10 THINGS I LIKED ABOUT HULL KINGSTON ROVERS IN 2015

Rather than write a normal bog standard review of Hull Kingston Rover’s 2015 season, I thought I would pick out my selected highlights and lowlights and send them out into the ether to see what other people think.

So, let’s start with the positives (these are in no particular order)

HOME FORM

Campo and Alby

Every coach want’s to turn their home ground into a ‘fortress’ and make opposing teams fear coming to their home turf.

Hull KR did that extremely well in 2015.

Our home form was very good throughout the year and we played an exciting style of rugby league in front of our own supporters and beat the majority of our opponents.

Only Leeds Rhinos on the opening day of the season, although it was a brilliant performance with so many new players in the team, Castleford Tigers, who we really struggle against at the moment, and our local rivals Hull FC went away happy from the KC Lightstream Stadium in 2015.

We won 8 out of 11 home games in Super League and 13 out of 16 in all competitions including the Challenge Cup and Middle 8’s.

There were some top displays and exciting games at the KC Lightstream Stadium in 2015 – the early season come back to beat Wigan Warriors, the seventh consecutive home win over St. Helens, the brilliant comeback to hammer Catalans Dragons, the Easter Monday win over Huddersfield Giants, the mauling of Warrington Wolves, the brilliant late try straight from the kick off from Albert Kelly to put the Salford City Reds home game to bed after we had nearly thrown it away.

It was certainly an improvement on 2014’s home form when we won only 5 and drew 1 of 13 home games.

STYLE OF RUGBY

I must be honest and say that I have not enjoyed watching Rovers play as much as I did in 2015 for a long time – certainly at home anyway.

Even in defeat, which was rare at home, we always attempted to play some exciting rugby league. It didn’t always come off but the intent was there.

With quality attacking players in the side such as Terry Campese, the unpredictable but at times unplayable Albert Kelly, the pace and dancing feet of Kieran Dixon, the powerhouse wingers Ken Sio and Josh Mantellato and the resurgent Kris Welham all gelling quickly there was never going to be a struggle scoring tries.

We put in some really exciting displays and I only hope that we continue to play with style and panache in 2016.

PLAYER RECRUITMENT

Josh Mantellato - one of a host of successful signings

I could have quite easily filled my 10 likes list from the players that we recruited for the 2015 season such was the success of many of our signings.

There was huge player turnover between the end of 2014 and the start of the 2015 season and whilst it would be easy to use that as an excuse for not making the play off’s (see the above for the real reason) the fact is that the vast majority of the new players settled in brilliantly and played superbly.

Questions were raised at the start of the year about the potential for injury to both Terry Campese and Albert Kelly and those questions received the answers we didn’t want. Campo, after a brilliant opening few months to the season, went down with a bad knee injury at home to Castleford Tigers in June and was ruled out for the season – a massive loss.

Albert Kelly filled Campos boots brilliantly and played out of his skin – who was the last player that excited us Hull KR fans as much as Alby??  

Unfortunately he also injured a knee in the Challenge Cup semi-final defeat of Warrington Wolves and only made one more appearance during the year – the ill-fated Final.

Of the other new signings Josh Mantellato, Ken Sio, Kieran Dixon, Tyrone McCarthy, Maurice Blair, Shaun Lunt and James Donaldson all stood out and I cannot leave this without mentioning hooker John Boudebza who came in from France under the radar but put in some mighty displays to earn a contract extension.  

JAMIE PEACOCK

Jamie Peacock at his new home.

The news that we had recruited Jamie Peacock as our Head of Rugby from 2015 came out on the night of our home win against St. Helens and provided a real feel good factor around the night.

Peacock had made it clear that 2015 was to be his last season as a player after a stellar career and that he wanted to move into an administrative role within the sport rather than coaching.

It was always assumed that he would remain at the Rhinos and, whilst Chief Executive Gary Hetherington did offer him a position at the club, Peacock decided to move out of his comfort zone and see if he could take what he had learnt from behind the scenes at the Rhinos and studying for his Master’s Degree in Sports Management successfully into a new environment.

This was a great piece of work by Hull KR Chairman Neil Hudgell and came completely out of the blue.

