Were you at the game?
If you were it's strange that you didn't mention Sinfields missed kick from the side of the posts, Grahams awful marker defence that let Italy score from dummy-half, a yard from the line, or his penalties (one for mouthing off). Then of course there was the George Burgess tackle right in front of the posts that gave the penalty for Italy to make the scores level.

Bar Sam Burgess, Sam Tomkins and maybe Widdop it was a very poor performance.

If Shaun Wane had coached that side they would still be on the pitch now, scared to death of walking back into the dressing room.

Genuinely made me laugh out loud ...

Sorry to everyone for being off topic, but you really should give it a rest mate, we all get it as you have said before you hate Wigan, and we get it, we know, your thin disguise of trying to be a reasonable pundit fools no one. I know what it’s like to go on other boards and being called a troll just for disagreeing with some idiot or other, but having said that I have sometimes let bile get the better of me, but when it does it’s best to stay away a while and try harder to be more constructive in your own posts, but you can’t can you? So keep on, ignore me and everyone else it makes no difference you will never succeed on here and a time will come when you will just be ignored all together. Back on topic. I think this game means little at this stage but I must say I doubt that the Australians would have let this happen to lose so close to the tournaments start. It just shows once again the difference in mind set is still there. It’s worrying.

Message to Pemps.

I have tried to send you a PM (as instructed), but I am not convinced if it went, below is my PM.

"I received an email last night which implied that a post of mine was not accepted in the thread England Team for Warm Up.
I could not see much wrong with my post, but if I have broken the rules I apologise.
My biggest problem now is sending this as a PM, because I have not a clue how to send one."

It always makes one feel better when one confesses, especially on a Sunday morning.

I was at Salford yesterday and saw a decent performance from the Knights, which was orchestrated by two half backs, Sarginson & Sam Powell, who seem to have played the full 80 mins. They guided the team around the pitch and organised well.
Then we get to the full England team against Italy and we had half a dozen different combinations at half back with seemingly nobody knowing what their roles were. If Sinfield and Chase are the number one choice they should have played the full eighty, they should train together, room together, eat together. We need a half back combination to work as a team and inspire confidence in the rest of the team.

Let's be honest, the whole 'Kevin Sinfield wonder-man' thing - as promoted so tediously for years by the likes of Eddie and Stevo - has become a major headache for England RL.

Whether or not Sinfield has the odd good game for England (though I've yet to see one), it now means the coach must constantly chop and change and play people out of position in order to avoid the embarrassment of having to drop his rashly-appointed captain.

It's an amazing mess that McNamara has got himself into on this.

Out of interest who is the knights coach?

Keiron Purtill I think.

I don't get the whole Sinfield bashing thing. He has been and still is a very good player. You make one very good point about the captaincy. I wouldn't select Sinfield against Australia as i think Widdop is a better 6 but making him captain makes him very hard to leave out. I would have stolen a Madge idea and selected a leadership group say, Sinfield, O'Loughlin, Graham, Tomkins and Westwood. Then choose the on field captain on the day.

That's my point.

As an individual player he's got class, and he seems a very decent bloke. But I don't think his end-of-season form was good, and I don't think, on the whole, he is as good in any particular position as other candidates currently in the squad. On top of that, he seems to get moved around a lot, which is no good to him or the team - and I can only assume this happens because McNamara has to save face by shoehorning him in somewhere, which is exactly the wrong way to go about constructing a representative side.

A leadership group might work, though what if they didn't get on? It wasn't that long ago when England's hopes of achieving glory were allegedly dashed because the Saints and Leeds players wouldn't talk to each other.

altho that rumour was put to bed in Terry Newton's auto-biog.

however, the point re the problems of Kev Sinfield are well made. poor decision by the coach to select a player who has always struggled to justify his England place as skipper.
with form/injury so much a factor in RL, we should only be naming the skipper as late as possible. perhaps the idea of a leadership team for the wider train-on squad with a 'leader of the pack' announced at the same time as the final squad.

New Zealand v Cook Islands WC warm up game is on Premier Sports at 2:45.

USA v Canada being shown NOW.

Didn't USA play on Friday?

It was about a 20th time repeat from the other week.

We are getting several threads on this - so here's one thread for all continual world cup discussion as the tournament progresses.

Really looking forward to the tournament kicking off now. What games are people going to? Would hope the QF at Wigan is well attended.

So far I've got tickets to

NZ v Samoa
Fiji v Ireland
England v Ireland
QF at Warrington
QF at Wigan
Final

Hoping to also go to Tonga v Cook Islands at Leyth, England v Fiji at Hull, the Wrexham QF and Wembley.

I'm attending Warrington (NZ v Samoa), Rochdale (Fiji v Ireland), St Helens (Australia v Fiji), Leigh (Tonga v Cook Islands) & Salford (Scotland v USA).

Have been called unpatriotic on Twitter for stating I've no interest in attending an England match. A la Zimbabwe!

i know and thats not what i said



i said i thought he was a left winger? my memory tells me hes opposed josh in the past, and played outside Senior...which makes him a left winger? I was tuned in when i posted and wondered if i'd imagined it :

I couldn't believe it when Sinfield was named as skipper and I still can't now. He's had an amazing superleague career but he's never produced the goods at international level and he shouldn't be a guaranteed selection. That is what you need in a skipper, a player that you know is a great leader but also one that you know will be in the side. I suppose that's the sad part, he will be in the side regardless of how he plays.

I'd have had him in earlier in the season as well but his form hasn't been good enough. I'd have selected Widdop and Matty Smith at 6 and 7 with Sam Burgess as captain and Lockers vice captain (with the job of skippering us in mid season games).

The bottom line is we've taken the guy who ran Bradford into the ground and put him in charge of the national team. That's a recipe for disaster & I still don't understand how he convinced the RFL to give him the job...

Cheapest option available at the time

Just got my tickets to the game at Wigan and the final.

Does anyone have any spares for the Ireland match? Looking for 3 if possible.

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-league/24580494 Good read

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-league/24580494 Good read

Hearing that Hock has been axed from the squad. Rumour had it that him, Graham,McIlorum and Hardaker had all been binned but I've just been told it's just Hock.

Idiot.

www.englandrl.co.uk/article/3397 ... -statement What an absolute moron.

www.englandrl.co.uk/article/3397 ... -statement What an absolute moron.