1985 - GREAT BRITAIN V. NEW ZEALAND - MY FIRST EXPERIENCE OF INTERNATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE

The build up to the Test Series against New Zealand has got me thinking about my first taste of live Test Match rugby league.

This was also against New Zealand and came exactly 30 years ago back in 1985.

I was 16 years old, just out of school and on a YTS Training Scheme earning £27.50 per week.

Even though I remember seeing the 1982 Kangaroo tourists in the flesh in their opening Tour Match against Hull Kingston Rovers, I never attended any of the Test Matches.

There were some outstanding talents going to be on display in the Test Series.

New Zealand Captain Mark Graham

New Zealand could boast the talent’s of the best forward in the world at the time in their Captain, Mark Graham – he truly was an outstanding rugby league player – alongside the Sorensen brothers, Dane and Kurt, in the front row and Greme West and Hugh McGahan in the back row.

In the backs they had plenty of talent playing in the UK for both Hull clubs and could call on world class players such as Gary Prohm, Gary Kemble, James Leulaui, Dane O’Hara and Fred Ah Kuoi for the Test Matches plus they also had Dean Bell, Olsen Filipaina and Clayton Friend plus two players who would make big names for themselves at St. Helens later in their careers – Shane Cooper and Mark Elia.

They were led by the man rated as the best coach in the world at that time, Graham Lowe, and came into the Test Series on the back of three consecutive wins over Great Britain – no Kiwi team had won four consecutive Test’s against Great Britain.

Great Britain were led by Maurice Bamford – a surprise choice as Head Coach the previous year – and he wanted his GB team to play with passion, speed and skill and he selected his squad accordingly.

A three quarter line of Des Drummond, Garry Schofield, Ellery Hanley and Joe Lydon was exciting and very dangerous. It was packed full of pace, power and silky skills and Bamford was intent on using these talents to win the Test Series.

The Kiwis started off the tour with a defeat at Wigan who were the coming force in the British game before defeating Great Britian U21’s, double League Champions Hull Kingston Rovers and Cumbria in the lead up to the First Test.

The First Test was to take place at Headingley on Saturday 19^th October and I planned to be there.

Gary Prohm in full flow.

Unfortunately, none of my mates who I went to watch Hull KR play on a weekly basis with didn’t want to attend the Test Matches but I was determined to watch my Rugby League hero, Gary Prohm, playing for New Zealand.

I was 16, I couldn’t drive, my family never had a car and was going on my own. There was only one way I was going to get there and that was by coach – that’s how we travelled to all of our Hull KR away games at the time.

I worked in the centre of Hull at the time so I went to Paragon Bus station one lunch time and booked myself on a coach with Kingstonian. I had no problem travelling by myself – I seem to remember travelling to a Rovers game at Wigan earlier in the year on my todd.
On the day of the game I got a bus into the town centre, boarded the coach and away we went for the 60 mile journey to Leeds and my first taste of live international rugby league.

Headingley hasn’t really changed in the last 30 years – it was and still is a fantastic venue for watching rugby league and I regularly followed Hull KR over to play Leeds.

Back in the day there was no segregating home fans and away fans and putting away fans behind the goalposts – we went where we wanted to and in the 80’s Hull KR had a huge away following and regularly ‘took over’ the home stand including the South Stand at Headingley – this led to some great atmospheres as fans had highly competitive and noisy ‘’sing off’s’’.

So, there was only one place I was headed to watch the Test Match and that was the South Stand.

I was really looking forward to this match and even though I was a huge Gary Prohm fan, I was very patriotic and was desperate to see a Great Britain win.

As everyone knows, a Test Match at any level against New Zealand starts off with the wonderful Haka – you can watch it as many times as you like on TV but to be in the ground and watch it live is something special – I feel as though it is somewhat ‘watered’ down these days but back in the 80’s the Kiwi’s displayed a huge amount of passion and aggression and made it clear they were ready for a battle.

And what a battle it was – my first taste of international Rugby League did not disappoint.

The Kiwi’s were criticised on this tour for being overly physical, what a surprise with the Sorensen brothers and Kevin Tamati in the side, but in this Test Match they played some great rugby.

