Ten things I learnt from the third Test

I see what you mean. I think they can do a lot better too. But that is not say they haven't been doing well. One thing New Zealand can't do is to rest on its laurels.

Agree with most of these Andy. 1. Jermaine McGillivary should have played in all three Tests Spot on. Before the series I wanted him and Burgess as the wingers, but with Ryan Hall always going to be picked it he is fit one of them had to make way. McGilvary definitely demonstrated that Macca got that call wrong with his performance at Wigan. 2. England coach Steve McNamara made a very good call to bring back Wigan scrum half Matty Smith to the starting line up. Again spot on. Williams doesn't have a particularly good kicking game yet (he has Smith alongside him at Wigan to do that role) and there was far too much onus on Widdop to create and organise in the first two tests. It was absolutely inexplicable that England had two recognised halfbacks in the squad and didn't pick either of them for the first two matches. Smith is a good organiser and has a good kicking game and it worked. But I'm gutted Gale didn't get a shot. 3. New Zealand coach Stephen Kearney should have picked Benji Marshall There must be some subtext here that we are not aware not vis a vis the relationship between Kearney and Marshall. Benji is not the player he was ten years ago but he is still quality, still knows how to control a game and with Foran and Johnson out was heads and shoulders above any other available option. He might as well announce his international retirement if he can't get a game with those two not fit. 4. Gareth Widdop England need to build the team around Widdop at pivot. He has been impressive in the past, plays week in week out in the NRL and this time round I feel he really wasn't helped by the tactics and selections of McNamara. The return of Sam Tomkins will help. 5. John Bateman is a Test class player, but just not at centre. Another of McNamara's bad selection decisions, of which there were a few. Bateman is a star, him and Whitehead in the second row with Ferres from the bench has incredible potential. But Liam Farrell seems to be undroppable, despite being a penalty magnet. 6. Sam Tomkins needs to lose his beard I like beards. I have one myself. But they just don't suit some people and I think Sam falls into that category. Certainly not the big bushy kind he is currently sporting. If he wore it shorter I think it would look a whole lot better on him. 7. Raiders recruits I'm not the biggest fan of Hodgson but it is great that more and more English players are playing in the best rugby league competition in the world. 8. Ben Thaler was the right choice as referee Thaler is a better referee than Sutton so no argument here. 9. Lizzie Jones should sing at all future big rugby league occasions She has a lovely voice. 10. The future of England’s head coach I think it's time for McNamara to go. He is not a particularly good coach and as we have discussed some of his selection decisions beggar belief. No recognised halfback in the first two matches of a test series? I know Sinfield wasn't an out and out halfback but he was an unbelievable organiser and had one of the best kicking games English rugby league has seen, and he gave freedom to the other players to play. Playing a gun second row in the centre? Applying tactics that seriously underuse two of your best attacking outside backs in Watkins and Hardaker?. No, I think the time has come for Steve to go. I genuinely think McDermott or Powell could take this team to the next level and that McNamara doesn't have what it takes. We have improved under his tenure but one has to consider that we have a lot of very talented players, an increasing number of whom are plying their trade in Australia. We should be competing against the best, and winning more than we have done. This might sound a bit down in the dumps given we have just beaten NZ, but with the number of players NZ have out we were perhaps even favourites for the series. I think there have been a lot of missed opportunities in McNamara's tenure in terms of beating Australia and NZ. After last year's Four Nations where we played some excellent rugby league I thought he had turned the corner but some of his decisions this series have been really poor, inexplicable even. Thanks Steve for all your efforts but I think it's time to move on.

yes and no; I think you've got to look at the 60s to perhaps the early 90s. Not too many kiwis in the NRL. Infact in 76 I think there was about 2, Henry Tatana at St George and the wests centre whos father was I think an Aussie. Come the 80s a few more Graham, Mcgaghan the whiz and a few more. These days, they say 33% are polynesian. I think the Kiwi team were very competitive from the 50s through to the mid 90s, a time when hardly many kiwis were in the NRL. What happened next was more and more kiwis in the NRL then we got a few hidings, why I don't know? So what I'm trying to say is now with all the kiwis in the NRL we are competing just a bit better then before, against the Roos' to which I believe looked tired and then against an uninsipiring English team. In beating these two countries we didn't use creative back play we just ground the wins out, and also used the brilliance of a few. In my book the Kiwis can do alot better! Not the players, the coaching selections and structure of their attack, their defence is already there, even when Mannering was missing!

I was thinking something similar. Under Kearney, New Zealand became the number one ranked side in the world. This is the first time that New Zealand have ever officially been number one. Under Kearney, New Zealand have played in two World Cup finals and won one of them. It was the first World Cup title in league for New Zealand. This is not including the Three-Nations and Four-Nations accomplishments New Zealand have achieved under him. Whatever else Kearney has done wrong, he has clearly done more right.

Under this blokes tenure NZ have risen to be rated first in the world rankings, they've also won a world cup. They have been beaten 2 - 1 away from home in a test series with several of their experienced starting players missing against the country ranked third. A coach lives or falls by his team selections and he chose to blood young players, presumably, to offer alternatives in key positions going into future competitions. Should the Kiwis perform poorly in next years four nations then there are serious issues leading towards the next world cup, but I would suggest the brouhaha surrounding his squad and team selections during the recent test series is nothing more than a storm in a tea cup. Stephen Kearney is in a more informed position than he was this time last month and this will be to the Kiwis benefit going into 2016.

