4 Nov: England v New Zealand KO 2.30pm (BBC TV)

[Lowdesert]

From banging on the Arkles door at 1030 to Makinsons match winning try - great day.

NZ threw the kit bag at us but we prevailed and went into the 2nd half level, but the 2nd half was ours.  

The partnership of Connor and Makinson is a threat to any side and our forwards won the day v very physical Kiwis.  We should fear no one.  We are confident, good enough and will continue to improve.

Hodgson was criticised heavily on here, but he was limping badly 2nd half and just kept going.  Guts.  Whitehead?  What can you say.  Must be the form 2nd rower in the world right now.

The sea of red and white flags down the Dalglish stand looked fantastic when the whistle blew.  Let’s top it off now in Leeds.

[Dunbar]

The English forwards deserve huge credit. The Kiwis came out fired up and tried go out muscle the English pack.

But with 20 minutes to go England were massively on top. That is all about fitness and mental toughness.

[Gerrumonside ref]

Just watched it again and T-Mak was tremendous in every sense.

[Cumbrian Fanatic]

First item on the BBC sports news, showed all the tries too, that must be a first

[MrPosh]

28 minutes ago, Gerrumonside ref said:

Just watched it again and T-Mak was tremendous in every sense.

He'd have been in with a shout of MotM for his defence alone. 

[Futtocks]

12 minutes ago, Cumbrian Fanatic said:

First item on the BBC sports news, showed all the tries too, that must be a first

Good to know, as I tuned into Radio 5 early this morning and... well, the match would got had more of a mention if it had been cancelled.

[dkw]

1 hour ago, graveyard johnny said:

the game was far from outstanding or amazing as some posters are saying- it was a stop start, error strewn, penalty ridden,  stop the clock for a suspected broken bootlace affair, let the game flow- please just let it flow

Yawn. 

[dkw]

1 hour ago, Chronicler of Chiswick said:

At the end I could have sworn that I saw Wayne Bennett give a slight smile and cheer - never seen that before!

It was quite disconcerting, like seeing your doctor grin at you just before starting a vasectomy. 

[Futtocks]

29 minutes ago, Cumbrian Fanatic said:

First item on the BBC sports news, showed all the tries too, that must be a first

A very decent report, full of positives.

[Rupert Prince]

I have just read that the pitch was reduced to 90m to accommodate  the in goals.     On first thought I felt this was something of a downer on the game. Its a pity the pitch has to be shortened because of the football stadium.

On reflection that means it was about 98yds.   I am wondering now if the official length of the game used to be 100yds or was it 110yds. The old 25yd line would seem to suggest that the typical accepted length was 100yds, with each half itself cut in half with the 25yd line.

[themainbrace]

Great performance in the 2nd half by England today.  2-0 against NZ and given that NZ beat Australia a few weeks ago, should we be getting carried away yet?

[JohnM]

Still waiting for the penalty count analysis from graveyard johnny.

[Clogiron]

43 minutes ago, Cumbrian Fanatic said:

First item on the BBC sports news, showed all the tries too, that must be a first

On the BBC news channel sports news at 17.30 it was the sixth item, wonder if some ***** have been kicked!     A superb performance from England, quite a few of those players have increased their market value viz the NRL, wonder if Bennett might be after taking a few to the Rabbitohs with him. Really are impressed every time I see Elliott Whitehead, overall wasn't as prominent today but every touch or tackle is class and sums up situations better than many half backs, must be a coaches dream as you always know what you're going to get from him.

The Kiwis look to be between two stools at the moment, there trying to play the McGuire way but it goes against their natural instincts and in fact look more dangerous when they play to those instincts. It could go either way for them but now that he's got a full-time gig in the NRL I would suspect that McGuire might jump ship in frustration shortly down the line.  No matter, it's good to have a successful national team once again but I doubt if the game has the administration to capitalise on it unfortunately, same old story.

 

[Rupert Prince]

18 minutes ago, themainbrace said:

Great performance in the 2nd half by England today.  2-0 against NZ and given that NZ beat Australia a few weeks ago, should we be getting carried away yet?