Great Britain set off like a house on fire and opened the scoring when Wigan second rower Andy Goodway, taking advantage of a dropped ball by James Leuluai – playing at full back instead of his more preferred centre position with, bizarrely, Gary Kemble on the bench - scored a try that was converted by full back Mick Burke after just three minutes.

The tourists, superbly led by Mark Graham in the opening half hour before he had to depart due to injury just after half time, hit back quickly and decisively.

Three tries in a 19 minute spell saw New Zealand surge into the lead. Graham scored one of the tries with the other two coming from wingers Bell and O’Hara.

Both sides were constantly looking to move the ball and there was no shortage of physical action up front either and it was a great game to watch unfold in front of you and atmosphere was electric in the ground.

Great Britain were on the ropes at 14-6 down and the next score before half time would be very important.

Fortunately, that score came from Great Britain and set the second half up brilliantly.

Ellery Hanley

Ellery Hanley was well on his way to proving himself as one of the greatest players in the world.

He was in his first season at Wigan after a £150,000 move from Bradford Northern and would go on to score 35 tries in 40 appearances for the Central Park outfit in his debut season.

It was his individual brilliance that got Britain back into the game three minutes before the break. His try was converted by Burke and Britain were just 2 points down at half time – 12-14.

Skipper Harry Pinner, the St. Helens loose forward and Widnes stand off Tony Myler gave outstanding first half performances and were a constant thorn in the Kiwi’s side whilst New Zealand loose forward Hugh McGahan was equally effective for the tourist’s.

It took 15 minutes for the first score of the second half, a Burke penalty to level the scores at 14-14 before Kurt Sorensen charged over to put the Kiwi’s back in front – a Joe Lydon penalty goal after 67 minutes cut the deficit to 2 points – 16-18.

The real fun began in the last 10 minutes and made a memorable game unforgettable.

Great Britain had lost 9 consecutive Test Matches against either New Zealand or Australia going into this match and with the game hanging in the balance going into the last 10 minutes and Great Britain playing well, hopes were high among the supporters that they could pull a win out of the bag – the atmosphere was absolutely electric.

With 8 minutes to go Britain scored one of the best tries I have ever seen.

Dynamite Des Drummond

Dynamite Des Drummond, the Leigh wing legend, collected a New Zealand kick just 5 yards out from his own line on the right wing.

Now, Drummond was a livewire – younger fans should think Jason Robinson and you will have an idea of the type of player Drummond was – and he was also mightily strong and a great athlete.

His pace took him past opposite winger Dane O’Hara and he weaved past other defenders to the 25 yard line.

He then linked with Featherstone scrum half Deryck Fox and substitute forward Chris Arkwright who fed the ball to the mercurial Hanley.

Hanley blasted down the left hand touchline on a scorching 50 yard run beating Dean Bell and holding off James Leuluai in the process all the while noting that Joe Lydon was steaming up to support him.

We were in raptures in the stand – this was brilliant and exciting rugby league – and it got better.

Hanley lobbed a high left handed pass which Lydon took perfectly in his stride to score one of the most wonderful tries I have ever witnessed.

Joe Lydon - try scorer

You can see this wonderful try at the start of the below link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWElwQ7mwM4

The stadium exploded and I never tire seeing that try even 30 years later.

Lydon converted his try and Britian led 22-18.

The whole of the 12,500 fans in this great rugby league ground were making as much noise as possible in the hope that this was a new dawn for British Rugby League.

Four months earlier New Zealand had suffered two defeats against Australia in successive Test’s in the dying minutes of both matches and they seemed to have learned from them.

They were not overawed by the situation or by the roar of a vibrant home support – they were determined to win this Test Match.

Star forward Kurt Sorensen took on the leadership of the team when Mark Graham went off injured and it was him who dragged his team over the winning line.

A powerful Sorensen burst down the middle in the Great Britain half was supported by Leuluai who took the pass to score near the posts to level the scores.

The whole ground was now silent where five minutes earlier it had been one of the greatest atmospheres I had experienced – the Kiwis had not just knocked the stuffing out of their opponents but out of the supporters as well.

