i dont myler ahead of tomkins either and only 1 prop on the bench, woyld have started roby and made eastmond do a short stint at hooker. Not suprised fox hasnt made it tho!

Think about who just paid big money to sign Myler and i think you have may have your answer as to why he has been picked



Fox was very ordinary on Friday and didn't deserve to be picked, that said he would probably have been playing had O'Loughlin not had to pull out. Welcome to the strange world of Tony Smiff

And that is the exact reason that a club coach should not be an international coach.

Can see us getting turned over by the french, They will be pretty strong and very used to each other especially with the likes of Greenshieds being added.

Westwood should be no where near the squad, think he's had a poor year. Surprised at the omission of Carvell, maybe saving him for the bigger test the week after, are we taking hte french too lightly.

Congratulations to Shaun, long over due

Good luck to them on Friday and through the rest of the tournament. Myler is lucky to have held his place, but apart from, the at least understandable, exception of Burgess in the 2nd row, everybody is in their normal position and the team looks to have a decent structure. I can't see what people see in Lee Smith, but if Bridge made the squad and O'loughlin was really being considered for a centre spot that says everything.

Shame for Fox, but this coach clearly doesn't fancy him - at least this time he missed out to two talented young players with real potenial to make an impact at international level in the coming years.

I'm not one for conspiracy theories normally, but I think Tony Smith used the Wales friendly, in very small part and maybe even subconcsciously, to find an opportunity to get Briscoe in ahead of Fox. He obviously rates Briscoe to have picked him for the elite squad when injured and for the train-on squad after only a handful of games back. Club bias aside, Briscoe will be at very least adequate and I hope he does excellently over the next few weeks. [size=42And earns a move to Wire[/size

Perfectly acceptable decision, he has lost his form.

Fox needs to show up in big games, something he has yet to do.

He has failed to show up in any game for the last few months. Hopefully he'll take it on board as its the second time in two years he's missed out.

I think he'll come back a better player for it, I like the direction Smith is showing these youngsters in the international set up. You don't perform you won't play simple.

Hopefully it make our national side a lot more hungrier in the future.

Although Tomkins missing out is a bit baffling.

unless you've signed for warrington of course, surely if briscoe has rightly been picked instead of out of form foxy, what happenened with myler getting the nod instead of tompkins?

Yes thats why Sam is playing 6

i see what you did there

Yeah just edited that not had chance to look at the team.

Still again though its about building for the future, if Tomkins missing this series means it will make him a better player in the future. You have to protect a lot of these youngsters because the Aussies and Kiwis can knock all confidence they had in them.

Still I don't think Tomkins has had as much good form lately as Macguire, who along with Sinfield carried Leeds the last few weeks of the season.

Biggest shock for me was Carvell missing out.

Two different players in my book, your going to get trouble with both DM and ST in half backs, it just won't work out IMO. Tomkins plays at his best as a second reciever out wide, he won't be in that role if he was to play SH.

but a lot more than myler, and Mcguire has regularly played scrum half when burrow has been injured this year.

I can't for the life of me see how smith can pick myler when his own club wouldn't play him for the last 2 months of the season and tompkins has been pulling up trees, it beggars belief and smacks of self interest.

I wouldn't class scoring a hat trick against Wales as pulling up tree's. For me Tomkins and Maguire doesn't work. Too similar to work together as a half back combination.

I think Smith has done the right thing maybe he should have offered the bench spot to Tomkins instead of Eastmond.

i agree with everything you said except tomkins on the bench, eastmond an cover more positions.

the pulling up trees was more do to with the way he finished the season with Wigan.

Smith doesn't play his halves in first and second receiver, he plays left and right half backs, always has wherever he has coached, so to me there's no reason tompkins and mcguire can't play together. Don't get me wrong I think myler will be a big talent if he continues his development but for a coach who reckons he picks on form how can he justify picking a lad who hasn't played for months?

Not as good as Morley, Graham or Peacock so not a real shock. The shock is perhaps only going with three props. Although when Westwood comes on Burgess could easily move up to prop to make the fourth.

It is far from an outrage. However in the last 5 weeks of the regular season Fox scored 5 tries. The only really rubbish bit of play from him I can recall was allowing himself to be tackled in-goal by Tomkins in the Wigan play-off game. He was still rated ahead of Briscoe when the full squads were announced. Between that announcement and yesterday something has happened to make T. Smith feel he [ineeds[/i Briscoe and he should be brought in for an injured loose forward. Now, selecting an England team is about winning matches, not being fair to the individual players and it is Smith's job on the line. I've got no problem with him making a hard-nosed decision if Briscoe has been brilliant in training or Fox very disappointing. If the decision was based to any significant extent on the Wales friendly, then it strikes me as bizarre.

Still, the team has been picked now and I'm looking forward to the tournament.

I understand where your coming from because fox has been the form winger for the season.....But, Fox was aweful against wales so I wouldn't say it was bizarre, it's just a case of being replaced due to a poor performance.

I would not be surprised if Fox returned for the "Bigger" games against Australia and New Zealand.

I think Smith is just giving Myler and T.Briscoe a run out against France to help there development

I think his selection is probably based on the fact that Tom Briscoe has the potential to be a very special player. Not saying he'll get there, as many before him have had similar potential at 19 and failed to fulfil it. Realistically we're going to get beaten in 2 out of the 3 games, so he's maybe thinking along the lines of Briscoe and Hall (although his selection is automatic IMO) being the core of England back line in the future so instead of picking Fox (who's had a fuller and more prolific season but is 25 in a couple of weeks, so mid career rather than at the start) he's gone for a very forward-looking option. Time will tell. Just hope that Briscoe doesn't lose his confidence if selected against Australia, as it's a big ask at 19 to front up against that calibre of back line. Like Willa, I think it's likely Fox could be recalled at that point.

I just didn't see Fox as being that bad. I honestly didn't think 'that is the sort of performance that might have cost him his chance.', like I did for Sykes and Myler

I think 'Briscoe was good' is a slightly better argument.

I hope Fox has been well man-managed if their is any prospect of a recall. You don't want a player low on confidence going up against Vatuvei or Hayne.