I believe that the GB and Australia tours will be back on, which would be a positive move. Also, I use to really enjoy the the club v Australia tour games of the eighties, and would watch games at Naughton Park and Knowsley Road as well as Wilderspool. The skills that those green and gold teams possessed were a joy to watch.

Jackson Hastings. He should be playing in this series, he is the best player available.

Now I can't stand the troll and can't believe I'm agreeing with him/her/it but he/she/it may actually be talking some sense for once. Hastings is a class above Myler but it would have been tough to throw him in at such short notice.
However, he's eligible and if he shows he's 100% committed to playing in the shirt with pride (which he's managed to do with Salford!) and he's the best option available then he's well worth a shot. And before people say he's been playing in the middle 8's.... well so has Myler, and he didn't exactly dominate them like Hastings did he?

Agree about 86. He made a big difference that day. Shame he didn't figure in the earlier games due to him being in dispute IIRC.

88 series wasn't that close. We played well for 40mins in the first test, got stuffed in the second before winning the third. 90 series was the closest we've come and he was instrumental in that with Hanley and Schofield. 92 I think he was past his best, according to his book he was injured and in two minds before being talked into going. His sin bin in the 1st test didn't help and he quickly went off tour when he gouged someone in a midweek game.

Still wish we had someone as good as him for Saturday.

1 Lomax
2 Makinson
3 Connor
4 Gildart
5 McGilvray
6 Williams
7 Tomkins

Bennet has confirmed this in a press conference with Percival & Myler to miss out. I don’t get the logic of picking someone who has played in the halves for most of the year at FB and vice versa.

weakest 1-7 England or gb line up i have seen for some time. Nz by plenty.

I agree. NZ should take this no problem.

I also think Connor is a better half back than either of the two selected and could offer that bit of the unexpected if that`s why Tomkins has been put in there.
And I might have gone for Percival over Gildart.

Percival very unlucky not to get in I think.

Tomkins adds nothing in the halves for me, Tomkins at Fullback with Connor and Williams in the halves

I agree, Bennett obviously doesn’t fancy him.

New Zealand 19-man squad: Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, Ken Maumalo, Esan Marsters, Joseph Manu, Jordan Rapana, Shaun Johnson, Kodi Nikorima, Jesse Bromwich, Brandon Smith, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Kevin Proctor, Isaac Lui, James Fisher-Harris, Kenneath Bromwich, Leeson Ah Mau, Martin Taupau, Adam Blair, Jahrome Hughes, Joseph Tapine.

I like Percival but thought he was a liability in defence vs France. Too much of a tendency to grab high. Do that against NZ and they'll go through every time.

That said, I hate the tendency to select players out of position for England/GB. A centre should be at centre.

Who will link with Whitehead? IMO I think he's the player to watch

Gildart is better defensively