Olsen Filipaina, who toe prodded his goal kicks just like Mal Meninga, had the simple task of converting the try and edging the Kiwi’s ahead 24-22.

Great Britain now had 3 minutes to throw everything at the Kiwis to get the victory we all so desperately wanted.

Unfortunately, the Kiwi’s defence wasn’t going to give again and Britain could not conjure up anymore magic tries and the match ended in defeat for the home side.

Even so, the supporters gave the team a wonderful and noisy reception as we fully appreciated the effort they had put into the match and, just as importantly, the style of play they employed which had been so enjoyable to watch.

Personally, it was disappointing to see Great Britain lose the match but my enthusiasm for international Rugby League had been ignited and I have enjoyed watching Great Britain or England many times over the last 30 years and am really looking forward to the upcoming series against New Zealand.

I’ll be at the KC Stadium in Hull for the First Test with my whole family and lot’s of players and parent’s from my U6’s rugby league team at Skirlaugh.

The rest of the 1985 series was just as thrilling as the First Test at Headingley.

Lee Crooks and Garry Schofield

Garry Schofield scored 4 tries in the Second Test at Wigan as Great Britain rallied brilliantly to hammer the Kiwis 25-8 in front of 15,500 fans and the Third Test, played at Elland Road in Leeds, ended in a 6-6 draw and the Series was tied.

Britain trailed 6-0 at half time in the Third Test and three penalty goals from Lee Crooks in the second half tied the match up.

Crooks held his nerve in the very last minute to kick the penalty goal that levelled the scores in front of over 22,000 fans – I was lucky enough to attend this match as well and it was another great international rugby league Test Match.

Let’s hope the upcoming series is just as exciting.

L6VE LIFE

 

Recently, I put my boots on in a ‘competitive’ rugby environment for the first time in 15 years as I joined some of my old Reckitts ARLFC team mates to take part in the L6ve Life touch rugby tournament at the home of Skirlaugh ARLFC in Hull.

12 teams of over 35’s, with the odd young ringer thrown in, came together on a beautiful sunny day in an attempt to turn back the years, show that the old skills were still there, have some laughs and reminisce about the good old days.

My main priority was to avoid the need for a phone call to the local ambulance service.

I had trained with the lads a few times, turning my ankle quite badly in the first session which didn’t bode well, but stayed surprisingly free of chest pains and managed to stay the course for the full sessions.

We were actually training for a full contact proper game of rugby league against the current Reckitt’s first team but the majority quickly decided that that would not be too much of a good idea based on our current fitness levels and lack of desire to get our aged bodies battered and bruised – another major concern for me was actually getting my body into a rugby shirt these days, think George Rose and you have the right image.

So, we decided that we wanted to take part in the L6ve Life touch rugby tournament which had been so successful in 2014 and it was a chance for us to do our small bit to help the Foundation.



Former Skirlaugh player & L6ve Life Founder Lee Newton.

L6ve Life was founded by former Skirlaugh player Lee Newton who was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) back in 2013 at the age of 42.

This really resonated with me as Lee is just a couple of years younger than me and I played against him in the very early stages of our amateur RL career – he went on to have a very successful career with Skirlaugh and was a skilfull player – people in the local game knew who Lee Newton was.

I bandied around at a lower level and had nowhere near the ability that Lee had.

MND is a cruel and horrible progressive disease that attacks the motor neurones, or nerves, in the brain and spinal cord. This means that messages gradually stop reaching muscles, which leads to weakness and wasting.

MND can affect how you walk, talk, eat, drink and breathe.

The most famous case of MND is Professor Stephen Hawking who has lived with the disease since 1969.

There is currently no known cure, symptoms can only be managed to help you achieve the best possible quality of life.

Life expectancy for about half of the people with the condition, believed to be around 5,000 in the UK at any one time, is three years from the start of symptoms – however, it does vary from case to case and some people may live for up to 10 years and, in rarer circumstances such as Professor Hawking, even longer.

Back to the tournament.


Reckitts L6ve Life Team - nice kit!!