Peacock is one of the most respected players and voices within British Rugby League, wears his heart on his sleeve and usually delivers on his promises.

I am sure he will have a massive impact at Hull KR and it will be interesting to see what changes he brings in.

‘EASTER THURSDAY’ AT THE KC STADIUM

To win at the home of your nearest rivals is always special and to be fair it is not unusual for us to win at the KC Stadium or beat Hull FC but we had a point to prove after our woeful 2014 performance at the KC which we lost 28-0 – a truly desperate performance that led for me to call for the head of Chris Chester.

This was a completely new Hull KR team with so many players playing a Hull Derby for the first time and they put in a brilliant performance.

We led 18-6 at half time thanks to converted tries from Skipper Terry Campese, Kieran Dixon and Shaun Lunt.

There were no tries scored in the second half as we closed out a very comfortable 20-6 win but what made the night memorable was the performance of the aforementioned Campese.

Maybe I am biased, but I fully recall being enthralled by Campo’s performance – he controlled every aspect of our attacking play and the FC defence could not lay a hand on him all night.

I tweeted at the time that it was the best half back performance I had seen for the 30 years in a Hull KR shirt and I won’t go back on that now – my eldest boy want’s to be a half back and I just told to him watch that performance over and over again take and it as a wonderful example of how to play as a half back.

Campo prompted the Hull KR attack in every set and his players listened and followed everything he did – already they had complete trust in his leadership – and we were unlucky not to win by a much more comfortable margin

So, whilst it is not unusual for us to win at the KC – it is Campos performance that will live long in my memory.

CAMPO SIGNS A CONTRACT EXTENSION.

Terry Campese was rumoured to be on the radar of both Hull FC and Salford Red Devils after he had been released by his one and only NRL club, Canberra Raiders, at the end of 2014. Campo had spent 10 years at the Raiders, had been the captain for the last 3 years and earned a single cap for both New South Wales and Australia.

He had also spent a lot of time out of action due to horrific knee and groin injuries and it was this that was the major concern for the majority of Hull KR fans.

However, Campo started off his career in Super League like a house on fire and even before his debut, Head Coach Chris Chester had recognised his leadership skills and quickly made him club captain – it was both an easy and an inspired decision.

Campo is one of the most skilful players I have ever seen – he is not the quickest or the strongest – but when he is on form no one can touch him and he quickly became a much admired figure amongst both his fellow players and the fans – it help’s also that he is a charismatic and friendly figure and he took the Hull KR cause quickly to his heart and recognised the passion and desire of Hull KR fans.

It became clear that he was thoroughly enjoying his time in the UK and Rovers moved swiftly to extend his initial 12 month contract by another 2 years with an option for a third.

It was a brilliant boost for the club but that was all destroyed when Campo suffered a season ending knee injury in an innocuous challenge at home to Castleford Tigers in June.

I’m hoping that Campo can comeback in the new season refreshed and stronger and not mentally scarred by another serious injury – he has the ability to help Hull KR challenge for top 6 spot in 2106.

CHALLENGE CUP RUN
29 years of waiting and most of us probably wish we hadn’t turned up at Wembley on August 29^th.

But what excitement there was in the run to the Challenge Cup Final.

The first hurdle was tough enough, away at one of last years relegated Super League clubs – Bradford Bulls.

They certainly made us work hard and it wasn’t until the last 10-15 minutes that we ran away with the game to claim a 50-30 victory. Josh Mantellato inspired us with a 30 point haul of 4 tries and 7 goals.

The draw for the next round could not have been much worse – Wigan Warriors away!!! We all know how much Wigan love the Cup and Shaun Wane was adamant that they were determined to win it again and, two weeks before the cup tie, we went to Wigan and gave a totally inept display losing 60-0 in Super League – it was a disgraceful performance and was live on Sky – hello ridicule from Hull FC fans and Steve etc etc etc.

Anyway, that was our Challenge Cup dreams gone for another year wasn’t it? Obviously, it wasn’t – the Cup tie two weeks later was changed to the Leigh Sports Village and we had Terry Campese back – he missed the Super League game – and back in May Campo was in full flow and marshalled and ran the team superbly.

