1, ball retention.
Too many of our forwards make crucial mistakes at vital times. Mossop, Tom B and Benny Westwood have a habit of dropping the ball.

2 Discipline
We cannot afford to give away too many penalties
Westwood and McIlorum and Chase cannot play in the same team and expect to win.
Chase and McIlorum need to concentrate on their performance not sticking their hand in opponents faces at every PTB.


3 Half Backs
are not creating enough to break down better defences. Passing the ball wide and exposing poor defence wont work against NZ.
McNamara does not know who to play at half back and in what combination.

4 Squad selection mistakes were made in the squad selection and it means S Burgess has to play at prop with Graham , Hill and G Burgess in the rotation.

5 The bench.
McNamara does not know what his best team is yet. Charnley or Briscoe on the wing. Burrow or McIlorum at hooker, What to do with Widdop, Sam B in the second row or Ferres and Farrell swapping around.

For England to have a chance all of the above need to be corrected, we need an error free game with superb discipline to give us a chance.

McNamara will not get it right.

With 'supporters' like you it's a wonder we're even in the semi!

Get a life! Support the team!

I was supporting Ireland.

I am only supporting England because it think it =#FF0000will be good for RL internationally and in this country . Otherwise i dont give a FF who wins. HTH

Go and support the Kiwis....

It wont be as advantageous for RL if NZ win. HTH.

Agree, although there is a sixth reason:

6 McBanana

The negativity that has been spouted about England's WC campaign had frankly been both dissapointing and a tad depressing, I get the feeling certain 'fans' want England to fail so they can say 'I told you so'.

We are through to the semis we have hammered 2 sides comfortably beaten a much improved French side and came the closest we've been to beating Austrslia since 2006.

Oh and the childish McBanana name calling is now getting tedious.

i agree

Pretty much sums some people up. They just want to be able to jump up and down in mock rage because their favourite player isn't included in the squad.

Think of Leeds in the years when they shocked the league when they hadn't been playing great and it all clicked at once at the right time. Playing bad sides sometimes pulls the worst out of teams with the scrappy nature the same way playing the best allows the team to rise to their very best. and the likes of Sam B and Tomkins have the potential to do amazing things.

Tired of this negativity no wonder the sport wont get huge internationally with fans like we have. England football are never going to win anything anytime soon but it doesn't stop fans believing in them and getting behind them with the hope and passion that with a good run of form it may all click.

Truth is that there is no pleasing England fans full stop. Even when we win, we can always find ways to poke holes in the performance. IF we do beat New Zealand next week it won't be through a great England performance, it will no doubt be due to the kiwis playing crap followed quickly with articles of why England won't beat Australia in the final!

Durham Giant is the most childlike of all the posters on rlfans. He's a reminder of what we might have been like when we were teenagers. But the poor petal never grew out of it. It's all simplistic thoughts, angst-ridden vendettas and schoolyard tantrums. Booo hoo.

It is rubbish pathetic posts like these that prove once and for all that the enemy is within. RL FANS, and I use that phrase carefully are the biggest problem within our game. With idiots like this bloke who needs enemies. Either get behind the team or clear off. Yes the game and parts of England's performances could have been better, but we are in the semi. It is 17 blokes against 17. Neither NZ or the Aussies have fired on all cylinders for a full 80. Everything to play for on Saturday.

England could win he cup and idiots on here would still complain about this or that player, the coach, the team bus, the shade of white in the shirt, the pies, the seats, certain clubs fans not turning up, the weather, London tube, M62 junction 8 the list goes on.

For once, just once could all fans of all clubs get behind England, pack Wembley and just shut up moaning. Sing your bl@@dy hearts out for the lad's who get battered time and time a gain and do it for us and themselves.

If you can't afford the train or petrol then set off tomorrow and walk to the game and raid money for a charity, but get there give it 100% unconditional support! and then and only then if we play poorly come on here an moan.

Of course failing that you SUPER COACHES / PLAYERS could always take up the game and get picked! Then Chase, Sinfield, McM, T Burg, and all the others you spineless muppets moan about can have a pop at you!

Rant over. Come on England, for Queen, country, the fans and yourselves time to get this monkey off our backs. The Kiwis and Aussies are just blokes like you. Give them HELL!

It's similar to when Sinfield won the golden boot, you would think that would be something to celebrate, but not in an English RL fans eyes it was just something to denegrate, it's been the only downside to a wonderful WC.

I can't see us winning but it's not any sort of huge mismatch that some would have you believe. They're slightly ahead of us in the talent stakes but any team that has Tomkins, Hall, Sam and George Burgess, Graham etc will have a chance of getting a victory in any game.

