I'd say he can do lots of things to an acceptable standard, without doing anything to a particularly high one. He looks very one-paced and flat-footed, and with the speed the Kiwis like to play at down the middle channel he's going to be one of the players they look to target.

If he wasn't captain, would he be an automatic first pick in an England shirt? Not for me he wouldn't.

I haven't seen the NRL this season but if Hodgson and Cooper look anything like decent in it standards must be way down.

Unless Roby is carrying an injury he should play the eighty and free up a bench spot. If Cooper (on that evidence) was a better option than Cuthbertson would have been I don't understand the game anymore.

I guess the question is who would you have in above him at 13? Other than Westerman who is bang average I can't think of any other ball-playing England 13s that are fit.

He's gotten very big in the upper body, natural filling out or too many big weights. His little legs seem to have trouble moving him around with any agility.
However, you look at that team and really struggle to see many leaders. Not in the halves for sure. He's one of the very few. We've lost Sam Burgess and Sinfield recently so I think we need him.
McGuire would surely have been an option in that squad as well.

The best ball playing forward in the competition didn't make it into the squad.

Cuthbertson

Cuthberton has a good offload, but as I've said before I'm not sure he has the work ethic and concentration in defence for an International 13.

Many would disagree with you. And they'd be right.

It's just an opinion. No right or wrong seeing as he's not in the team so no one can be proven wrong.

Steve McBanana has been proven wrong, because he's a clown.

And he's an Australian.

On the evidence of one game which we won, how do you get to that conclusion?

And he qualifies to play for England.

If we're having an irrelevant facts contest, I reckon yours still beats mine though.

Depends if you want an Australian who displayed no desire to play for England throughout his 8/9 year NRL career to represent our National team I suppose.

Do we really want people who see us as a last option to play rep level representing us?

The same Cuthbertson who made 400 tackles more than SOL yet missed only 9 more last season?

Do we s***e. I'll be first in line demanding that Sam Burgess isn't picked for that very reason, should he return to RL.

A quality analogy.

On the Evidence of his excellent Bradford and England Career to date. He is clueless. I can't wait for the news he has stepped down as England Coach.

I was responding to a quality post. Had you been more qualified to determine Cuthbertson's reasons for wanting to play for England - if indeed he does - then I might have taken it (and you) a bit more seriously. But unless you can provide evidence to the contrary, I'll just assume you know the same as I do re what's going through his head, i.e. f*** all.

How do you know he displayed no desire to play for England throughout his 8/9 year NRL career? How do you know whether England approached him or not? In fact, you know nothing.

Cuthbertson has an English Father, so qualifies to play for England.

Australia and New Zealand have players exactly like this, yet nothing is said about it.

Cuthbertson is a much much better player than Biscuit Bones SOL.

I was dubious before the game about SOL and the penalty under the posts had me biting my tongue but i have to say like the rest of the team i thought he did really well the longer the game went on, and when Blair ran into his shoulder for his try i thought that epitomised his game

Who gives a damn? He's eligible to play for England. He's been the best forward of 2015, and he should be in the England team ahead of O'Loughlin.

Personally I don't enjoy watching O'Loughlin play. I don't like the tactics he uses, even if they come off while he wears an England shirt. I don't like the fact he is often late into tackles, I don't like the way he messes around and attempts to rip the ball out of peoples arms, I don't like the way he uses his hand onto of peoples heads to stand up. I don't like his wigan tactics, he should drop them when he has an England shirt on. I like fast, free, open, Rugby League...

O'Loughlin may sometimes get results from his tactics, but as with the first test, he also gives away penalties (Which cost us two points - and on any other day, those could have been the two points that mattered).

Drop O'Loughlin, put Cuthbertson at 13, then lets England really have an offload game, and open up our back row...

Cuthbertson should've at least been in the squad. If Cooper misses out with the injury he got then we have to bring a second rower in (probably Westwood).

Think McNamara's might've deliberately avoided Cuthbertson solely because of the nationality thing after getting his fingers burnt with Chase and Heightington

Really don't get all the hate for O'Loughlin, he always performs on the international stage, one of the few in recent past who hasn't gone missing when up against it against OZ and NZ, he was solid enough last night.

I agree Cuthbertson should be in the squad.