CT I think your right that was experimenting with the halves when they could have picked Bengi and John and quite likely won the test series and then used Johnson and Foran with someone else as back in 2017. Why experiment, that was international footy not reserve grade in Whangarei. If I was Kearney I'd have, well I wouldn't have done that. That test series will now be read, for all time, as a loss; Coach Kearney!!!!!!!!!!!!

I find the Benji issue shocking too, who knows the answer about Isaac John? Over kEARNEY'S time there are too many other issues to list. The biggest problem I have with Kearney and his selection panel is the possibility of losing now, but maybe winning in the future when they decide to leave out good players to blood young guns. And Kearney and co. also state they are changing the culture by leaving these good players out. Is that a good culture when you are the best player and your attitude doesn't fit so your gone. That to me shows a lack of leadership by Kearney and also an unstable enviroment for leading players to contend with. It's a difficulty for the best players to be dealing with, in so far as to think maybe I could be gone even though everyone knows I am the best choice for that position. I think Kearney has coached the Kiwis for 6 or 8 years, and there is a culture issue!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well what has he done about it. The culture issue is his, if there is a culture issue he has let it manifest under his leadership or has this culture manifested itself from his leadership. I would think the latter. His hearts in it for sure but he's out of his depth, NEXT!

I suppose with Benji's omission, Kearny has his eyes on RLWC17. Good time to start experimenting with halves combos now than a year out from the tournament. Disappointing with the series loss but am sure Kearney isn't devastated.

I'm a fan of them too. For one thing, a three-Test series allows for a story to be told. And really, what is promotion and publicity but a story?

Why didnt the Kiwis consider Issac John. Didnt he play the mid year test against the Kangaroos? I was shocked that Benji didnt get a run!

+1 good points agreed. Yep, fans in those parts enjoyed it, London pulled 45K, but as a neutral (aussie), I just find the poms vs kiwis fire up more when in a 4-nations or WC round robin format, but hay I could be wrong. As I'm not from pom/or kiwi.

You may be onto something. My impression is that when there is something on the line, English fans turn out. Witness the Challenge Cup & Super League finals as well as the World Cup semi-final. But given that each match in the series were almost sellouts (stadium sizes notwithstanding), I think the three Test format is fine. Perhaps it was that the fans weren't really sure what to expect? I don't know. I just hope they keep playing them each and every year.

Andy, I prefer England vs Kiwis, in a 4-Nations format(1-round robin game only, and maybe the final). The series, felt boring the 1st 2tests, and everyone was waiting for the 3rd and hoping it was a decider. The 3rd had more more energy and zip from the fans. The 1st 2 tests lacked fizz and passion from the fans. 3-tests too long. I have doubts now if a an Ashes GB series would work after watching this 3-test series. Too long as well. Next kiwi tour I'd like to see 1-test vs Eng/1-Test vs France/1-test vs rest of Europe all stars side(no Eng/Fra) players can be picked.

I forgot to add something. McNamara's record as coach against Australia and New Zealand as a failure is a bit of a misnomer, I think. England were ranked a distant third behind Australia and New Zealand. It was entirely reasonable for England to lose all of the time to these two nations. But ever since he has taken over, he has slowly built his team to be a fully competitve outfit that fights for the entire 80 minutes. Yes, they have lost but they have improved each time. Now they have a deserved series victory over the workd number one Kiwis and provided they play their cards right, can look forward to a much brighter international future.

Fair enough. I thought Hiku showed some good signs, at least when he was running to the line. I thought he looked dangerous and could very well be a decent enough six. Is there a reason Kearney would think that Martin wasn't the man to go with?

I understand your argument regarding Benji but if Johnson and or Foran are unavailable in the future (RLWC2017) Te Maire Martin would likely be a regular first-grader by then and surely if Kearney was adamant that this was the time to look at alternatives Martin would have been the man to go with. Hiku will likely never play in the halves again and Nikorima is probably a 9.

I admit to not knowing anything about McGillivary. But boy, I was impressed. He was hard to handle and he didn't look out of place at all. If anything, my favourite, Thundercat Hall, was disappointing though his hit up work-rate seemed great. I thought the backs did a great job of assisting the forwards. A proper half-back is a must. I don't know why it took so long for Smith to be selected. Benji not playing allows others to get valuable experience for the Four Nations and the World Cup should something again happen to Johnson and Foran. I understand that there may be some underlying problem between Kearney and Benji but while I wold like to see him play, I think there is more benefit for the future with Benji not playing. Benji will be, what, 32 or 33 years old by the time of the next World Cup? I rate Widdop and think he is a good foil for someone like Smith or Gale but perhaps he simply tried too hard in this series? I don't understand why McNamara didn't bring in Smith or Gale from the first Test. Other than that, he has done well with his English team. He has got them to compete until the very end and believe in themselves. I think that will be his legacy with English rugby league. I prefer watching the English referees. They are used to officiating a match on their own and seem to allow the players to play. Are they biased? I don't know. I think they are professionals and if they are biased, then I can't see them being any more biased than other referees. To me it is a non-issue.