We headed to the dressing room to get changed into our very nice kit and immediately the banter I had missed for 15 years came back with comments about physique and certain parts of the male anatomy to the fore.

I quickly made sure I got one of the props shirts and I was right about the George Rose image but at least I managed to get the shirt and shorts on without pulling a muscle. Some of the lads had promised to bring a tub of Vaseline along to help me get the shirt on but, fortunately, it wasn’t needed – not for that purpose anyway!!

We headed to the pitches for a warm up and immediately my 6 year old son, Kingsley, pointed out that my shirt was a bit tight!! I tried to tell him that it was designed that way but he wasn’t convinced!!!!

We had been drawn in a group with Hull Isberg, Skirlaugh B and Dukes and our first game against Isberg went OK – by OK I mean there were no injuries sustained and no-one threw up – the game was certainly faster than the one we had been playing in training and Isberg had players who were fit!!! And fast!!!!



Some of us were struggling to stand up!!

But we managed to stay with them OK even though lost 3 tries to nil – I always felt scoring tries was going to be a problem for us – we had no speed or skill really!!!

Each match was 7 a side and we had a good turn-out of 15 players, each paying £20.00 for the privilege of playing, and we constantly swapped players around to make sure everyone had some good game time and also ensuring that we had an excuse for losing – no continuity, too many changes etc etc etc.

Next up was Skirlaugh B who had some good players on board along with a young runt who really fancied himself – I don’t think he realised he had some grandad’s in the opposition – and it started to get a little bit serious and the referee started enforcing rules – such as play the ball where you were touched rather than 15 yards further on where you had stopped – ‘tacklers’ started putting their hands up on the spot you had been ‘tackled’ and you had to jog back and play the ball in the right places – spoilsports!!!

Skirlaugh B were too good for us but we did manage to get our first, and only, try of the tournament – well done Johnny Carr who managed to pull his hamstring even though he took advantage of the on site masseurs before we had started!!

That always to happen to the ‘fit’ ones – us big lads never have problems with hamstrings!!!
It was good to see a few Hull KR players such Josh Mantellato, Jordan Cox, Dane Chisholm, Dane Tilse and Kevin Larroyer turn up to support the Charity and the tournament alongside Head Coach Chris Chester and they had a mingle with some of the players and supporters.



The beers were out early!!

By the time our 3^rd and final game started against Dukes, obviously we had no hope of qualifying for the semi-finals, a few of the lads were itching to crack open the beers and it was a case of just put in the effort and see if we could get at least 1 win from the day.

No chance!!! I blame the ref for missing forward passes.

I’m not sure what score it ended up but we finished bottom of the group.

We took plenty of photo’s before we headed for the showers and we had plenty of family members with us to remind us how old we are and help us get our playing kit off without doing ourselves any permanent damage.

The whole day was really good fun and I hope we, as a team and a group of friends, will be taking part next year.

Lee and his family set the Foundation up to raise funds for those who work every day trying to find a cure for the disease and also for the people that help those already living with MND.

Like I said earlier, this is a cruel disease and it is indiscriminate – it can affect anyone. The sooner we find a cure the better.

To do that, more money is needed to fund research and Lee and his family are doing there bit with his Foundation which has raised over £150,000 since it was launched.
You can visit the Foundation’s website at www.l6velife.co.uk or find out more about the disease at www.mndassociation.org .

The best way to end the day!!

WHAT A GREAT WEEKEND!!

The Super League semi-finals provided us with two games of contrasting performances and quality.

On Thursday night Wigan Warriors qualified for their third successive Grand Final under Shaun Wane and really didn’t have to break sweat against a Huddersfield Giants side that, once again, totally bottled it on the big occasion.

I said to my eldest son before kick-off that I hoped the Giants would finally do themselves justice in the play-off’s and make their first Grand Final – the last thing I wanted to see was smug Wiganer’s celebrating another Grand Final appearance.

Unfortunately, within the first 20 minutes I knew there was no chance of the Giants winning the game – they simply lacked the belief in their undoubted ability and did not play anywhere near the standard they had the previous week against Leeds Rhinos.

