All Stars team..

Quote: SmokeyTA "The England team will get nothing out of it. It wont do anything. Its a team against a made-up team. While you may wish to pretend that this made up team will have massive pride in their jersey, they wont. It will be seen as a kick about. It wont, in anyway help in the players find that next level you need to find to compete with NZ and Australia. If you think it will you are deluded'"

That is your opinion and you are entitled to it, but there is just as many reasons (if not more IMO) that justify the opinion that it will improve the team, and players will have pride.

I will also add that to put your opinion across as fact is extremely arrogant.

Quote: SmokeyTA "they did, we played them in a competitive game where the Catalans players didnt have a mass outbreak of injuries and they gave us a competitive game.'"

You said that they can get more players playing full time in the SL now. If they can, then they aren't. There aren't enough to fill a French test team. What this quote has to do with that point is beyond me.

Quote: SmokeyTA "34-12 isnt a foregone conclusion.'"

But a mid-season test has never been 34-12. They've been *42-14, 56-8, 66-12, 60-6. They've consistently been walkovers.
*Played as GB, with a majority rested team.

Quote: SmokeyTA "What we need is to get france interested. Give them something to play for so that they do play their best players. a Tri-nations tournament like the 6 nations in RU between Wales, France and England would benefit everyone, and it would be an actual international competition.'"

So you're saying that France aren't interested now? Isn't that something you were criticising an All-Stars team about?! If France aren't interested, then how can you be fighting for them to play in this fixture?!

I would love to see a European Tri-Nations with England, France and Wales. I've even mooted it in the past (alongside an All-Stars game). Unfortunately, it seems that we can only fit in one game mid-season, and we have to arrange a game that is best for us.

Quote: SmokeyTA "It doesnt go one way and not the other. France will improve because they are playing international competition. Not because they are playing better teams but because they are playing international competition, together, as a national side. They wont suddenly start catching us up because they are playing Wales.
You've massively contradicted yourself here. France will improve because they play internationals, and you then go on to say that playing Wales (an international) won't see them catching us up? If France improve by playing internationals, then what's wrong with playing Wales, or any other international team?

I also think playing games is what improves that team, and the better the opposition (to a certain point) the better the improvement will be. I don't see how some kind of label (that being the opposition are an "international" team) would have any affect on their development?!

Quote: SmokeyTA "It is massively disrespectful to both France and Wales to pretend it is a waste of our time even bothering to play them. We should be playing both. We should be playing a tri-nations tournament between the three teams from now until the end of time. Adding other nations when they get their professional game going. '"

Nobody has said it is a waste of our time. You're being OTT. It has been said that we would benefit more from playing a better team. That's not disrespectful, it's fact. France can't justify that they have been competitive in this fixture, and you're even implying earlier that they aren't interested. So how is it disrespectful?

In an ideal world it would be great to play both, and Scotland, and Ireland, and Italy, but the fact is we cannot fit these fixtures into the calendar. We can only fit one in. And we have to decide what's better for us.

Quote: SmokeyTA "We get the same as everyone else gets, International Competition. '"

...that would get a poor crowd, no coverage, little interest, massive scoreline, etc.
Not the best way to sell the international game to the public.

Quote: SmokeyTA "You are being hugely arrogant, you dismiss beating France and Wales as if it was nothing in itself and their games against us are nothing more than warm ups to playing 'real' internationals against Australia and NZ. Whilst they are tier 2 nations they deserve much better than you casting them out as second class.

Wales and France deserve to play us, as we deserve to play them. Not to improve them or us but because they are professional RL nations.'"

Again, this is not arrogant at all (and also ironic coming from the person who is trying to state his opinion as fact). It's not a case of one deserving to play the other. We have one game mid-season on the international calendar and we need a "test", which this game has not provided. France have not provided us with a test. That is a fact. We are looking for a test. If they are not providing us with a test, we will look elsewhere.

It might not be of your opinion that it matters that this game mid-season is competitive or not, but it is to Steve McNamara and the England coaching team, as well as former England coach Tony Smith, and I am more inclined to believe they know more about what they are talking about than you.

Quote: SmokeyTA "We have 5 professional RL playing nations, 3 get to qualify automatically and every two years one of the other two are allowed to try and qualify for a competitive game against the other three, and you dont want me to say this is a bit arrogant and treating them with quite a bit of disrespect?

And yes it isnt a competitive game, for some reason we think we are better than to play France and Wales in a competitive game, then we wonder why they send out a second string to get smashed when we deign to give them a friendly.'"

We have 3 fully professional RL playing nations, and 2 with half a squad of fully pro players. Just because they have a professional club doesn't mean they have a professional test team.

That's not arrogant. That's fact. Is it arrogant that teams have to apply for the SL? Or is it that there are only so many places available due to money and the strength of the playing pool? We can't play everybody! Just like we can't have a 16 team Super League.

Quote: SmokeyTA "
ALWAYS a drubbing, how many mid-season tests against France do you think we have played? It can barely class as always anything. '"

Four. (Three if you include GB). And we've smashed them in every single one. So it's always been a drubbing, and always will be until they have a fully pro test team.

Quote: SmokeyTA "There is massive benefit to the international games, there are international games being staged being the major one.

Fact is, once you get passed your inherent viewpoint that Wales and France arent worthy in themselves, and you get passed the fact they arent warm ups for Australia and New Zealand. You will see how pointless this friendly game against a made-up side is, and how disrespectful it is to these other nations to say we need it.'"

Stop all this pathetic worthiness rubbish, it's embarrassing. They aren't at our level. That's not arrogant. You said yourself they are tier two. Stop playing the offence card.

Quote: SmokeyTA "Wales can play France instead of England, it would also be international competition. I have absolutely no idea who told you otherwise,'"
'"

The fact that we can only fit one international in, and we have chosen not to play France, and your apparent tantrum at that fact, leads me to believe that there is some problem with France playing Wales instead of England.

We can only fit one fixture in at the moment. Is it disrespectful to Wales that you think France should play England?