With England having fallen to Australia this morning, it’s clear to see where the problems are for the Pommies, and international rugby league as a whole.
They may have scored the first try, but England were clearly outclassed by the Aussies. They were unfit, undisciplined and unravelled as the Kangaroos’ class shone through the second half.
The big difference that really stands out between these sides are the player combinations.
The likes of Johnathan Thurston, Cooper Cronk, Greg Inglis and Cameron Smith have played alongside each other for the better half of a decade, and their knowledge of each other is almost scary. T
hey know what they’re going to do before they even do it, and their combinations are brilliant to see. Just watch the lead up to Josh Dugan’s try when Smith and Cronk combined beautifully.
England, on the other hand, have their best crop of players playing in the NRL, while the rest are off in the Super League.
Another concern is that these players are picked from a plethora of different clubs, and countries for that matter.
I truly believe that the answer to England’s problems could lie in the lack of international games played.
For England to succeed, and any rugby league nation other than Australia and New Zealand for that matter, combinations need to be made, and an understanding of players needs to be made, and for that to happen, more Tests need to be played.
I’d really like to see a representative period played midyear, for both the Super League and NRL.
The Aussies can play State of Origin, while the Kiwis and Brits can play each other in a three match Test series. Similarly, nations such as Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France could play each other too.
The rest of the NRL and Super League could either be rested or you could possibly even throw in the Nines, which can be discussed at a later date.
Regardless, I think this could really benefit international league.
Wayne Bennett is going to be criticised for not getting England any more wins on the board, but realistically the man has barely had any preparation time, and neither has his team to forge any real combinations.
Players have such a little understanding of each other that sometimes it’s hard to blame them for dropping a ball or missing a tackle, because they barely have any trust in each other, and barely any knowledge of each other.
The fact that England won’t have any preparation before next year’s World Cup is a disgrace and they’ll just be going back to square one, and they won’t be the only nation.
The RLIF, NRL and Super League need to be conscious of International rugby league’s growth and the international game needs to be accommodated if the game wants to become big on the world stage. England need a fair chance of building combinations and so does every other league nation out there.
Parra
Guest
It's very frustrating to have a great product and not know how to sell it to the world etc. I wish someone would step up and make a decision.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
There are a lot of fools who get in the way of rugby league.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
Australia and New Zealand are equals. The only problem is that New Zealand haven't been playing like equals for a few games now and it is a worrying sign for them. There is no doubt they are capable of beating Australia in the final. But based solely on recent form, it looks unlikely. England are close to being equals to both nations but still need some improving.
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
Funding issues.
correct sometimes
Guest
and it happens in some sports and not others? they dont let Spain split into Catalona, Galicia etc
correct sometimes
Guest
keep talking the Kangaroos down
Dayer
Guest
why is great Britain split into 3 "states" why can't it be GREAT BRITAIN, it's like splitting Australia into two states, Qld and NSW.. can someone please explain how GB was slit into Eng, Wales and Scotland ....i think the whole concept is B A D.
Dayer
Guest
Tripod what is your problem ... its people like you that stops league from moving forward ... get a life
Cedric
Guest
I've been saying the same S-Attack for ages, while SOO is on NZ Samoa Tonga Fiji or PNG play a tournament. The Samoa vs' Tonga game alone would be huge in Auckland. With a bit of the right media beat up there would be sell outs at Mt. Smart Stadium. A series like that each year would certainly strengthen all teams involved! I don't know about England coming down, I don't think they would create the interest that the Island teams have here in NZ, Auckland mainly has a huge Island population!
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
Instead of negotiating them separately the RFL essentially lumped the Super League and international fixtures together as one package, thereby seriously undermining their negotiating value. Super League, on its own, rates just as well as union yet the RFL deal is roughly similar in price as union's but spread over a longer contract. The quicker the RFL can get themselves a negotiator the better.
tripod
Guest
Well just may be league have sold their rights extremely well because a bit of back of envelope maths tells me that nearly 300,000 people went to see 6 rugby internationals on the weekend so if international league have sold there rights for any more than a tenth of union they have cut a good deal But to get 30,000 to a game and then rate as well as a Union game England V Sth Africa in front of 83000 well.......... its just hard to believe.
Les Boyd's Elbow
Guest
England’s 2016 WC Squad should look something like this: 1. Sam Tomkins/Jonny Lomax 2. Germaine McGilvary 3. Kallum Watkins 4. Mark Percival/Dan Sarginson 5. Ryan Hall 6. George Williams 7. Jonny Lomax/Mark Sneyd 8. Chris Hill 9. Josh Hodgson 10. James Graham 11. John Bateman 12. Elliot Whitehead/Sean O’Loughlin 13. Sam Burgess 14. Daryll Clarke 15. Brett Ferres 16. Sean O’Loughlin/Elliot Whitehead 17. Scott Taylor/Ben Westwood/Other forward that stands up? Can’t believe Sneyd was not selected this year. Lance Todd Trophy winner and England need a general. This guys kicking game is excellent, he won the Challenge Cup for Hull this year with his boot. If he has another strong 2017 season he must be selected at halfback. George Williams has shown enough in my mind to be England’s long term stand-off. He possess a strong running game, and his short kicking game is pretty good too. Depending on form Tomkins or Lomax should be the fullback, young Lomax really impressed this morning. The rest of the backs pretty much select themselves, maybe Sarginson over Percival if he has a good season with the Titans. Widdop out, so too Gurgess and Turgess. Haven’t stood up this series after average seasons for Souths and will need to work very hard next year to come back into calculations. Even Surgess is a bit suspect, very error prone. Needs to get back to his 2014 form and England will be world beaters.
Republican
Guest
........I will hold you to that BS.
Mike from tari
Guest
Englands problems are more mental than anything else, the non NRL players have to somehow improve their mental fitness to push through the fatigue factor, I was impressed with Brown, not Widdup (he's really a fullback), if they can develop their halves they will be better off & the only way to do that is to organise more test matches.
Republican
Guest
........not sure if you are goading here or serious but sincerely, I am NO Kiwi which should be evident when you consider that many of my contributions to Roar over the years express an anti Kiwi sentiment in respect of their pseudo state membership of our domestic leagues. I can't see how NZ have been consistently going backwards. Over what time frame is this supposed to have taken place, the last couple of months perhaps? They are still ranked # 1 in the world in a code that is only niche in NZ while they may have lost a few on the trot to us, the last by only 6 points. When viewed with perspective, they have improved out of sight thanks largely to our supportive largesse, to actually be ranked number one in very recent times.
Republican
Guest
.......disagree. England and NZare on par with us. The result v England flattered Australia. NZ are competitive enough these days to roll us in the final because they have improved incrementally over the past 5 years especially. Remember the Kangaroos were very lucky to get out of gaol v NZ earlier in the round robin.
Mike from tari
Guest
By holding it in London & with the commentary having no atmosphere I found it interesting that I could hear from the limited crowd noise, there was a lot of cheering for Australia & booing against England so I surmise that a very large section of the crowd were expatriate Aussies living in London.
Epiquin
Roar Guru
There are so many internationals being played at the moment, with tier 2 and 3 nations fielding home grown teams. It would be good to see better structures behind the scheduling with clear progression.
Epiquin
Roar Guru
If everyone is so keen on having standalone Origin weekends, then NZ and England would be fools not to play a three game series.
Loup
Guest
Anyone know where to download or watch the game? Thanks