Dobson can apply for British citizanship at the end of this season, which in effect would make him eligable for selection for the england world cup team. Faasavalu, manu etc have done it so why not have the best scrum half (possibly player) in the team.
hat are your thoughts, bearing in mind the england cricket and union teams, ireland footie team and even the aussie league team seem to have been doing it for some years.

No thanks. I want English people to play for England.

Danny Brough should have been in the England squad last year. Massive error.

would be better off persuading danny brough to come back to the england team.

Can't do that. Once you've played for a team, you can't change until the next World Cup cycle. Brough kept his allegiance to Scotland, so I believe can only play for them until after next World Cup.

I wouldn't mind at all, I also wouldn't mind Chase after next season playing for England if the Kiwis are stupid enough not to select him again this time around.

Suppose it will depend if he stays in SL or goes back home to the NRL.

No, no, no. This citizenship rule is garbage. Like Clint Greenshields playing for France the other year, its pathetic!

Using the citizenship rule would be taking a huge step backwards in my view. I think things have improved a lot in youth development in the last two or three years and I think come 2013 we will have a big pool of talent to choose from - a luxury we haven't had since.........well I can't remember.

The problem England had last year was we had a good set of 30+ year old experienced players then a load of good 25 and below players but in the 26-30 age range we had hardly any quality to call upon. That tells you things had gone wrong in youth development in the early years of Super League but I think things are improving and with it the England team will to.

As the OP says, why should we be all high and mighty when the Aussies and Kiwis have been doing it for years? Stoop to their level and we might win a test series or two.

Dobson was an aussie schoolboy so just doesn't sit right for me, but then if we're a better team becuase of him then we have to do it as the other nations go against the spirit of the game.

He is the type of player England are crying out for, Danny Brough is improving so hopefully we can bend the rules to suit ourselves like a true aussie and get him in too, two top class half backs.

I might be mistaken, but AFAIK the world cup has nothing to do with it. There has to be a year inbetween representing one country and representing another.

Is he going to?

Dobson's not good enough for England. Brough's problem is the same as Robinson's, they've had to wait a long time to be considered good enough for England (in Brough's case he decided not to wait), and in reality they've only got to this stage because we're pathetically weak in some key playmaking positions. Myler has yet to develop beyond being an over-hyped youngster, Eastmond looks like he's going to RU, and Tomkins is being wasted at fullback.

Not convinced about Rangi Chase for England either, don't thnk he is any better than any of the standoff's we've already got.

Quote ="beefy1"I might be mistaken, but AFAIK the world cup has nothing to do with it. There has to be a year inbetween representing one country and representing another.'" You are sort of right. I thought it was once you'd played for one country, you couldn't switch until after the next World Cup. States in an article I've found though: Quote A RFL spokesman said that, under Rugby League International Federation rules, players must wait two years since their last appearance, if they wish to play for another country, for which they are eligible. That would rule out Brough, 26, from potential selection by England until next year's Four Nations series in Australasia.'" www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/ ... 679199.ece So technically, Brough wouldn't be able to play until end of 2012 - in time for next World Cup.

Quote ="beefy1"I might be mistaken, but AFAIK the world cup has nothing to do with it. There has to be a year inbetween representing one country and representing another.'" You are sort of right. I thought it was once you'd played for one country, you couldn't switch until after the next World Cup. States in an article I've found though: Quote A RFL spokesman said that, under Rugby League International Federation rules, players must wait two years since their last appearance, if they wish to play for another country, for which they are eligible. That would rule out Brough, 26, from potential selection by England until next year's Four Nations series in Australasia.'" www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/ ... 679199.ece So technically, Brough wouldn't be able to play until end of 2012 - in time for next World Cup.

That's another one off quota for Hull Kingston Australians

2 year running Super League Dream team Scrum half??

Not isn't.

HTH.

He's certainly good enough, can't see it happening though.

They seem to be doing ok without him.

No one in SL must be anywhere near good enough then

, he'd walk into the team, he's the type of player england need in that position, with someone like eastmond running of him.

Perhaps it’s Red Hall’s new plan for world domination, an England team full of 2nd rate Aussies masquerading as U.K citizens

.

Dobson is arguably the best scrum half in Super League, if he's not good enough who is?

Tomkins wasted at full back? He looked like his talent was wasted when he was the SL champions best player when moved there.

Rangi Chase - I don't see many better in Sl, if any.

I want to win the Rugby League World Cup!!

If that means selecting Michael Dobson then so be it. Admittedly I am a Rovers fan, but the same argument goes for Rangi Chase. If they are better then anybody else eligible for England then play them. As we have mentioned many times, does anyone care that Kevin Pieterson (sp) is South African, does anybody care that Shontayne Hape, Henry Paul, Lesley Vanikolo, Mike Catt etc were foreigners? No. People like a winning team and we need to put out a winning team, whether they have an English, Welsh, French or Australian accent.

If they apply for and gain citizenship how will they be masquerading?

I absolutely hate players playing for one country, then choosing another. Like Danny Brough, Willie Mason etc. But as long as he's eligable we should stick a cap on him, he's better that Karl Eastwood anyway.

That Dobson [imay[/i be the best of a bad bunch is not really an indicator of how good he is, but more an indicator of how poor SL scrum halves are these days (FWIW I think Leuluai has come on a lot since his days at Quins when he was carried by McLinden). Dobson does well leading around a team dominated by journeymen Aussie professionals, a bit like London in the early SL years, a team built like that is always going to be solid even if they don't tear up any trees. He's professional, they're professional, but I don't see them as trophy winning material.

I think Long in his pomp was the last genuine international class scrum half we had, albeit he was highly erratic and played in a side that was never strong enough to consistently challenge the Aussies, I've never particularly rated Deacon, but with hindsight, at his best he was better than the current crop of challengers.

Oh and I think Tomkins is class, no doubt about it, and he's class at fullback, I just think he's probably the best standoff we've got (maybe Pryce, injury free, on a very good day would give him a run). As for Chase he is decent don't get me wrong, he just doesn't stand out as being a better standoff than Tomkins, Pryce, or McGuire, but I suppose a lot of it would depend on how the standoff fits with the halfback.