I don’t believe this rubbish that Ryan Hall’s last second try had knocked all of the fight out of the Giants – they went toe to toe with the best British club side of the last 10 years last week and should have beaten them and this week they simply did not have the cahounas to push on and win at a ground that they are regular victors at – albeit it was their third defeat this season at the DW Stadium.

Frustrated coach - Paul Anderson.

I feel for the Giants coach Paul Anderson. That performance was purely down to his players and he must be racking his brains to work out how he can get his team to perform when it really matters and when there is more than just two competition points on the line.

The standard of the Giants performance was so poor that the Warriors simply cantered to a 32-8 win and, along with a poor crowd of just over 10,000, it was a lacklustre start to what promised to be a fantastic weekend of Rugby League.

Thank God for Headingley on a Friday night under the floodlights. 

There is no finer sight in British Rugby League than a heaving and pulsating Headingley Stadium with the floodlights on and a big game to be played at this magnificent rugby league ground.

The Rhinos and St. Helens served up a truly magnificent game that could have been won by either side in the last few minutes in front of over 17,000 passionate and excited fans and would have graced the Grand Final itself.

Saints can really count themselves unlucky not to have won this game.

They played some great rugby and were led superbly by Jon Wilkin and I am still not sure that the try that edged Leeds in front by Ryan Hall was actually a try.

Ryan Hall looks on in hope!!

There have been too many instances this season were the rules that govern how a try should be scored i.e. full control and downward pressure, have been pushed to their limits and tries have been given when a little finger only has been present – it’s been totally ridiculous at times – and I stick with my first thought on Friday night that Hall did not have full control of the ball and was unable to put downward pressure on the ball with his wrist.

If that try was not given, Saints would have maintained their 13-8 lead and Luke Walsh would not have had to push for a panic play that went wrong and enabled Kallum Watkins to extend the Rhinos lead and take them clear of the Saints.

However, it seemed that nothing was going to keep the Leed’s legends Jamie Peacock and Kevin Sinfield from making their final swansong in the Grand Final next week that’s how it should be – they have been great servant’s of both the Rhinos and the game of rugby league and that Sinfield 40/20 at a vital moment of the second half proved crucial and shows that whoever replaces him has massive boots to fill.

Saints coach Kieron Cunningham was magnanimous in defeat and spoke wonderfully at the final whistle and maybe Bradford Bulls coach James Lowes can take some lessons from his former hooking foe.

Clubs have known for a year that the final Super League spot for 2016 would come down to a direct one off match between the teams that finished 4^th and 5^th after the completion of the middle 8’s qualifying games.

At a minimum teams like Wakefield, Bradford and Leigh would have wanted to take part in this game.

Obviously they would have preferred to finish in the top 3 of the middle 8’s and qualify for next year’s Super League automatically, but it was always likely that two of the aforementioned three teams would play for the final place.

James Lowes

With that in mind I cannot agree with James Lowes’ outburst immediately after the game live on Sky.

He said that this type of match should not be allowed and that the pressure was too great for the players and the game was playing with their livelihoods and that losing this game may mean players losing their jobs or going part-time.

All due respect to Lowes but I think both clubs knew exactly what they were getting themselves into.

This was not just an overnight introduction, they knew this was a possibility a year ago and I am sure the clubs would have had a Plan A (Super League) and Plan B (Championship) drawn up – ‘Plan for the Worst, Hope for the Best’.

If the Bulls have planned with the above ethos in mind then they should not be in a position where they have to start slashing jobs on Monday morning. I would put money on the Bulls remaining full time next year.

Lowes also kicked off about two ‘controversial’ refereeing decisions – both of which I think Richard Silverwood and his team got right – and as much as he looks for excuses elsewhere he may want to look closer to home and look at his own coaching ability.

The game itself was tense and exciting and of a decent quality in front of a season high crowd of over 7,000 at Belle Vue. Young forward Chris Annakin had an outstanding game for the Wildcats as did Jacob Miller and Adrian Purtell once again stood out for the Bulls – what about that pass behind his back for Danny Williams’ try!!!

