Recall Danny Brough .............................[sizePLEASE[/size

What is the point of playing Sam Tomkins at all if England are going to play a conservative game as they did first half against the Exiles. There was hardly any plays in the first half where 2-3 players ran different angles which created space for Tomkins as we do for him week in week out. I only wtched the first half though.

If England are going to play the Leeds way of safe and boring rugby then might as well just play Wellens at full back. Its either play safe and try the tried and tested failure route in the WC or play this side and try something new.

1. Sam Tomkins
2. Josh Charnley
3. Cudjoe
4. Reed
5. Hall
6. Chase
7. Smith
8. Burgess
9. Roby
10 Graham
11 Ellis
12 Farrell
13 Lockers

14 Burrows
15 Westwood
16 Mossop
17 Crabtree

If England are going to play to win the World Cup then they need to play to the strengths of the best player they have and not just fit a team around the captain. Sinfield is a good player but playing his way is not the way for England its the way that Mcnamara knows unfortunately and that is England's biggest weakness.

When the World cup starts England will revert to the Leeds way of safe rugby which is great when your playing against SL teams in play offs etc. But to win the World Cup England need to get on top of Australia and take risks which will not happen with Mcnamara and Sinfield that's why i would choose Matty Smith at 7 and a massive pack.

I would have put Brough in 7 though if he was not Scottish again.

Unless we play to a well executed, structured game plan we'll have no chance in the world cup. Simply throwing the ball around like a hot potato will just see us get spanked again. England's biggest weakness has been their inability to gain good field position, this has been due to our forwards not being able to get the better of their opposition up front. Our structure and execution of basic skills like movement off the ball and technique at the ruck have been where Austrailia have been miles ahead of us.

As for the team I'd go with:

Tomkins
Charnley
Watkins
Cudjoe
Hall
Sinfield
Widdop
Graham
Roby
Hill
Ellis
Farrell
Burgess

Burrow
Crabtree
Burgess (G)
Westwood/Ablett/Hock/Ferres

the day people stop moaning about tackling and slowing the ruck down is the day we might beat the Aussies, watch all the Australia games and you will see minimum 3 defenders plowing into every person who carries the ball and i don't care how big you are your not going to gain ground so instead of moaning for a penalty every time a defender wins the ruck we need to embrace it and start winning the arm wrestles.

I really am missing things these days.
Talk here about the lack of plays, moves and structure. Eh?
The squad is being coached by McNamara who just hasn't any knowledge of those things as he proved at Bradford and latterly as England coach.
We have a coach who must be the worst England coach, ever!
Our only hope is if the RFL hire an Aussie NRL coach as the Kiwis did with Wayne Bennett then won the World Cup.
The other chance maybe is if there are a few players in our squad who once they are out on the field will take the teams tactics into their own hands and ignore everything McNamara & Lowed ever said to them.
Either od those two scenarios and we may have a chance.
Going soley with McNamara & Lowes is too awful to contemplate.
This when our game will have its highest profile for decades.

McNamara is off to Australia to see his Aussie based players, he is taking in 10 matches in 20 days.
One who he will not be seeing is George Burgess, Souths have suspended him for two matches and fined him $6000-00 dollars, for smashing a car window whilst out on the town in Cairns celebrating Souths win against Gold Coast at the weekend.

He has been charged and bailed until July when his case will be heard.

The Widnes fans I've spoken to have been quite impressed with Hock, but then there's always different opinions among fans. He wasn't good against Leeds but how many games had he missed? There's no way he's match fit.

While Farrell is the stand out back row forward in Super League he's been nowhere near as effective without Blake Green putting him through gaps. Without someone like that in the England side he'll be a workhorse in the back row like many others. He'd be the best England have of that ilk and can run and tackle all game but you've got to have a back row who can punch a few holes in a strong defence and Hock is still probably the most likely to do that.

Shouldn't McNamara be selecting someone who can put Faz through the gaps?

Hock has never done it in the big games. Leeds seem to have him sussed, he has been consistently anonymous when playing at Headingley. Hope he goes to Aus and they can sort him out.

Do we actually have anyone who can do that anyway? Myler probably does for Wire (I've not seen enough of him but he seems to make a lot of assists) but I've not seen much playmaking instinct in him for England.

In Super League it always seems to be the Aussies who are by far the best at linking with their second rowers and putting them through gaps like clockwork. It's obviously going to be more difficult to do that at international level anyway, which is why a good offload can be really useful when breaking down defences. Unfortunately that's one of very few weaknesses in Farrell's game.

But he will not and that will cost England when it really matters. England's pack could do a job on Australia its 6 and 7 where we will lose it. (FFS i am Welsh not English apart from RL). But its important that England make the final the profile lift for the game would be massive.

And its all in the hands of Mcnamarra.

I'm not keen on having Sinfield in the halves as it slows our play down and nullifies any threat from Tomkins so I'd do something slightly left field and go with the following:

1. Hardaker
2. Charnley
3. Yeaman
4. Watkins
5. Hall
6. S Tomkins
7. Brough (know McNamara won't pick him but this is my team )
8. Graham
9. Roby
10. G Burgess (not seen much of him but heard nothing but good reports from those who have the channel to watch him on)
11. S Burgess
12. Lockers
13. Sinfield - he never seems to play in his best position. This is where he has done it time and again for Leeds in the big games so let's try him there!

14. Westwood
15. Crabtree
16. Hill
17. Burrows (cover for hooker/half back)

Notable omissions there of Widdop and Reed. I don't watch the NRL due to not having the channel so I'm only going off what I've seen of them in an Engalnd shirt and they've both been pretty ordinary. Suppose you could put Reed in for Yeaman and Widdop in for Burrows.

I'd also like to keep an eye on that Walmsley bloke at St Helens. He's been very good from what I've seen of him, a bit raw still but think he could do a good job.

W_w Sinfields best games for England / GB have been at #9

Agreed but he never plays 13 plus Roby is a better 9....

Having watched the nrl over here and watch superleague on tv. Here's my team.

Sam tomkins
Josh charnley
Jack reed
Kallum Watkins
Ryan hall
Gareth Widdop
Kevin sinfield - only in cause macnamara bums him
Sam burgess
James Roby
James graham
Gareth Ellis
Liam Farrell
Sean o'loughlin

Richie myler
Gareth Hock
Lee Mossop/Chris Hill
George Burgess