they also increased participation levels across the board and had a clear path to elite cycling so good cyclists were not lost to the sport and had a real chance of getting to the top. for years Britain produced cyclist more by chance an a few who had poetical did not make it through, now young cyclists have a pathway and have a good development programme.

that is why the A team is so important it keeps late developers in the game, and keeps participation levels up. i know so many players who don't make it in academy and simply give up the game, players don't want to drop down a division or two and certainly don't want to go back to their amateur clubs. so many amateur clubs are folding or struggling to get an open age side together. most conference and a lot of Yorkshire league side ran two sides 15-20 years ago,

They are stopping Jordan Baldwinson coming through. Right now. At one of the few clubs we have who actually bother with junior development.

So the only options after a match are to spit at your opponents shirt or take selfies with them?

how do we no these players are not international quality, they get to be if they are given 3-4 year run in the first team, they may not be the next sam burgess or adrian morley, but they could be the next andy Platt, roy power,l paul dixon, daryl Powell Paul lochlan, Mike gregory, all players who now would be written off. plenty off players who stood up well for Gb in the past were not seen as special junior talents or world beaters but played above themselves.

But an A side isn't going to bring them through. Late developers aren't going to develop in a low quality, low intensity league which is what an A side would be. The reason U19's is U19's and not U21's or U23's is because clubs would keep hold of players with even a glimpse of potential which would then be wasted as those players stagnate in poor quality, low intensity reserves leagues.

But yes, brilliant, lets increase participation levels. But GB Cycling did that by being successful, they were successful because they spared no expense, spared no effort in gaining every advantage they could, however miniscule.

Yep if Jordan Baldwinson had been playing instead of Tom Burgess, England would've won.

He's got a point. With the exception of James Graham, I can't see what any of the NRL "superstars" have offered in this series. I've been most disappointed with the Burgess clan. It looks like Sam's been trying too hard. And the thing I've noticed most about the twins is the amount of errors they've made. Easy to criticize now I know, but I'd have picked Farrell before any of them.

half right there. we have produces some good hookers, Dermot was not that good but when he played for Gb he played above his ability and was fearless and had absolutely no respect for the aussies, never forget him squaring up to bully boy Harrogen, (big fan of the chief though)

sorry but your wrong. Jamie Peacock became a better player through playing A team think we all can agree he's probably a fur hall of Famer. Karl Harrison another late developer who came through A team rugby JJB another Phil Clarke another, phil Clarke takes some garbage but he's thoughts and experience from A team rugby are very Valid. there are many many more who have had great careers and international career who spent extended periods in A team rugby.

no ones saying that though are they. but Baldwinson may have been just maybe pushing for an england shirt rather than not even getting a game. he should have had 30-40 super league games behind him, and i am using him only as an example. there are probably 2-30 players cross the league in the same position.

Yeah cos that's what I said and definitely not what you made up to hide your terrible argument.

But maybe if Jordan Baldwinson was getting game time and being invested in and being developed, in 5 years time he might be one of the best forwards in the world. He and others in a similar position to him may be better than Tom Burgess. And when a player like Tom Burgess is losing his place to players we are developing, perhaps then we will beat the Aussies.

Perhaps Baldwinson wont be better than Burgess, but perhaps he will only be better than Mitch Garbutt. But even then Leeds would have improved. And that means one of the teams in SL has improved. And that means SL would have improved. And that will bring us closer to the Aussies, and thus the journey to victory begins. Brilliant.

Or perhaps because Jordan Baldwinson wont singularly be responsible for England winning we should just all give up.

Karl Harrison and Phil Clarke came through in a different world.

JP went to Australia and Fev, and was a regular by the time he was 21. He was an international by 22. JJB made his debut at 17.

Hodgson has certainly been disappointing, and hasn't been able to bring his NRL form to the national side. Of course this week he hasn't had Joey Leilua and Jarrod Croker running off him, but nevertheless he has still been poor. I agree the pack, especially the front row, have been disappointing. We fondly imagined they would be our strong suit, putting us on the front foot, but that never looked like happening. Despite all the comments on here about his size, I thought Bateman defended very well. I didn't think our much-criticised centres did too badly, Watkins was plenty involved, and although Percival failed to hang onto a couple of very difficult passes, I thought he did OK too. Our wingers are fine (as they were throughout the comp), if only they got a few more passes.

I didn't see the plan from Bennett with the halves. Even of he'd had a better game, Brown is surely the past, not the future, and in the end the game was lost by the time George Williams got on the pitch.

No but that's what you're hinting at. Same with football, foreigners aren't stopping the next top international coming through and even if they were, England are more than 1 international away from winning.

Also clubs can't build their squads based on what is best for the international team. They have to have squads they think will win trophies. Mitch Garbutt for example won a treble in his first 14 starts for Leeds so can you criticise them when he played a part helping then win trophies???

We have a world class 9 and he was sat in the stands.