WN83

I'd been watching Wigan Athletic on 2 or 3 occasions before but was really looking forward to Rugby League at the Emirates but it was all just a bit flat. I don't think that all the talk in the build up to the World Cup was that we'd get a monster crowd for that game, with sales looking great and then we turned up to seas of empty seats. I wouldn't be against them going back mind against the Aussies, especially if they couldn't get Spurs. The capacity is much better than Wembley for us, which is just a but unrealistic to fill up.

Are the same guys making the decisions as back then though? The recent history has been to go to small venues and spend nothing on building an event but granted, it's been Tonga and Samoa. I don't think they will go with 3 safe options but I could see them going with something like Elland Road, a test in London and then somewhere like Wigan or Bolton, which would be the same/similar as that 2020 plan, which to me is still a bit 'safe'. I'd take 3 tests on St Pats field if it's on though.

The Aussie media make me smile with the pre game lines of Samoa being 'undercooked' and then after the game saying Samoa will be better for the run out. I must've missed all those warm up games England have been playing.

All that is spot on IMO. As much as it's a dump, Elland Road should be nailed on so we know we're guaranteed a sell out. That should be the only safe choice in the series and then they need to show some ambition. Spurs is an absolute must for me. It's a venue that is that good people will go just for the experience. I'd be happy with Everton/Man City but I still wouldn't be against Old Trafford as a venue for the North West. It isn't the Etihad or the new Everton ground but it's got tradition and tradition in hosting Rugby League matches. If that was a decider (a big if) I think you get 60,000 plus on, if not a full house. I just hope to god we don't find out it's on and they then stick with Headingley, Wigan and Saints/Warrington/Huddersfield. It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest because this current lot seem to be happy to do things on a shoe string and not have to put any work in.

I really hope it does happen but whatever the case may be, let's just get it sorted and announced. The lack of forward planning needs to stop. Thinking positive and presuming it does happen I hope they have some ambition with the venues and people really back it. Maybe younger fans don't really have the same nostalgia around Ashes Rugby League but personally I'd be like a kid at Christmas should it go ahead and I think plenty would be the same.

Haas will be immense if he's on board. When you see the talent spreading as it is, it just makes you hope we can get regular internationals planned well in advance and build it. We've never had as many good teams, yet we used to have series and four Nations comps that would now be so much better due to that spread of talent. Next week should be a good tussle and quite intense from the off after the late dust up. It'll be a bit of a damp squib if Samoa win and we're left at 1-1 mind.

The aim for England in this next couple of years will be to win an Ashes and then a World Cup (as unlikely as it is) and when it comes to games against the Kiwis and the Aussies, you'd imagine they'll be tight and based on territory much like the Grand Final a couple of weeks back. In the first 25 minutes of that Grand Final, I thought Wigan would've been in all sorts of trouble had they not had Harry Smith in the team. He got us out of trouble with his boot time and time again and those sides will put England in tough positions. It's no use having two fabulous attacking halves in your team, like Williams and Lewis if they're just defending their line all game and trying to make things happen from their own 40.

The frustrations that it isn't only grow when you read rumours that a game was cut due to Stephen Crichton's wedding, which would ensure as strong a Samoan team as possible only for him and a couple of his pals not to bother. I noted Luai in the week saying people will be blown away with the side they'll put out in the 2026 World Cup due other players who are committing to them but why are they waiting until then? if it means so much to them, why are they not in the UK now? They either want to play for Samoa or they don't and it shouldn't take certain tournaments and host countries to tempt them out.

That statistical comparison is borderline pointless from the BBC because while they play with the same shirt numbers on their backs at club level, they're totally different players. There is no way Smith can play like Lewis, he just hasn't got the physical attributes but Lewis doesn't come close in terms of game management and kicking a side around the field and that is so important in tight games, especially against better opponents than Samoa. As they shown last year against Tonga, they're actually a really well balanced paring but Williams is top class and it's tough to leave him out as well. Good problems to have at the end of the day. We have 3 players who cover all bases for us and allow us to play in different ways. Not only can you mix it up from the start of games but you can see how games are going and change it up as and when needed.

Aye, it certainly wetted the appetite and with sales looking strong for Headingley and the late game biff, I think we'll see a step up again. I've said it before but I just think this England side needs more opportunities to prove what it's capable of. It very sadly blew having a crack at the Aussies in the last World Cup final but in the main, they've been pretty dominant against the opposition they've faced. We need to see that next step up now and while I wouldn't expect us to win the Ashes next year, I think we can be really competitive.

If Nsemba plays next week, be it from the start or off the bench, it would need to be on that left hand side for me. He was good on the right early in the season but his game kicked on massively when he moved to the left hand side and he was unplayable at times. He looked so much more comfortable on the left defensively as well. Thompson and Nsemba to come in next week for me. Who to leave out isn't as straightforward though.

