrow, so you then have a job on to control the side and kick us around the field when you're in the middle of the field and having to do a lot of donkey work in defence.

The game is different now but if you had the players of that time and was setting them up now, you'd probably have Leon Pryce at fullback, Rob Burrow at stand off, Sinfield at scrum half and then Lockers (or a Gaz Ellis/Sam Burgess) at loose foward and there is no way you'd pair Sinfield and Deacon at 6 and 7. I probably bagged Sinfield more than most at the time but looking back, he was left out to dry a bit.

We’ve moved towards a half back and 5/8th model these days as 7 & 6.

Back then though we often had one half controlling one side of the field and one controlling the other basically a left side and right side half back.

In last 5 years generally we’ve moved away from that but these things are circular and I’m guessing within the next 10/15 years we will see it return.

In that old system Sinfield and Deacon could work, but I agree the way the game is played today they would pretty much cancel each other out.

The Bulls tried Pryce at fullback but it didn't work out as his positioning in defence and ability to catch a high kick weren't very good. He also wanted to play No6 above all else. We brought in Harris as he was seen as more "reliable" but in fact by 2006 he was more of an organiser than a runner and we paired him with Deacon which effectively meant two of a kind as halfbacks and no pace.

Leon Pryce playing as the 5/8th on the game today would be ridiculously good….if you could keep him off the Benson & Hedges and out of the boozer he would be nearly unplayable on that role.

Absolutely. It was George Burgess who gave away that penalty and as soon as he did I knew we were on our way out. England were absolutely out on their feet and their was no way they could take another set of six that close to the line. But I don't even blame Burgess that much because, again, the penalty came about through fatigue. We lost that game earlier by not putting it to bed when we had the advantage. I remember at the time Kiwi fans getting angry because a lot of England fans were saying the wrong team won and they felt that was not giving their team credit. I can only speak for myself but what I meant was that, had it been Australia or New Zealand with the possession and territory that we had enjoyed throughout the match they would have made sure of it. The game would not have still been in the balance that late. But, for Sinfield, he had played well that day and he got stepped by one of the most dangerous running halves the modern game has seen, when he was already knackered. That shouldn't be the defining moment of Sinfield's international career.

In regards Burgess involvement, it still winds me up as yes he was fatigued, but the threat was neutralised he came in late if I remember correctly to a tackle that was pretty much complete.

I dare say though he was running on instinct at the time though so tough to point the finger.

I’m sure Sam made a significant error that day too that lead to a soft try, may be wrong though.

They mentioned how he'd sent a photo to his family, I wonder if they thought it'd get leaked so they've jumped the gun?

Yeah I think you may be right. He jumped the gun with his signing too, telling the media in Oz before Saints had announced it.

Saints fans are going to need to be patient with him, and there is now a lot of pressure on Lomax to run the show single handedly like Smith does for us.

Took 3 years to transition French into the 6 position even though he only has that free role.

I think Sailor will be facing a lot of traffic down his edge as whilst he has pace and talent his defence is questionable and moving up into the line will make him a big target.

What makes you say that John? He only switched at the end of last season. He's only done 18 months there in total and was a success from the off, although he has obviously improved this year with a full season under his belt.

In regards French?

He was used as a half during games a number of times when he first came over.

He may not have started there but during games he was shifted and was poor.

Remember Wakefield away where fe was moved there for 20/30 minutes and he was shocking and his line defence was exposed. I’d go so far as to say his line defence is maybe where his biggest improvement has been, it’s gone from being poor to excellent.

I think in the background there has been a plan in place from the off and the injury/loss of form from Cust accelerated it to him having a chance but I believe a lot of work since he signed has gone into that positional shift away from the glare of SL.

I've said a few times, I think the scariest thing with French playing 6 is that he can get even better. He got to the point towards the end of last season where he basically just choose when to cause havoc and he's seeing those opportunities now and not just moving the ball on, as he seemed to think was his role when he first went in to 6 on a regular basis. It's easy to forget that for all the flashy stuff, he's a real team player but if he's just a touch more selfish, I think you could see his level go up even further and that is a crazy thought.