Fox needs to show up in big games, something he has yet to do.

He has failed to show up in any game for the last few months. Hopefully he'll take it on board as its the second time in two years he's missed out.

I think he'll come back a better player for it, I like the direction Smith is showing these youngsters in the international set up. You don't perform you won't play simple.

Hopefully it make our national side a lot more hungrier in the future.

Although Tomkins missing out is a bit baffling.

unless you've signed for warrington of course, surely if briscoe has rightly been picked instead of out of form foxy, what happenened with myler getting the nod instead of tompkins?

Yes thats why Sam is playing 6

i see what you did there

Biggest shock for me was Carvell missing out.

but a lot more than myler, and Mcguire has regularly played scrum half when burrow has been injured this year.

I can't for the life of me see how smith can pick myler when his own club wouldn't play him for the last 2 months of the season and tompkins has been pulling up trees, it beggars belief and smacks of self interest.

I wouldn't class scoring a hat trick against Wales as pulling up tree's. For me Tomkins and Maguire doesn't work. Too similar to work together as a half back combination.

I think Smith has done the right thing maybe he should have offered the bench spot to Tomkins instead of Eastmond.

i agree with everything you said except tomkins on the bench, eastmond an cover more positions.

the pulling up trees was more do to with the way he finished the season with Wigan.

Smith doesn't play his halves in first and second receiver, he plays left and right half backs, always has wherever he has coached, so to me there's no reason tompkins and mcguire can't play together. Don't get me wrong I think myler will be a big talent if he continues his development but for a coach who reckons he picks on form how can he justify picking a lad who hasn't played for months?

Not as good as Morley, Graham or Peacock so not a real shock. The shock is perhaps only going with three props. Although when Westwood comes on Burgess could easily move up to prop to make the fourth.

It is far from an outrage. However in the last 5 weeks of the regular season Fox scored 5 tries. The only really rubbish bit of play from him I can recall was allowing himself to be tackled in-goal by Tomkins in the Wigan play-off game. He was still rated ahead of Briscoe when the full squads were announced. Between that announcement and yesterday something has happened to make T. Smith feel he [ineeds[/i Briscoe and he should be brought in for an injured loose forward. Now, selecting an England team is about winning matches, not being fair to the individual players and it is Smith's job on the line. I've got no problem with him making a hard-nosed decision if Briscoe has been brilliant in training or Fox very disappointing. If the decision was based to any significant extent on the Wales friendly, then it strikes me as bizarre.

Still, the team has been picked now and I'm looking forward to the tournament.