O loughlan is not a better 13 then Sinfield or stand off or better player and certainly not even close to being a better captain than Sinfield and he never has been or never will be any of the above.
Plus I think Danny Washbrook should be in the squad had a great season and rejuvenated his career at wakey. England 13 for me

The Exiles is an Exhibition match though, no NRL Clubs are going to release players mid season for that type of game.

Plays well when the Leeds pack is dominant, but what will he offer for England when we're getting battered by the Australian and New Zealand forwards? Does he have that bit of magic in him to turn a game? Unsure. Definitely got to play 13 if he's in the side for me.

the exiles game is'nt a test so we can't demand anything....


and we could'nt stipulate anything in regards to there being no series against OZ/NZ this year cos it's nothing to do with us...their players union got the players the year off...we just had to sit by and what it happen.

battered by the new zealand forwards???


the kiwis have'nt won in england since 2005......and every time kev has played against them since at home we've won and kev won MoM in a couple of them.......

Yes,i know what you are saying but like a said, with it being World Cup year and our only chance of a real challenge in a 2 year span leading up to it we should have got something in place.It obviously wont happen now though.

I keep hearing our pack is the match of anyones so this should not be an issue should it?

Why play him out of position for the international team? he has been playing stand off for 2 seasons now and has stated that is his position.He is way too light weight for the pack these days.

I hear that a lot too, easily the best pack in the World and have been for a decade is a common remark.
Forwards lay the foundation for a win.

Sinfield is big enough for Hooker or Lock, he is too slow for the halves.
A good Test Stand Off has to have enough pace to either run himself and break down a defence or at least acceleration to get outside his man and launch his outside backs.
If a team knows a players pace can not get around them then he has not sown any doubt in their minds and defensive structure, they adjust and snuff him out.
I do not think Kev has this ability at Test level.
Australia and even NZ love a player like Sinfield played in the Halves, they plan and target his limitations and shut him down and cut off supply to his outside men.
The game is already half way won.
Just my thoughts though.

Apart from when they don't?

England V NZ 2011 28 -6 (MOM Kevin Sinfield)

England V NZ 2009 20 - 12 (MOM Kevin Sinfield)

I don't get this 'no pace' arguement.
He isn't exactly slow.

I can't remember Wally Lewis or Brad Fittler streaking up field leaving clutching tacklers behind them. They made gaps with passes and controlled the game. They bust tackles too. I've seen Sinfield run at the line plenty of times and cause problems.

It doesn't matter whether you play Sinfield at 6,7 or 13. He will play the same game.
You just have to fill the other roles appropriately.

We have given other players the chance to do this now, with more speed and although sometimes looked good, controlling the game is always the part we lose.
When Eastmond and Tompkins played together they looked sparkley and we talked about them being half backs of the future. Problem is they are both strike players and can't get the team rolling.
Sinfield can do that.

If he plays at stand off we need a scrum half who can run, like McGuire or Myler or even Brough to be honest. If he plays at scrum half we need a stand off like Chase or Widdop. If he plays loose forward we have to accept we are losing a back row from Burgess, Ellis, Westwood, etc.

Personally assuming McGuire and Widdop aren't fit I'd have him in the halves. I don't like Chase but if we are picking him we might as well play him and tell him to run the ball. I don't think Myler quite has it but Warrington fans may say different.

That would mean with Roby at hooker we could have 5 monsters in the pack that we can get rolling like we are supposed to do. And a player that will lead them around the pitch.

Fittler and Lewis scored tries from inside their own half frequently when they were younger, they both had body types that filled out as they aged and were more suited at Lock, like many others in the game.
Fittler was initially a centre and was one of the fastest players in the game as he came through the ranks.
If you have a Stand off that can not beat his opposite defender either with pace or strength it hardly leave the defensive team wondering about strategy.

This isn't right - Sinfield has always been completely crap at international level. Never done anything. It's a Well Known Fact.

Not sure why you quoted 2009.

because england won and kev was man of the match

He has always looked pretty average against Australia except for one game where he was either Hooker or came of the bench as Hooker and played really well.

But he played Hooker not Stand Off....

he still ran the game..does'nt matter if he's hooker or stand off he'll still be organizing everything around him.

Oh, Ok.

Only until Roby came on.

Excellent choice of captain: superb leader both on and off the field and will do the role justice.

Now that he is the captain he is guaranteed a starting spot and I wouldn't want to put him into the halves, I'd be more inclined to play him from 13, but the problem with that is selecting the right players around him. As alluded to above, the fact that Sinfield can be the organiser will mean that we could utilise two running halves without having to worry too much about the kicking game and their organisation capabilities.

The fact is that Tomkins has to be moved into the halves, he was isolated in the match against Australia last time out and we really cannot afford for our best player to be ineffectual in a world cup.

1. Hardaker/Ratchford/?
6. Tomkins
7. Myler/McGuire/Widdop/?
9. Roby
13. Sinfield

The outside backs and pack picks themselves.

Sinfield may not have the out and out skills of a Lockyer or a Thurston but he is head and shoulders above anything we have in Super League in the organising half back role.

If our Pack can even match the aussies(and we havn't recently although have done ok against the kiwis) then it gives him a chance to run the game like he has done for Leeds in the big games time and again.Its easy to slate Sinfield for not being good enough in the past against OZ, but lets not forget he has been playing in a team that has been second best and on the back foot from the start.

Slow Halves will hardly ever win big games nowadays.
Australia carried Lockyer for a season or three too long because of his legend status and to his credit he played some decisive roles in some games but he also detracted from Australia's running attack in many ways, the combination of Cronk and Thurston will prove more effective.

Teams with dynamic Stand offs that can run the ball and break a defensive structure or upset it enough to put others through the line are what is needed.
Especially for England where the old chestnut of scoring more than your opponent usually wins games.
Man for man Englands backs are not as good as Australia's in most peoples opinions.
If they do not get the opportunity to even run the ball as much as Australia's backs then the result is already decided.

A comprehensive kicking game, a chase that is as good or better than Australia's, play for field position, forwards punching holes and turning the ball back inside or spreading it from 30 yards out.

There wont be many breakout tries from long distance because Australia has enough pace to run it down including Tomkins.

He was never that mate. You need to go back and check the vids.

Lewis did not run the length of the field purely on pace. He was not slow, but was not a fast runner. He was however skillful, deceptive and strong.
I'm not saying Sinfield is Lewis by a long way but he has much more in his armoury that just speed like some and he has scored tries himself by by running the ball.

We have plenty of speedsters that never get the chance because no one can open the door. If Sinfield can do that, I'd have him in the team (and at half back). And I think he can.

I've no axe to grind. I've no love for the Rhinos particularly. But I think it is time to give Sinfield a real shot at international level. It's no good putting him in at hooker or asking him to tackle everything at loose forward. We have others who can do that. We don't have what he can offer with ball in hand or on toe.

Pretty much seals my decision to completely ignore the internationals until silly macnamara is gone from his job.