Huge credit has to go to Head Coach Brian Smith, Chairman Michael Carter and the Wildcats players for keeping things together after a tough couple of weeks which saw them lose, arguably, their two best players Kevin Locke and Tim Smith after a sojourn to Hull in a club car went horribly wrong.

The Wildcats still have a lot of work to do to avoid any chance of being in a similar position next year and that needs to start with persuading Brian Smith to stay in charge – the Super League will be greater with him involved and the Wildcats will have a greater opportunity of avoiding the nerve shredding Million Pound Game in 2016.

The weekend got even better on Sunday as the North Queensland Cowboys and Brisbane Broncos fought out the first all Queensland Grand Final in the heart of Sydney.

The game had everything – great tries, great defence, a wonderful one handed pass to set up a LAST SECOND equalising try, a winning conversion attempt that hit the post, a golden point drop goal to give North Queensland their first ever Premiership and an all-round wonderful performance from Jonathan Thurston that will live long in the memory – never before has one player been so instrumental in dragging his team to a Premiership.

Put simply, without JT the Cowboys would be nowhere near a Grand Final. They have some quality players, but he is the glue that sticks everything together.

A wonderful attacking first half saw four tries scored, two from each side, and Brisbane led their junior neighbours 14-12.

The second half was full of some desperate and outstanding defence and despite the best efforts of the Cowboys, Kane Linnett lost the ball with the try line at his mercy and Lachlan Coote had a try ruled out for a double movement, the half remained tryless until the very last second of the game.

Ben Hunt gave away a needless penalty for a dangerous tackle on Linnett and the Cowboys, trailing 16-12 after Corey Parker kicked an earlier penalty for the only score of the second half, launched one final do or die attack.

Thurston was involved, as he was with everything the Cowboys did, but it was his half back partner Michael Morgan who provided the moment of magic.

He took Thurston’s speculative pass and ran to his right on an arc that drew in three panicing Broncos defenders – Morgan remained calm, got his right arm free and slipped out a wonderful one handed pass to wingman Kyle Feldt.

Feldt was cool enough to plant the ball down one handed just as the clock hit 80 minutes bang on – it was theatre and drama of the highest order and there was still an encore to come.

Kyle Feldt scores THAT try.

Thurston is one of the world’s top goal kickers as well and his low swinging attempt with his right foot from the touchline looked like it was going to swing in and win the Premiership for the Cowboys but it hit the right hand upright instead and bounced out. Thurston bellowed out his frustration and Golden Point extra time beckoned with the scores tied at 16-16.

You have to feel for Broncos half back Ben Hunt, not only did he give away the penalty that gave the Cowboys the position to launch their final attack of the match, but he also knocked on the kick off that gave Thurston the opportunity to write his name into the history books and to put his name right there at the top of the list for the honour of being the next Immortal.

JT drops the winning goal.

Hunt dropped the ball just in front of his own line and from the resulting set Thurston got his hands on the ball 25 yards out and clipped over the winning Golden Point drop goal to give the Cowboys their first ever Premiership win – cue hysteria for the Cowboys and heartache for the Broncos.

Cue hysteria for the Cowboys.

Thurston was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal as man of the match to add to his fourth Dally M player of the year award that he won earlier in the week – I think there can be no doubt about who is the greatest rugby league player on the planet at the moment.

The NRL Grand Final rounded off a superb weekend of rugby league which showed that our game isn’t great all of the time but when it is at it’s best there is no other spectacle like it.

Highlights of the Grand Final can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CUWpLIax44

It also showed that it doesn’t have to be the so called big clubs that run out winners all of the time and Super League really does need a smaller club to drag itself up by the boot straps and take out a Grand Final.

Only four clubs, Bradford Bulls, Wigan Warriors, St. Helens and Leeds Rhinos have won the Super League Grand Final since it’s inaugural year in 1998 and only 6 clubs have made the Final – Hull FC and Warrington Wolves being the unwanted interlopers. This needs to change and soon.

Let’s hope that the Theatre of Dreams, Old Trafford, is just that next Saturday night as Leeds Rhinos and Wigan Warriors battle for the 2015 Super League title and let’s hope that 2016 sees a new kid enter the block and make a real challenge for title.