The boys also showed they had some balls to come back from a humiliating defeat and knock out Wigan on their ‘home’ ground just 2 weeks later – it was live on Sky as well – brilliant.

Then came Catalans Dragons at home – we had trounced them earlier in the season at the KC Lightstream and I was fully confident we would do it again, especially as we had put a couple of wins together, at home against Widnes and Warrington, after losing 3 games on the back of the Cup win at Wigan.

We ripped them apart in the first half and played some brilliant rugby league – Sio’s try direct from a scrum was a belter – but they made us bite our nails as we allowed the Dragons back into it in the second half but we ended up hanging on for a brilliant 32-26 win to put us into our first semi-final since 2006.

‘A LITTLE RESPECT’ – THE CHALLENGE CUP SEMI FINAL

Ken Sio scores in semi final.

The Challenge Cup semi-final defeat of Warrington Wolves was, quite simply, the day, the match and the performance of the year and included the try of the season.

From arriving home at 4 a.m. in the morning from a holiday in Turkey to travelling back home to Hull later that night celebrating qualifying for our first Challenge cup semi-final for 29 years, this day was just perfect.

To bump into a lot of people I know, to be a part of the brilliant Red and White travelling army, to witness a stunning and unexpected victory (we went into the match on the back of 4 successive defeats and a hammering at Saints the weekend before) including THAT try from Kenny Sio, to sing ‘A Little Respect’ at the end in the pouring rain, to hug and thank some of the players and to be able to share it with two of my boys made it the most wonderful and memorable day I have had as a Hull KR supporter for many many years.

Andy Bell, the lead singer of Erasure, saw a YouTube video of Rovers fans singing the song and went on line to wish us all the best in Final and the team even recorded the song and released as a single with the proceeds going to charity.

My 6 year old boy, a mad keen Rovers fan, still plays the video on YouTube now and every time I see Kenny’s try I get goose bumps.

MIDDLE 8’s FORM

Hull KR’s minimum aim at the start of each season must be to make the top 8 of Super League. For the second year in a row we failed to do that and it was disappointing – especially as a top 8 finish would have guaranteed our Super League place for 2016 and we would not have had to take part in the Middle 8’s.

Having said that, I think it was a lot more fun playing 7 games that meant something in the Middle 8’s rather than having to play 7 morale sapping ‘friendlies’ with no chance of making the semi-finals if we had edged a top 8 finish. Ask FC fans – was there end of season play off campaign much fun for them?

The fact that we won all 7 of our games to top the Middle 8’s and came through some tough encounters – Leigh and Widnes away and Wakefield at home the week after the Challenge Cup Final in particular – showed that there was some guts and determination in the team.

Don’t get me wrong, I would much rather finish in the top 8 – but it is even clearer now than it was before that you must be within 2 or 3 points of the top 4 at the end of 23 rounds to give yourself any chance of breaking into the top 4 after 30 rounds – the likes of FC, Warrington and Catalans were virtually playing for places in 2016 rather than a chance to make the semi-finals.

THE DESIGN OF THE ‘CLASSIC’ KIT FOR 2016.

The 'classic' 2016 home strip.

I have to say that I love both of the new kits for 2016 – but more than anything it is nice to get back to ‘classic’ home shirt of all white with a red band.

It looks really smart and my kids have demanded they get one for Christmas.

I am sure it will be very popular with the supporters as will the away kit of dark blue with 10 gold bands signifying our 10^th season in Super League.

My only gripe is with the rest of the merchandise from kit manufacturers FITA – but I’ll leave that until another time.

 

Not everything was rosy in the Hull KR garden in 2015 and next time I’ll run through the things I DIDN’T like about my team in 2015.

SIX TO GO - SEASON FINALE

Welcome to the latest and final 2015 edition of Six to Go, looking at some of the things that caught my eye in and around the game of Rugby League throughout 2015:

North Queensland celebrate winning the Grand Final.

