Re: Changes for 3rd Test : Tue Nov 10, 2015 3:40 pm  

Mr Churchill wrote:

Saturday is make or break for McNamara. A 20 point win (however it's done) and he keeps the job for at least 12 months. A repeat of the last test and surely he's a gonner. Then what? Push the boat out to bring Sean Edwards back to what "his heart is in"?

Can't really believe i'm saying this but i think Shaun Wane would make a terrific England coach.

Edwards and Wane, that would be a great combo imo.

Re: Changes for 3rd Test : Tue Nov 10, 2015 4:43 pm  

Mr Churchill wrote:

Saturday is make or break for McNamara. A 20 point win (however it's done) and he keeps the job for at least 12 months. A repeat of the last test and surely he's a gonner. Then what? Push the boat out to bring Sean Edwards back to what "his heart is in"?

An England win & McNamara keeps his job. Unless the RFL have the balls & resources to bring in someone like Edwards. I wouldn't necessarily mind Wane being given a go. At least you might see some attacking structure & aggression in defence. At international level I'm not sure how much is game tactics & how much is getting the team mentally ready for the match. I can't imagine Aussie coaches spend too much time on the former, they generally have enough talent & big match experience in the squad to do the basics right.

Re: Changes for 3rd Test : Tue Nov 10, 2015 5:22 pm  

Biff Tannen wrote:

McGuire,Ablett and Burrow are not even in the squad and likely on a beach somewhere. And even if Burrow was selected, he has very rarely played in the halves for the past 3/4 years.

Those players whom you think are on a beach somewhere -- be it Blackpool or Bondi -- should be called home and called up immediately. This is a crisis for England and its long term morale, because New Zealand are playing for the first time without both their star halves and play makers, Shaun Johnson and Kieran Foran, and also without their second choice replacement Thomas Leuluai.

The Leeds players I have identified are unlikely to have lost all their fitness already. I was thinking of Ablett as a bench replacement anyway, so he would only need to play 15-20 minute spells.

As for Robert Burrow, his playing style makes little difference whether he is hooker or scrum half. He is a live wire, and he could ignite the English attack in a way not seen in years.

Re: Changes for 3rd Test : Tue Nov 10, 2015 6:18 pm  

Who is Carlos Ablett?!!!!Didn't realise we were searching Mexico for our English. Also I'm pretty certain it's Juan Carlos anyway!!!

Re: Changes for 3rd Test : Tue Nov 10, 2015 6:41 pm  

tigertot wrote:

An England win & McNamara keeps his job. Unless the RFL have the balls & resources to bring in someone like Edwards. I wouldn't necessarily mind Wane being given a go. At least you might see some attacking structure & aggression in defence. At international level I'm not sure how much is game tactics & how much is getting the team mentally ready for the match. I can't imagine Aussie coaches spend too much time on the former, they generally have enough talent & big match experience in the squad to do the basics right.

Wane would be ideal for the way our game is right now. He would them up and probably get the best out of limited players we have.

Which is why he would be entirely the wrong appointment. There should be one person with a responsibility for the pathway taking players from 5 to England, someone to put in place the necessary structures and systems from top to bottom and get rid of the nonsense patchwork we currently of massively different levels of investment, some clubs having academies, some not, some having U23's some not, some with dual reg, some not. Thats where we need to be, with elite development and international achievement as a priority not an afterthought with a part-time coach trying to fire up our limited player pool for the occasional underdog victory.

Re: Changes for 3rd Test : Tue Nov 10, 2015 9:24 pm  

Bullmad86 wrote:

Who is Carlos Ablett?!!!!Didn't realise we were searching Mexico for our English. Also I'm pretty certain it's Juan Carlos anyway!!!

I must have confused him with another player.

Re: Changes for 3rd Test : Tue Nov 10, 2015 10:58 pm  

Can't think of a player who would improve us. Players win matches not coaches. Though agree somewhat with Brian Carney that S McNamara isn't the personality for international sport coaching/management.

Re: Changes for 3rd Test : Tue Nov 10, 2015 11:22 pm  

McNamara has got himself into a bind before in short series, by not making changes after the first game. I'm not talking unnecessary wholesale changes, but one or two where players didn't fire. I understand the temptation to 'stick with a winning team' but in a Test series you have to expect the other side to adapt, especially after a loss. If you don't and lose the middle test, you're then looking at picking players who have yet to play and are by definition rustier than the incumbents. Which for a conservative coach would tend to push even more for sticking with the players already used.

Re: Changes for 3rd Test : Wed Nov 11, 2015 1:47 am  

JEAN CAPDOUZE wrote:

I must have confused him with another player.

Surely Lucas Gale is deserving of the number 7 shirt?

Re: Changes for 3rd Test : Wed Nov 11, 2015 2:27 am  

Towns88 wrote:

Surely Lucas Gale is deserving of the number 7 shirt?

Is this the same player known in Germany and Hungary as Lukas Gale?

If so, I wouldn't think that he deserves the shirt ahead of the "Jack in the box" known to the Royal Family as Robert Burrow.