If you know you're taking part in a world cup for your country in a week's time, you're not going to put your body on the line for a warm up game.

If you're a fringe player you might put more effort in, in an attempt to secure a starting spot but RL is a team sport so unfortunately it's rarely enough.

It's the Leeds Rhinos strategy as orchestrated by their eminent skipper. A strategy which has most recently been adopted successfully by Wigan.

Treat all games as meaningless warm-up games which are not to be taken too seriously.

Accumulate all your energy, intensity and seriousness only for the games which really count.

Only benefit of going to SA would have been the altitude training.... training with less oxygen increases the workload and ultimately means the athlete is "fitter" and can perform better when tired. That is why boxers train at altitude.

So the SA trip was beneficial if they did it correctly - I'm not sure how long they were there or even if they were in a place that was above sea level.

Should have invited a South African Super 15 team for a "friendly" instead... some of those guys are just ridiculously huge. Would have toughened us up.

Not really. One of the main benefits is being able to do quality ball work, try out combinations, without worrying about inclement weather.

All these people who are suggesting that it would be best that the team trains in driving rain & wind 'cos that's the conditions they'll play in' a) seem to have forgotten the opening match will be played in perfect conditions under a closed roof and b) are stuck in the last century.

Agreed.

It's very important that summer rugby players remain conditioned to the perfect summer rugby experience, therefore England players should be given the day off from training today.

Training in inclement weather is an absolute NO NO!

It's the modern 21st century way to embrace such massive leaps forward in evolution and civilisation.

It was a 'meanlingless game' as it wasn't a fully sanctioned International, and less than 5000 people in the RL "heartlands" could be bothered to turn up.

Had they 'trounced' Italy people would still moan about the meaningless of the vicotory, and that Italy didn't deserve a place in the RLWC and that the competition was a joke, and England would still lose against Australia.

A big no hurrah for the average fan, but I would think that McNamara, and his players, have learnt a lot from it.

Where did I say that training in inclement weather is a "NO NO"? What conditions do you think they train in before and after the SA trip? All I'm suggesting is that it is beneficial to carve out time for quality ball work as part of an overall training programme.

It's a pretty simple strategy, thought even you would grasp it.

Learnt what ??? That they have to actually put effort in to win a game of RL ???

How can anyone defend us ??? We lost at RL to Italy ffs

Couldn't they have found an indoor training complex to use over here like St George's Park for example.

Why would they? Why do they need to avoid going to a training camp?

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Maybe - but given the rates on those places in the UK (and hotels), and the exchange rate with the Rand offering such value with the £, I doubt it would have constituted much of a saving.

Can't believe RL fans sometimes. If they'd gone off to a beach in Wales they would have been accused of 'doing it on the cheap, typical RFL being unprofessional', etc...

That meaningful that Tim Sheen also thinks its immensely vital to have a warm up game before the biggest tournament of his players' lives. Oh hang on....

Come on smokey I know you like to argue black is white but surely you must know there are plenty of quality training camps available in the UK

And why should they use one in the UK rather than elsewhere?

Or rather, why look elsewhere ???

No, Staying in England isnt the default position. If we stay in England it is because it is the best place to be. If it isnt, we dont. The same applies to South Africa, Timbuktu, Tierra Del Fuego, Newfoundland, Copenhagen and Tokyo.

Do all those destinations have high altitude roofs?

It's important to take roofs into account because Cardiff has one.

Hello, Mrs McNamara.

"High altitude roofs" ???????

Well Cardiff city centre is around 12m above sea level, and the Millenium Stadium rooftop is around 30m from ground level, if that helps ???

I'm not as depressed as some seem to have got over this loss. But whilst everyone else was coming to the UK, our team based here have spent time journeying back and forth on planes. I really do not see the point.

If the WC was in austrailia, then I can see a point of going to a training camp part way there. If we where at altitude again aclimatize.

But it's a home tournement???

Regardless we should have won, but does not seem to be the ideal preperation from the coach, who was saying he wanted to stay on after the WC.

He's going to need a massive turn around in 7 days to get an extention.

I bet Steve's wife would treat him better than my ex. wife treated me!!!!

Steve is a top coach he knows what he's doing. Stop being negative and get behind the team!!!

Are you foreign or something?

Steve and the Team know whwere they went wrong and are working on it in training! THey learnt a lot of about what areas they needed to work on on Saturday. Leave them to do their job get off their backs!!!

It's too late. If they don't have the right attitude going into a warm up the week before the biggest tournament of their lives then they don't have the mentality that will allow them to be anything other than nz and Australia's whipping boys. The likes of png and Fiji will be more on England's level.

Doesn't matter what cliches sackbanana comes out with.

We clamour for more coverage, more coverage. Well just as the Libdems found out, be careful what you wish for as you may get it.

This is the apex of most coaches and players careers in RL. If they ain't going to get coverage now they are never going to get it.

That means shape up as any loss or drop in performance will be jumped on. They can't expect to skulk through and have no pressure.

If England don't put up a competitive performance against Australia (and by "competitive" I mean don't lose by more than 10 points) then the neutral or soft core fans among the TV watching public will know that the English game is qualitatively inferior to the Australian game, will switch off the rest of the tournament, and will not be interested in watching Super League in the future.

The psychology of morale is going to be key on Saturday. McNamara needs to select all his NRL experienced players because they won't be intimidated by the Aussies they have played against every week. "All" means [iincluding Gareth Widdop[/i of course.