World Club Championship

The season started off with a bang with the new style World Club Championship which saw Warrington Wolves entertain St. George Illawarra Dragons, Wigan Warriors played their old foes Brisbane Broncos before the reigning Premiers of Australia, the mighty South Sydney Rabbitohs took on the English Super League Champions St. Helens for the title of World Champions.

The Rabbitohs took the honours easily defeating the Saints 39-0 but it was the presence of the Rabbitohs owner Russell Crowe that made most of the headlines. He chose to be in St. Helens rather than attend the Oscar ceremony in the USA and was good value for money as an ambassador for the sport. Sam Burgess also attended the game to support his former team mates.

It was a great idea to extend the concept to 3 games over 1 weekend and that will be repeated in 2016 with St. Helens playing Sydney Roosters, Wigan once again facing Brisbane Broncos, both Grand Final runners up in 2015, before the weekend is rounded off with treble winners Leeds Rhinos facing off against the Australian Grand Final winners North Queensland Cowboys, JT et al, at a bouncing Headingley on Sunday 21st February2016 – this will be the Rhinos first big game in the post Sinfield, JP and Leuluai era and it will be interesting to see how they go.

I think I might just purchase some tickets for that one.

Danny Jones in action for Keighley Cougars.

Tragedy and Inspiration - Danny and Lizzie Jones

Tragedy is never far away from sport. Whether it is a boxer being badly injured, a grand prix driver dying after a crash, a cricketer killed by a bouncer or a part time rugby league player leaving home to play a game and never returning home.

Nothing has touched our sport in 2015 in the same way that the tragic death of Keighley and Wales international half back Danny Jones did.

And nothing has inspired us more than the way in which the Rugby League family responded to the tragedy and in the way that his wife, Lizzie, rose from the devastation of losing her husband and the father of her young twins so suddenly and unexpectedly.

The most emotional moment of my year came at Wembley Stadium in August for the Challenge Cup Final when Lizzie sang ‘Abide with Me’.  You can watch her emotional performance here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PtdOMf-0qI

I have no admitting that I was close to tears when the pictures of her and Danny and the twins came up on the big screens – her performance and the reception she received was truly heart warming as was the response to the JustGiving page set up for Danny.

The target total was quickly revised many times as the Rugby League family took this cause to their hearts and they have so far raised over £280,000.

If you haven’t already, you can still donate at www.justgiving.com/dannyjones29 .

Lizzie performed before the Third and final Test of the recent England v. New Zealand Test Series and the reception she got showed just how much love and respect the Rugby League family have for her.

Ken Sio scores Rovers first try in the semi final.

Hull KR reach the Challenge Cup Final

Let’s forget about the Challenge Cup Final itself and remember the semi-final victory over Warrington Wolves.

What a fantastic day that was.

From arriving home at 4 a.m. in the morning from a 2 week holiday in Turkey, having 4 hours sleep before heading over to Leeds, via McDonalds, with 2 of my boys to witness my first Challenge Cup semi-final for 9 years (their first ever), meeting up with a load of old rugby playing friends at the ground, witnessing a superb Hull KR performance and singing Erasure’s ‘A Little Respect’ at the end of the game.

It is my greatest memory of the year – just watching the Ken Sio try on TV the other day raised goose bumps on me it was such a wonderful try.

It showed great vision from Albert Kelly to spot the opportunity and brilliant timing and athleticism by Sio to jump higher than his opposite number, never breaking stride or slowing down, to collect the ball brilliantly in the wet conditions and slide over for Rovers try of the season.

We were so close to the action on that side of the pitch we felt as if we could touch Sio.

It was a wondferful Hull KR performance and showed what the team are capable of doing when they put their minds to it – the Rovers support on the day was superb and helped carry the team along to a famous victory which was only blighted by the near season ending injury to Albert Kelly, something we didn’t know about until a few days later.

The after match celebrations in the pouring rain were brilliant and I managed to get a couple of bear hugs with Shaun Lunt and Kieran Dixon – who looked as if he was literally in a dream.

The fact that I experienced this magnificent occasion with 2 of my boys made the day even greater – who cares about a record defeat at Wembley!!!!!

Click here to see Ken Sio's semi final try: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYi-ZDeDrYY

Salford owner Marwan Koukash.

