Just got home. That wasn't much fun at all. I don't remember anyone saying after last week that Williams wasn't international class, but suddenly he isn't? He's a young lad still learning his craft but has a lot of talent and a bright future in front of him. I'd certainly keep him in the side to play in front of the Wigan fans at the DW next week. Whether Widdop, who was equally poor, should be alongside him is another question. I can see the argument for playing Matty Smith alongside his club team-mate next week, even though Smith has had a generally very poor season, as even Wigan fans admit. But he'd surely improve our kicking game on what we saw today. I think I'd be content with Smith/Williams or Gale/Williams. But as others have rightly said, it's fundamentally more about tactics than individuals. We have two world-class wingers, and they're not getting the ball.

Regardless of personnel, our game plan was so simple it was far too easy to defend against.

I thought last year and in the World Cup we played with some creativity . We seem to have gone backwards big time.

You can only blame the coaches not the players.

It certainly is the coaching, it seems. Wigan scored a few tries this season with Williams making those short-range diagonal kicks for Joe Burgess. Did we see anything like that? Did we hell! I'm sure Hardaker and Hall, say, have some pet plays too.

Just back from that pathetic spectacle. One very poor team (NZ_ against one abysmal one. The highlight of the match that roused the crowd from their slumber was about 70 minutes in when a goal kick was missed. That says it all.

Where do I start? After last weeks' second half I expected us to play tough and hard for 20 minutes and then rip them apart. But after a few minutes we took a goal kick from 10 yards out and we knew then the coach had no belief and we may as well go home. We stuck it out as spectators but why? It just got worse. What the game plan - give it to James Graham and let him take it up whilst the rest engaged in some sort of unfunny slapstick routine of falling over and knocking on? Why didn't NZ keep falling over?

I have seen some bad RL games and inept performances in well over 50 years of watching the game but that was without a shadw of doubt the WORST performance I have seen - simply because it lacked the fundamentals of rugby league. No heart. No running in hard. Utter, utter crap. I was absolutely disgusted. In fact despite the close score line I wanted to leave early (but stuck it out) and didn't ever care whether we won (for the first time in my life).

I had lost interest by half time by which time aside from Graham and perhaps Hardaker I didn't see anyone warranting an international shirt. Surely the worst half back performance (and we've seen some shockers over the years) in British international history? Williams - out of his depth. Widdop - dire. His kicking game was shocking and that was his best aspect!

We lost via the softest of soft tries ever. We were still in the dressing room even though half-time had been and gone.

No atmosphere as nothing to cheer about.

Rugby league had a good opportunity today - after the Burgess publicity, the dire RUWC, a good win last week, being in the capital in front of the men of the press and guess what - we blew it. So many times the players of this great game have come good against the odds. Today was the complete opposite.

Back to the game plan - was there one? Was it to trundle up the middle as slow as we could and then make the opposition laugh by falling over or throwing the ball to them? Were was the desire? The guts? The drive? Where in fact was rugby league today?

Disgusted.

#Wallof sh*te

Worst performance since Melbourne 2008, another hopeless England game when it matters, we won't get all the free publicity from Rugby union next year and this shambles will be in the memory as a reason why people shouldn't give the game another chance. Why did we book the Olympic stadium to serve up that shower of drivel? The game was characterised by too many penalties, one try, scrums that took an age to form as both packs sat around and had a rest and constant one man drives up the middle. They already have that kind of Rugby down south! Not sure what video refs have against England, looked a try in the ground and it would have added some kind of spectacle to the end of a dire game.

The coach should be fired for considering that game plan last week, let alone repeating it this week on the grander scale. We got lucky last week and it was clear both half backs were ineffective and we had no kicking game, they were worse this week. The whole team looked terrible, even the forwards that played a solid game were lacking the skills they have shown in the past.