No.

But if the Aussies had had another 2 games to play NZ then I suggest they would have won them. The Aussies are very coachable and improve.  So we need to keep doing the same thing.

[Futtocks]

6 minutes ago, Clogiron said:

On the BBC news channel sports news at 17.30 it was the sixth item, wonder if some ***** have been kicked!     A superb performance from England, quite a few of those players have increased their market value viz the NRL, wonder if Bennett might be after taking a few to the Rabbitohs with him. Really are impressed every time I see Elliott Whitehead, overall wasn't as prominent today but every touch or tackle is class and sums up situations better than many half backs, must be a coaches dream as you always know what you're going to get from him.

The Kiwis look to be between two stools at the moment, there trying to play the McGuire way but it goes against their natural instincts and in fact look more dangerous when they play to those instincts. It could go either way for them but now that he's got a full-time gig in the NRL I would suspect that McGuire might jump ship in frustration shortly down the line.  No matter, it's good to have a successful national team once again but I doubt if the game has the administration to capitalise on it unfortunately, same old story.

The Kiwis need Maguire's disciplined attitude, because they have been a shocking rabble in recent years, but it may take time to blend that Aussie grit with the best of their existing talents.

[Clinton Baptiste]

9 hours ago, MarraSaint said:

What’s the odds on a makinson hat trick?

I saw that coming .

 

[frank]

Lets not get too carried away,both games were won on dicey calls.

[Oxford]

6 hours ago, dkw said:

Yawn. 

Yeah!

The desperadoes under the eaves are out again I see. Just how many Marvins can one sport attract?

A definitive or numerical answer is unnecessary as the forum's littered with their posts.

When Wayne Bennet smiled and "fist pumped" it still wasn't as unexpected as a positive post from some on Total.

And maybe I've just answered the call by talking about them instead of the game .....

It was magic: attrition, shifting dominance, drama (or controversy if you're a Kiwi) team performance and individual efforts and still more internationals to come! Best close season for an age.

 

Edited November 5, 2018 by Oxford

[ghost crayfish]

Sensational game. England thoroughly deserved the win, displaying all the qualities they've so often lacked: defensive resilience, patience, and the ability to take their chances. The upward shift started under McNamara, but the impact of Wayne Bennett is now clear to see. I just hope they play Australia next year, somehow, somewhere, in some capacity!

[Kris]

Wow!

Lets just do it again - and then some more - who needs loop de doop fixtures when we can have this?

Play France in France

Bring the pacific nations over here for a 4 or 5 nations tournament with a number of double headers

Lets beat everyone and while we are at it call the Kangaroos out - continually - dont care if they are in transition and dont want to have their fragile egos split before they can be brought together as a force again - if they dont want to play lets do it without them - they can always have an open invite to our party as long as we shout loud enough and dont lack the confidence to do so the balls in their court - the other nations down under have some of the NRL’s biggest stars in them so lets beat all of them and let the Aussies know what they have to aspire to eh?

[moorside roughyed]

At the end of the day a wins a win,if Bennett can keep on with the "belief" mantra I don't think we'll be a million miles away by the time the world cup comes. I've honestly always thought we had the goods but it was belief we needed. Wayne seems to be getting through to the boys,may it continue.

[JohnM]

3 hours ago, frank said:

Lets not get too carried away,both games were won on dicey calls.

And another naysayer goes on ignore. 

[frank]

6 minutes ago, JohnM said:

And another naysayer goes on ignore. 

Hang on a minute, I wanted England to win the series but you have to admit what I said in my previous post the calls could have gone the other way.

[Chrispmartha]

33 minutes ago, frank said:

Hang on a minute, I wanted England to win the series but you have to admit what I said in my previous post the calls could have gone the other way.

Maybe but how many times have those calls gone against us in the recent past?

Why do some RL fans find it so hard to enjoy themselves 

[Phil]

39 minutes ago, frank said:

Hang on a minute, I wanted England to win the series but you have to admit what I said in my previous post the calls could have gone the other way.

In which case they weren’t “dicey”