It's the only real error from Wane today not picking Nsemba IMO. His loyalty to players can be his biggest strength and greatest weakness. There are just some players you can't ignore and have to make room for and he's one of those. I lile Morgan Knowles but I don't see much point in him as a bench player. In terms of Bateman, he's definitely lost a bit of that fight that made him special but I'd still pick him and use Nsemba from the bench to cause a bit of chaos.

Happy enough bar some sloppy defence on our right hand side and giving them a couple of trys. I like where the side is at and have done for a while but we need to move on to some bigger tests. I thought our spine was the difference with all of them having good games and Farnworth and Young brought what we'd hoped for and are the type of big, athletic backs we've not had for a while.

They should both be playing IMO. Nsemba should have Knowles spot on the bench.

People talk about a Wigan bias with Wane but it isn't that, he's biased (loyal) to lads who've played for him before, be that ex Wigan players or lads he's picked for England. You look at the selection in the 24 of Chris Hill and now Bateman and McMeekan in the 17 and I think other options will feel aggrieved (I like McMeekan btw but he's missed a lot of rugby towards the end of the season) but he tries to show faith and hopes that will be repaid. In the main it has been but sometimes you just have to pick a new player and that should be the case with Nsemba. I'm not sure how you can leave him out but we'll see how we go.

Nsemba not being in the 17 feels a strange decision to me. We have this series before an away Ashes and I'd rather look at him today than in a first test away in Australia.

After a week of being miffed about the ticket sales, the incompetence shown by the RFL on a daily basis and so on, I'm now just pretty excited to watch the rugby on the field. Guess the crowd will be around that 15,000 mark, which frankly is not good enough but then I watch loads of international sport, such as the recent England tour to Pakistan in the cricket, where there are 3 men and a dog in the ground and it doesn't take away from the action on the field and it doesn't feel like they get too eat up about it. That doesn't give Rugby League a free pass and the whole sport needs to do better but the games here now and I'd rather be moaning about a game that is on then not having any at all. It should be a good game and hopefully one which helps build interest for the second test. Glass half full for the day and back to moaning tomorrow (or maybe tonight if we get beat)

Glad that the weather is looking well set for the day. Our backline looks as good as we've had for a long while, with plenty of pace and hopefully we can move the ball around a bit and be a bit more expansive then we could be against Tonga last year, when the weather was pretty poor from memory. Having Farnworth and Young in this year adds some excitement. We need some young forwards (young or inexperienced at international level anyway) to make a mark now, so hopefully we'll see Havard, Nsemba and Pearce-Paul step up and prove they're lads to take us forward and compliment that back line and spine, which all looks set fair.

I think England will win reasonably comfortably by about 12-16 points. The off the field stuff being so poor probably masks the fact I think we've got a pretty good side together and we've got too much in the spine positions IMO.

Hour or so before kick off now I'd imagine.

Samoa fart ar*ing about coming over hasn't helped IMO. It's not even the short notice to put tickets on sale that I think is an issue but more the fact that even Samoa (and I say that with all due respect) don't seem overly enthused by the prospect of playing in the UK. Only 5 or 6 years ago it felt like it would be a huge honour for them to come here and be part of a two team series, rather than being tagged on to a 4 nations or whatever but as it is, we had to wait and wait for confirmation, then a game was cut so one of their star players could have his wedding and then him and a couple of his mates decided not to bother. It doesn't exactly scream out 'you don't want to miss this' in regards to fans attending. All that being said we should still be doing better in terms of organising 'an event' and then publicising it and there should be enough interest in the series to get a 20k plus crowd on in a hotbed of Rugby League like Wigan.

I think we need to change it in Superleague, as well as when we host internationals. Give people something to talk about early in the week. There is also a commercial element to it. If I want to go on to a betting website and have a dabble, I've been able to put a bet on the try scorers, man of the match etc for Australia and New Zealand for most of the week but for the England game, they may now just be able to put some markets on. It's the same with the NRL and Superleague. You can put any bets you want on the NRL come Tuesday but for Superleague, you need to wait until Wednesday for Friday games, Thursday for Saturday and so on and that's if teams bother uploading their squad lists on time (Leigh, I'm looking at you! ha).

It would be bad enough handing it over to any club ticket office a couple of days out from a game but when I think they've handed it to our lot, it's absolutely terrifying!! At least they don't seem to have bothered publicising it (along with everything else), so it'll at least keep the traffic low. Feels like the guys in charge have hit new lows this week and that is some achievement.

Yeah or presumably you can phone the Wigan ticket office (not sure which is the worse option going off personal experience).

The team is being kept that much of a secret it could well be.