so, if Fitz, O'Meley or Briscoe get a season ending injury you'll be happy?

this is a money maker for the RFL, nothing to do with improving the game.

my england team so far obviously no aussie based players
1.tomkins
2.mcgillvary
3.bridge
4.watkins
5.briscoe
6.brown
7.brough
8.morley
9.sinfield
10.graham
11.westwood
12.tomkins
13.oloughlin
subs
14.roby
15.crabtree
16.farrell
17.lms

I'm sure a number of us haven't forgiven them for what happened to Preckie (edit - the RFL, not Fitz, Shrek and Tom! ). The England team need game time together (esp as Macca has changed the squad so much) so it's a tough one. Games against France are normally no more than training matches, so something needed to be changed.

Not one single FC fan will be happy if one of our players gets injured. This may make some cash for the RFL but as a concept i personally think it's fantastic and it could be the single biggest step forward in our international game for a number of years.

of course we woundt be happy with a player getting injured thats any player but injuries happen and if a player was to get injured in the game then sh%t happens and move on, players get injured in state of origin but that dosent ever get mentioned. instead of fans picking little things to moan about the game just support it as its a great concept and will be a great occasion. yeh the rfl will make money from and so they should but it is to help the england team and to have a higher profile match well done rfl

The way to improve the England team would be to have a better coach than Fatnamara and make a real effort to reduce the number of overseas players.

Those would be 2 of the ways to improve the England team. A 3rd way to improve the team would be to give them a better standard of competition to play against like this concept is bringing.

If it's approached correctly this becomes a real test of our squad. If we seriously want an international RL competition thats competetive fans are just going to have to accept that their players will need to play more international rugby at a competetive level.

how can anyone not think that this is a great idea and spectacle for the fans??

Most sports play internationals throughout the full year not just when the club season finishes..

Yes injuries happen and its disapointing when it does but thats sport! Whats saying that tom briscoe wouldnt get injured in a warm up game against france?

spot on post and for our domestic game its vital we improve our international game because we will just fall even further behind with union just getting bigger

spot on

You are absolutely correct , just some on here cant see past anything that doesnt include a whine and whinge for whining sake...
Like i said earlier it would great to open the season with a exiles match then one mid year and one as a warm up for the nations comp .
Injuries are part and parcel of the game and a player could put his hand through a glass door as a bar b ... oh hang on ....
could you ever imagine the NRL blocking players from SOO, would cause a civil war in oz, if the International set up is to grow in the UK it needs more regular testing at a higher level than france and a series of Exiles games would fit the bill down to a tee.
All other sports play internationals all year round at different times of the year and for different reasons so if RL is to grow it needs these imagination grabbing games to get the buss in the papers and on TV etc thus attracting new kids to the game.
its a strange mentality that wants to closet the game and FC players from injury when injury is part and parcel of a players life ,SOO is one of the mechanics that sets Australia apart from the rest of the world because it gives those considered the top players an intense situation in which to show off their wares to the selectors, same here if handled correctly

you try telling Omeley he cant play in case he twists a sock

in hand with the recap structure we need these things can only improve our game not decline it, and i for one can see a stadium full of kids having a great day out with mum and dad to see a proper full on international in the sun , instead of freezing their nuts off in october

I personally don't care for the international game although I enjoy watching new Zealand and australia, the fact of the matter is I pretty much guarantee England will never win a four nations or anything alike in my time and nothing will change this be it reduced quota better quality opposition etc we won't get near them, so for me it's just a pointless game and not needed IMO. I only care about my team, nothing else matters to me, but that's a personal preference.

Thats the problem with the international game in this sport not many of us really care about it....i want to care about it but i really dont.

I think with england failing to deliver year after year,poor crowds and not enough competiton world wide any new ideas can only be a positive as it cant get much dire than it currently is...

Would be great to see an england team tested by this exiles team,infact looking over the squad i think england will struggle to get a result..theres some dam good players in there!!

Agreed, and looking at the potential exiles team England could be in for a right shellacking.