 

MY ENGLAND SQUAD FOR THE NEW ZEALAND TEST SERIES

As the 2015 Super League season ratchets up to a, hopefully, spectacular conclusion with two mouth-watering semi-finals this weekend followed by the Grand Final next Saturday, my thoughts have turned to the up-coming England v. New Zealand Three Match Test Series that will take part across consecutive weekends in November.

The Kiwi’s are now the number one world ranked Test nation following three consecutive wins over Australia and are the current Four Nations champions.

However, they have been hit with a raft of withdrawals of major players due to injury headed by Golden Boot winner Shaun Johnson and including all-time leading try scorer Manu Vatuvei, experienced hooker / half back Thomas Leuluai and star prop forward Jared Warea-Haergreaves.

Johnson’s half back partner Kieran Foran has joined that list this week and will miss the tour because of an elbow ligament injury.

Even with these great players missing, I still expect it to be a hugely competitive Test Series as the Kiwi’s strength in depth is greater than it has ever been and competitors like Isaac Luke, Simon Mannering, Shaun Kenny-Dowall and Simon Mannering will not want to relinquish their hard earned no.1 status too easily.

Therefore, England will have to be at their best to win this series and take out the Baskerville Shield.

Head Coach Steve McNamara will be selecting a squad of 23 players and is already without the services of centre Dan Sarginson, who had a brilliant Four Nations tournament last year, and prop forward George Burgess – both of whom would have been highly likely to be in the starting 13.

McNamara still has a lot of quality players to select from and I found it difficult to come up with the right squad variation to get the players in place that will be needed to win this series.

The New Zealanders will be big in the forwards and our pack will need to more than match them and we will also need to be highly skilled in the backs.

Here is my squad for the Test Series – followed by my first choice 17 to start the series:

FULL BACKS

We are blessed to have two high quality full backs and it is easy to select SAM TOMKINS and ZAK HARDAKER. Tomkins has had an injury hit 2015 but is still a high quality player whilst Hardaker has been in the form of his life. To add to the options of the squad Tomkins can also play in the halves and Hardaker in the three quarters.  I think England need to have both of these players in their starting 13 to win this series.

WINGERS
We have top quality wingers in abundance. RYAN HALL has not had the greatest year of his career but he is a shoe in on the left wing spot. His experience and ability to score tries from nothing is a must have and I cannot see an England side without him in it. JERMAINE MCGILIVARY is another player in the form of his life and is Super League’s leading try scorer. He should have done enough to earn a place in the squad and will also be joined by JOE BURGESS. Burgess overcame a shaky start to the season to once again become a regular try scorer for the Warriors and he and McGilivary earned selection for the Super League Dream Team. My main query here was how many wingers do you pick in a 23 man squad for a three match series? I have gone with just the three mentioned and that means big name players like Tom Briscoe and Josh Charnley miss out.

CENTRES

As much as Hall is a shoe in on the wing, his Leeds Rhinos team mate KALLUM WATKINS is also certain to fill one of the centre spots. I think the injured Dan Sarginson would definitely have been selected alongside Castleford Tigers captain MICHAEL SHENTON. As with the wingers I have selected just three centres and my third selection is St. Helen’s three-quarter JORDAN TURNER. Turner is big and strong and has pace and an eye for the try line. Brisbane Broncos Grand Finalist Jack Reed has had a good season in the NRL but I am more than happy with the above selections.

STAND OFF

Incumbent GARETH WIDDOP has had an excellent season for St. George Illawarra Dragons and will keep his place as long as he is injury free. I have also selected Warrington Wolves STEFAN RATCHFORD as he can also cover full back, centre and loose forward positions. He had a strong season in a struggling Wolves outfit. Young Wigan half back George Williams was not far away from this squad but, like his coach Shaun Wane, I think it is a little too early for him and he is better off having an off season with a full pre-season. Kevin Brown can also consider himself to be incredibly unlucky.

