26 replies to this topic

[steavis]

http://stevemascord....uk-and-ireland/

[deluded pom?]

I want to see Samoa play England not the rest who aren't good enough for England.

[cookey]

I would prefer them to play France,rather than Scotland and would have thought that would have been more finacially viable.The costs would be roughly the same,but I'd have thought there would be a better crowd in France than Glasgow.Anyway,I'm sure its been looked at and they've come up with what is best.

[thirteenthman]

Good stuff, and not before time too. Lets hope in future years some sort of return tour to Samoa, and the other Pacific Islands, can be arranged.

[roughyedspud]

I want to see Samoa play England not the rest who aren't good enough for England.

better than them not coming at all mate..

[1976PMJwires]

better than them not coming at all mate..

Another positive post from you

any touring side is good for International Rugby League

[roughyedspud]

whats negative about saying samoa playing england knights is 'better than them not coming at all???'


or would you rather they did'nt come at all?? because they are'nt playing the full england team

Edited by roughyedspud, 15 March 2011 - 12:35 PM.

[Mortis]

Another positive post from you

any touring side is good for International Rugby League

I believe he was being positive.

Yes, any touring side is good for the game. We just need the RFL and everyone else involved in RL to promote the living daylights out of this especially in Scotland and Ireland. Free tickets for all children under 16 who play the game might be a good start along with incentives to the clubs in the area. Possibly something like "sell ten tickets, get one free" or such like. Let's not miss an opportunity like this.

[1976PMJwires]

whats negative about saying samoa playing england knights is 'better than them not coming at all???'


or would you rather they did'nt come at all?? because they are'nt playing the full england team

apologies, miss read it.

sorry

[deluded pom?]

better than them not coming at all mate..

Agreed 'spud but this tour won't be cost effective. You'll be lucky if they draw five thousand in total for all three games. They should have played the full England team as a tour opener. Good attendance and a proper warm up game for England's 4N campaign. They could then have gone on to play Scotland and Ireland.

[roughyedspud]

apologies, miss read it.

sorry

no worries...

[roughyedspud]

england are likely to play france in a warm up before the 4nations though....and i'd rather have a hit out against france than a fight against samoa

[deluded pom?]

england are likely to play france in a warm up before the 4nations though....and i'd rather have a hit out against france than a fight against samoa

Likely or will? If they do they'll be going into the 4N underdone.

[thirteenthman]

Likely or will? If they do they'll be going into the 4N underdone.

It depends on what sort of squad Samoa send over. If it's a squad minus the big names from SL and NRL (as I imagine it will be) then England will be better off playing France.

[Methven Hornet]

The Knights do need opposition, though, and surely playing a non-European nation will be good experience.

[deluded pom?]

You're right they do need opposition MH but I'm not a fan of the Knights concept.

[roughyedspud]

england will play france.....its my understanding its part of the 'deal' for them stepping aside mid season so we can play the other nationalities


and i don't get peoples opposition to the knights?? it's only our ENGLAND'A' /under 23's team how the hell are we ever going to develop the strength in depths to challenge the aussies if we don't have these sides??

[deluded pom?]

england will play france.....its my understanding its part of the 'deal' for them stepping aside mid season so we can play the other nationalities


and i don't get peoples opposition to the knights?? it's only our ENGLAND'A' /under 23's team how the hell are we ever going to develop the strength in depths to challenge the aussies if we don't have these sides??

I don't understand how England U23s (shouldn't they be good enough to pay for the full England team by 23? ) playing France in a low intensity game in front of two thousand makes them better developed? Australia or New Zealand don't have U23s so why do we feel the need?

Edited by deluded pom?, 16 March 2011 - 06:35 AM.

[roughyedspud]

because the general feeling is,amongst the powers that be that is, is that from the age of 17,18,19,20 we are more than a match for the aussies....but after that (21,22,23) we fall behind so i'm guessing its hoped that having these young players build there confidence against the likes of france & samoa or going on tours to play PNG,fiji or tonga for example, will aid the development better than wildly chucking them in against the aussies only to have then confidence dented setting them back years....just look what happened to stu fielden,soundly embarrassed in sydney in 2006 and it took him 4 years to get back to 50% of what he used to be....

should they already be in the full team by 23??? maybe...billy slater was 23/24....the morris twins where 23 , thurston was 22, robbie farah 25..dave shillington was 27 before he came good....

we tend to give players a crack at a much younger age....andy farrell,sam burgess where 18....scully, james roby,james graham,sam tomkins,tom briscoe & kyle eastmond where 19...

[gingerjon]

Struggling to see a negative to this.

England playing France as well - in France hopefully - is also good news.