The match day squad is missing a centre, how can an international coach decide he doesn't need two centres, oh right because the game plan is never pass it outside the pack. We need two centres, you can swap both starting second rows out for me at the same time. Gale must be given a chance next week, McGuire should have been in the squad for his big game experience. Use the strengths in the squad, have the new coach pick a squad that he has confidence in and that can cover a number of options next time!

In 2013 and 2014 we put in some great performances. We were so close to the final, then we learned from that to effectively beat the Australians in their own back yard and pushed the Kiwis all the way a week later. This year the game plan has gone backwards and the players appear to have forgotten how to catch, pass or kick the ball. Let's play the real attractive rugby league we want to see, and then at least we get some entertainment, if not the win.

Couldn't agree more!

If I hadn't taken the wife out for dinner and calmed down by the time I wrote that I would have been more blunt!

So utterly predictable that I posted this last week :

Re: Do you change the team?

Pretty sure that unless injuries occured, we'll keep the same team, and same gameplan, then when it doesn't work, we'll say that the halfbacks are no good and scratch heads for a "Plan B" for the final game.
shinymcshine • Mon Nov 02, 2015 3:23 pm •

I thought it was another iffy performance from England.

I wasn't impressed with us last week really but I thought we overpowered them and I don't think they were expecting that. This week they was.

Another good showing from Graham, Hill and Burgess but I don't think any of the others performed anywhere near the level expected. I think when so many players underperform you have to look at the coach. A group that includes the current man of steel.

I would put it down to the conditions but we played a similar way last week.

Williams and Widdop were awful. They are playing so far away from the line and their kicking was so poor. I blame them for isolating Hardaker and how little ball Watkins is getting but the blame has to be shared with the coach. Because they aren't playing at the line Hardaker doesn't have the space he needs. I don't think they compliment each other either and for that reason I would bring Gale in next week. Gale will play at the line and bring a kicking game that we need.

On the positive side our defence was superb and our front row were dominant and aggressive. I also like how Roby and Hodgson rotate.

Widdop has no idea. First half he threw a poor long ball to Hall when all he needed do was take one step to straighten it up and pass to the man outside him would have then created an easy try scoring position.

To add insult to injury - did you see the pitchsie advertising today? Not your Coca Cola, Porsche, whatever but the headline one was Pukka Pies (I kid you not)! Clearly they think we're all fat Norther b**tards. Then we had Tenerife for £99 and adverts for third and fourth rate universities.

This is what happens when you pick players based on what club colours they wear rather than that players' individual qualities. People saying Bateman isn't a centre, but he plays for Wigan so has to be picked cos he played at centre for Wigan for a bit, Williams isn't ready, but gale is probably the better player at the moment but Williams plays for Wigan so must be picked.
Until we drop the whole who you play for we will always be struggling!

I've often defended McNamara as I think he's taken some unwarranted stick in his time as England coach (especially the silly McBanana stuff) but I can't defend him on this series.
I was concerned at the start of the series with the team he picked but was willing to give him a chance. But virtually everything McNamara has tried has been at best a par, at worst a disaster.

It's obvious that McNamara desperately wanted Tomkins in the team. This was disturbing in itself because if Tomkins hadn't been injured McNamara would have shifted the current Man of Steel & SL Dream Team fullback to a position he hasn't played since 2012 in order to have a full back who hasn't played well for 2 years.

But then why on gods green earth you'd put Bateman at centre over an actual centre I have no idea.

Then why you'd persist with the failed strategy from the first test of starting with Hodgson instead of Roby.

Why, when your gameplan was so simple and rigid, you'd pick centre's and wingers of whom only 1 has much impact in getting our sets started following a kick.

Then why you'd pick 2 halves who aren't good at a passing game including 1 who's not ready yet.

It's just been very very strange from McNamara.

Likewise, I haven't previously criticised McNamara but after this charade I have no time for him anymore. Today was shameful - not just in execution but the whole approach to the game. Couldn't have got it more wrong.

The best one was:
"Drive Insured - or it'll be goneinseconds.org.uk"