I will be going to the game with more hope then expectation but I went to the same Stadium in May hoping Wigan Athletic wouldn't embarrass themselves against the Billionaires of Man City and that turned out ok! If that can happen this is a doddle!

You don't give a 'FF' (whatever that is) yet rather than spending your Sunday evening with the family or in the pub, you sit down at the desk and type out a long winded rant about England RL. Makes sense!

Some people (myself included) are frustrated that what should be our best opportunity to have a serious go at winning this has been compromised by mcnamara's ego. Despite the whole rugby league world agreeing that danny brough was our best choice halfback he persisted with rangi chase, and refused to back down.

When you look at each respective players impact on the tournament it is clear he was wrong and 99.99% of people were right. Brough's impact allowed a very mediocre scotland side to advance to the quarter finals, including a fine display against arguable the strongest side in the competition in NZ.

Chases impact has been only to bamboozle his own team mates with his *off the cuff* crap that more likely that not sees him throw the ball away or confuse the rest of the team.

It is not so much not getting behind the team, as being really annoyed that such a good opportunity (our forward pack is the match of any, and outside backs are competitive) has been passed up due to the arrogance of one man.

What a load of crap! All I see from McNamara is a single minded approach to wining the World Cup. Thank the good Lord you are not the coach. Ego my ar$e. I sincerely hope Chase makes you eat your words come 3.30 on Saturday. And nothing will please me more than seeing McNamara stood next to the trophy as the winning coach. But of course I await the usual Rl Fans backlash of petty club calling and player slagging that passes for so called informed debate.

As I said above, this post is crap.

Whilst I have thoroughly enjoyed the WC, it was always going to be about the semis.

It’s been like a competition with Leeds, Wigan, Huddersfield and a smattering of Championship sides.

Just because level headed people cannot see past an Aussie v Kiwi final why must people criticize & call into question their patriotism?

All I read is, stop bleating & get behind your national side, well, I could scream as loud as possible along with sixty thousand like minded people, but it won’t make a blind bit of difference when the opposition are far superior.

But at least we’re going the right way, get another half a dozen top class English lads playing in the NRL & it will be game on.

Why won't 60,000 people screaming make a difference?

Based on the underlined bit of your weak at the knees comment our grandfathers should not have beat the Germans with their far better tanks and Air Force. But through hard word, backs to the wall and all that they succeeded.

I have followed the game week in and week out since age 8 in 1976. I have only seen us whitewash the Kiwis once 3 nil, but we have beaten great Kiwi teams of the past. The difference is the Kiwis have now a wider exposure via the weekly involvement in the NRL. I have never seen anything other than one off wins against the Aussies, but each year and each game I think this will be the one. And on a couple of occasions we have nearly don it. Only Meninga and Renouff moments of shear brilliance and luck have stood between us and Ashes success.

So on Saturday I will be one of the 60,00 plus singing and shouting my head off because unlike you I DO BELIEVE I AND OTHERS WILL MAKE A DIFFERNCE. Go shopping and then come on here on Saturday and tell me you told me so.

That Brough aligned himself with Scotland rather than fighting his way into the England camp tells a story in itself.

His performances in the World Cup have been gutsy but inconsistent and at times petulant.

He hasn't done anything that's made me wish he was English.

I though his post was spot on. I would love nothing more than Mcnamara stood next to the WC trophy. Fed up if seeing the Southern Hemisphere teams win the trophy. It would boost the profile massively in this country and give us the profile we deserve!

However Brough & Widdop are clearly our best half backs. Yet Mcnamara had chosen to stick Chase & Sinfield who just aren't working IMHO

Like the above poster I too am so frustrated that we genuinely have/had a chance of winning the WC yet Mcnamara got the two most important positions horribly wrong because of his single mindinness.

If we win the WC I will happily come on here and say I was wrong and eat humble pie. BUT Chase and Sinfield have not performed for 2 years together. We shall see.

Which bit exactly is crap? You disagree that the vast majority of experts placed Brough above Chase for England selection? The part that says chase's impact particularly against the better sides has been negligible? You will be the one eating your words when our half back pairing is found wanting against better opposition, and what is frustrating is the fact that it was not the best one available!

That is only opinion and has not been backed up by anything I've seen on the pitch so far.

I assume you missed brough's display for Scotland against the kiwis then. His place kicking kept the scoreline respectable due to the kiwis having to come out of their own half after them, his 40/20 gave the scottish a rare opportunity in the Kiwi's half and his breaks would have led to tries with better supporting backs.

Compare this with Chase's befuddled crossfield running, awful passing game and lack of any sort of understanding with the rest of the team. Oh he can pass the ball to himself though so i guess he doesn't need the understanding after all!