SCRUM HALF

I am torn here between the organisational ability of Matty Smith and the more dynamic play of Castleford Tigers LUKE GALE – the winner of the Rugby League Express Albert Goldthorpe Medal. Do we need two scrum halves in a squad of just 23 when we went into last year’s Four Nations tournament with just one?? It’s a tough one - but to give us an extra forward in the squad I have selected Gale only as I believe he will offer the team more in attack and is a better player than Smith.

PROPS

The big boys up front will need to be at full tilt and George Burgess is a big loss. However, we have strength in the front row like no other position. JAMES GRAHAM, CHRIS HILL AND TOM BURGESS  are certain selections and I would definitely select St. Helen’s prop ALEX WALMSLEY to come from the bench and provide impact. The fifth prop is likely to be the Dragons MIKE COOPER who has had another strong year in the NRL. Hull FC prop Liam Watts will just miss out.

HOOKER

The hooking position is another area where we have a number of options. JAMES ROBY missed last season’s Four Nations through injury but is a certainty for this squad. Last year’s Man of Steel Daryl Clark has had a poor first season at Warrington Wolves and I would not select him for the squad. Instead I would select JOSH HODGSON as the back-up hooker. His performances in the NRL for the Canberra Raiders have drawn great praise in Australia and I believe he deserves to keep hold of his squad place. Wigan’s Michael McIlorum will also be in contention but in my mind he give’s away too many penalties and Isaac Luke would seriously try to wind him up. Plus Roby and Hodgson are all round better players.

SECOND ROW

ELLIOTT WHITEHEAD was severely underused in last year’s Four Nations competition and has had another very good year for Catalans Dragons and fully deserves to retain his place in the squad. LIAM FARRELL has again been a model of consistency for Wigan Warriors and I think 2 young guns also deserve to be selected. Warrington’s BEN CURRIE has had a great year. He is a class act with strength, power and pace and can also play centre if needed to as can Wigan Warrior’s JOHN BATEMAN. Bateman has been described as freak by Shaun Wane. He is the ultimate competitor and does not give an inch. I am hoping McNamara does not make the same mistake as last year and pick Joel Tomkins on reputation only – he does not deserve a place. The experience of Ben Westwood makes him a contender but I think his time as an international has come to an end.

LOOSE FORWARD

SEAN O’LOUGHLIN is the team captain and a certain starter. After missing 3 months early in the season O’Loughlin has played consistently to his usual high standard. He needs to be on top form to provide the leadership, aggression and skill that England will need to win this series.

My full squad is as follows:

Sam Tomkins, Zak Hardaker, Ryan Hall, Jermain McGilivary, Joe Burgess, Kallum Watkins, Michael Shenton, Jordan Turner, Gareth Widdop, Stefan Rathford, Luke Gale, James Graham, Chris Hill, Tom Burgess, Alex Walmsley, Mike Cooper, James Roby, Josh Hodgson, Elliott Whitehead, Liam Farrell, Ben Currie, John Bateman, Sean O’Loughlin.

My 17 for the First Test would be:

FULL BACK:                         SAM TOMKINS

WINGERS:                           RYAN HALL and JERMAINE MCGILIVARY

CENTRES:                            KALLUM WATKINS and ZAK HARDAKER

STAND OFF:                        GARETH WIDDOP

SCRUM HALF:                     LUKE GALE

PROPS:                                 JAMES GRAHAM and CHRIS HILL

HOOKER:                             JAMES ROBY

SECOND ROWS:                 ELLIOTT WHITEHEAD and LIAM FARRELL

LOOSE FORWARD:            SEAN O’LOUGHLIN (captain)

SUBSTITUTES:                    ALEX WALMSLEY, TOM BURGESS, JOSH HODGSON, BEN CURRIE

I have dropped 6 players from the 2014 Four Nations squad – Josh Charnley, Daryl Clark, Brett Ferres, Joel Tomkins, Matt Smith and Joe Westerman and 2 players are out injured - Dan Sarginson and George Burgess.

7 new players come into the squad - Jermaine McGillivary, Jordan Turner, Luke Gale, Alex Walmsley, James Roby, John Bateman and Ben Currie.

But what do I know – I just find it fun to have a look at the squad and open a debate.

Feel free to criticise or make your own selections.

COME ON ENGLAND!!!!!!

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