i agree with you and i think him and Westwood have or should have a lot to prove to earn selection come that first game.We have alot of competition in the backrow so absoulutley the form players should play and at this current time Sam Burgess,Liam Farrell and shaun O'loughlin should be in IMO.However, still plenty of time for things to change but it is nice to have many options for once though i do still see Mac going same old same old, with the likes of Wilkin and JJB getting a place in the 17.

If Watkins gets picked ahead Cudjoe the whole point of the ETS, the exiles games and every other preparation MacNamara has done are utterly pointless

There are 2 centre spots you know.

Calm down.

Is Watkins not in the ETS also?

It's not Watkins' fault he's injured!

Shhh. Let the strange man have his rant then he'll quietly go to sleep when nurse puts him back to bed.

The negetivity posted on hear astounds me.

You moan that we're rubbish when they beat us, but you moan when we win that its a waste of time. All these posts saying that its pointless and this should be the last one ever.

What crowd was in there - 7000?

I put the british lions game on Saturday morning (they were playing a union club side in NSW) and, looking at the red shirts in the crowd, there were more Brits there supporting their country than could be bothered turning up on Friday.
For Crist's sake, RU could hold a England vs the Actors Guild XV and they'd get a better crowd than that (significantly).
Maybe Friday's game wasn't the best, but it was a hit out for England which they managed and I personally enjoyed sitting down and watching my lad Roby play for England as well as cheering on the other England players.

There was a chance to see England - a chance for widnes fans to cheer on Sam Tomkins , Saints fans to cheer on Sinfield, Wigan fans to cheer on James Roby. What do we do, we have a 100 page thread on here about how no-one wants Sinfield to be captain, a load of winging about the fixutre/opposition and a horrendous turn out.

Its no wonder we can't get a sponsor for the sport, why would a company spend money promoting their product to the bunch of miserable, negetive s that appear to follow rugby league!?

I agree with the poster that said take it to Hull. There's real passion for the game there that doesn't seem to be matched by the supporters of the lancashire clubs, who don't seem bothered unless they think they're nailed on for silverware.

I remember in 1995 going to watch England beat Fiji 46 at central park. It was packed. Where's the passion gone? We all know that rugby league is, in essence, an excellent spectator sport, so why do we fail so often to actually get people interested in internationals - even people who go and watch club rugby every week?

Next Saturday I'm goign to my old rugby union club, i'll sit down in the bar, full of people (who don't even support a proffesional club) who'll cheer on the British Lions against the Aussies, no one will moan about them picking O'Driscoll infront of Tuilangi, or the fact that they haven't taken Robshaw with them, if we win they'll be happy and if we lose, everyone will still be happy as they'll have a day out having a drink with their buddies and watching a bit of rugby. Why can't rugby league fans be like that and just enjoy the wonderful sport they have, instead of looking for every reason they can to winge and moan and ultimately, not attend.

Could not agree more, fantastic post.

One of the things I love about international RL is being able to support the great players that play for other teams. Yet it seems many just can't get past their own club bias.

But it's a concept created by Rugby for rugby, not for the fans, it would seem selling tickets and merchandise is just an added bonus.

How is playing a team of over the hill, has-been antipodeans that muster almost zero fans going to excite fans? there is little to no atmosphere and the players even give the impression of being half-d.
It might have worked years ago when we attracted very good southern hemisphere players but the quality has dropped considerably.
I can be positive about rugby, i even shared the links on facebook about this game having little to no interest.
This game is a nothing game, we have players openly admitting they won't be in the WC squad, we have half the team out playing in Oz.
It's a garbage game, that serves little purpose and i reserve my right to moan about something i don't agree with.

Which players have openly admitted they won't be playing in the World Cup?

The game serves a purpous, it gives the team a get together and a run out against fairly decent opposition. And gives the fans (well not the miserable ones obviously) a chance to see how the England team is shaping up.

This game has proved that people are not stupid, and they will not just turn out to watch anything. It was cringeworthy to hear an interview with McNamara on 5live on Friday evening, desperately spouting various stats about the number of tackles compared to a normal super league game etc...

Given that the goal is for England to have a run out as a team, rather than as a spectacle for the fans then it can probably be judged a success this time around. Whether it has done more harm than good in terms of profile of the game to potential sponsors can be argued.

Personally - I didn't go to this game, primarily because I paid £25 to go to the game at Saints last year, only for the RFL to do a GroupOn 2for1 deal in the run up to the game, that let people get in for about £7. I already have tickets for 4 or 5 world cup games, and i will go to many others.

The Barbarians, and 'Rest of the world' games in RU don't seem to have trouble selling tickets, and drawing a crowd. We had a mid season game against France before this and a lot of the posters on here moaning about the Exiles game wanted rid of that as well. It seems to me unless its a England/GB vs Aus game RL fans in this country simply don't care about international RL.

But does it.

If i took out Warringtons best 4 forwards, Lee Briers and Atkins, against London Broncos would that give us fans an idea of 'how we are shaping up'?

I'm not a miserable fan, just i don't like this game, it stirs no positivity in me what so ever.
Half a team, no away fans, old men opposition with nothing to play for in a contrived team, crap coach, players out of position, players that should be nowhere near a jersey even with half the team out.

Garbage.

Not a miserable fan? Just read your last paragraph back to yourself

So because we have a few players in the NRL we should scrap a mid season international?

Players out of position? Yes hardaker was on the centres but he played there for Leeds for a lengthy period of time. Who else was out of position?

Union is different. Most players don't even get game time in internationals until they're over the hill, athletically speaking.