It was the same throughout the ground. I went with a St Helens fan and we were both embarassed. We had Leeds fans shouting "throw him into touch" every time Tomkins got the ball and laughing if he got tackled. Sts fans booing Hock and even had some shouting obscene things at him regarding drugs etc. I really don't understand why you would choose to go and watch England and then act like that.

We were also annoyed that somehow our seats had been double booked and a kid sat with his mum with genuine tickets were sat in our seats. Ok-ish concept, badly executed IMO.

The old method of helping to choose tour teams used to work very well,it was Probabales V Possibles and was over two matches.
The Probabales consisted of the players who where expected to be the players who would be picked for the tour and the Possibles where the players who if they had an exceptional game could be moved over to the Probs either at half time or during the second match.
Even before the second match they could bring in new players to give them a chance as well.

What you had was players fighting to stay in the Probs and if they where sent down to the Possibles they would be so upset that they would fight like mad to get back up to the Probs.
It was the same for the players who started in the Possibles,they would fight like mad to get into the Probs for the second match.
What they where fighting for was a place on a Tour to Australia and New Zealand which in those days meant so much to part time players. The problem today is we dont have that sort of incentive and what I proposed may not even work,but it would be a far better test in my opinion than what we have at present.

why not have a SOO Yorks v Lancs plus a European version of SOO for the aussies ?

pick two teams from NSW v QLD playing in europe with say, three overseas players ie Kiwis or Fijians etc for each side and have that game as a curtain raiser ?

all sets of players would be playing for local pride & bragging rights etc

That might be the worse idea I've ever read.

why ?

is watching England Knights batter Ireland by 60 points as a curtain raiser entertaining RL in your opinion ?

a half decent Exiles team would have trounced England

So does Langtree Park now join Headingley on the list of 'okay-ish grounds but the Ukraine-type indigenous idiots make them unsuitable for international RL'?

If so, I wonder how many of us would have made a few bob betting on those two being first on the list. I know I would.

Give over

there were other fans in the stadium booing...not just Saints fans.

We were having anti-Saints/Wigan/Warrington/Leeds songs coming from a few Saints and Wigan fans in the west

Spot on.

The squad selection killed that game, McNamara using the same old routine, Peacock as captain being the obvious flaw, following it up with the Sinfield at 6, form players not even making the squad and Ablett in the centre, it was obvious that fans wouldnt get behind that.

The weather didnt help, nor the Exiles lack of enthusiasm.

The concept has the potential to be brilliant, but the booing of England players and Saints fans singing Saints songs, summed up, why the concept will be gone in a couple of years.

They should have bused the Brigantes in and given them free tickets, that would have lifted the atmosphere !!!

Whilst we are at it change back to Great Britain rather than England. I know there would be very few if any players from the other nations that would get into the England team but England just doesnt have the same feel to it as Great Britain did. I always used to look forward to GB V Aus/NZ but these days i just dont get the same excitement with England.

And somebody please get rid of McNamara as head coach. At the very best he would be acceptable as assistant but having him as head coach is painful and quite honestly embarrassing. Id even rather have John Kear over this clown.

6 Leeds players enough said.