My favourite Soap Opera - Salford Red Devils

There has been no greater Soap Opera in the sport this year than Salford Red Devils.

Under the leadership of Marwan Koukash they have gone from the ridiculous to the downright unbelievable at times and it seems that every single week there has been a story of some kind emanating from the AJ Bell Stadium.

Unfortunately, the majority of it has been to the detriment of the Salford club and, to a lesser extent, rugby league in general.

I have half been expecting to find out that Koukash does not actually exist and we’ve all woken up from a bad dream.

From his infamous ‘’I’ve had enough’’ tweet after the hammering by St. Helens in their first home game of the Super League season, the early release of one of the Deviluotion’s biggest names, Gareth Hock, after he received a 6 match ban, the Challenge Cup defeat to Championship pace setters Leigh Centurions, with Hock in their ranks, the infamous foul mouthed press conference, the extended ‘sick leave’ of Head Coach Iestyn Harris before his eventual release, the resignations of New Zealand international full back Kevin Locke and French international half back Theo Fages, the pay disputes with Tony Puletua and the aforementioned Locke and the eventual termination of the contract of Koukash’s star signing Rangi Chase – phew, have I missed anything??

Oh yes, I hope Niall Evalds is enjoying his Maserati!!!!

The one bright spot out of this season of turmoil has been the appointment of legendary Australian coach Tim Sheens as Director of Rugby – there is nothing Sheens has not done in rugby league at the highest level.

Multiple Grand Final wins with Canberra Raiders and Wests Tigers, victories at State of Origin level with New South Wales and a World Cup win with Australia.

If anyone can turn the tide at Salford, it is Sheens – quite what the attraction is for him I have not worked out yet.

Sam Burgess

Jarryd Hayne

Burgess and Hayne

The two players that have had the most column inches in the rugby league press across the world this year didn’t even play our sport in 2015.

Obviously, the press has gone into over drive since Sam Burgess’ decision to turn his back on his contract with Bath Rugby and return to South Sydney Rabbitohs.

The up and down journeys of Burgess, as he tried to earn a position in the England Rugby Union World Cup squad, and Jarryd Hayne as he worked tirelessly towards earning a professional contract in the NFL have been played out in the full glare of the media in both the UK and Australia and, in Haynes case, the USA.

As we all know, Burgess succeeded in earning a place in the World Cup squad and subsequently became a scapegoat for the teams failure to make it’s way out of the group of death that saw Australia and Wales qualify for the quarter finals at England’s expense.

Hayne’s achievement in earning a professional contract with the San Francisco 49ers and a place in their final 53 man roster for the start of the regular season was an even bigger achievement than that of Burgess.

Both left a sport and an environment that they were very comfortable in to test themselves and, lets be fair, hopefully earn a lot of dosh.

That both have succeeded in the way that they have is a testament to the sport that they grew up playing as is the way that they have carried themselves with dignity and integrity throughout testing times in 2015.

Leeds Rhinos – Club of the Year

There is no doubt about the team or the club of the year in 2015.

Leeds Rhinos won everything on offer in England and did it with style and panache whilst playing a wonderfully entertaining brand of rugby league.

They also showed some big cahounas after the Challenge Cup Final to come back from 3 successive defeats at the start of the Super 8s to snatch massive wins at Huddersfield to win the League Leaders Shield, with the helicopter transporting the trophy looking for a place to set down in Wigan, to deny St. Helens late on in the semi final a week later and then to finally overcome a hugely determined and talented Wigan Warriors side in the Grand Final.

The fact they knew that three legends of the club, Kevin Sinfield, Jamie Peacock and Kylie Leuluai, would be leaving at the end of the season just seemed to galvanised them in their moments of struggle.

Even if it wasn’t the departing players themselves who pulled off the decisive plays, although Sinfield’s 40/20 in the semi-final against Saints probably did change the course of the match, the rest of the team just demanded that they meet their destiny and end up with a clean sweep of the trophies

The Rhinos have an abundance of talent on the field and have the best Head Coach in Super League leading them.

The fact that Zak Hardaker took home the Steve Prescott Man of Steel Award and Bran McDermott the Coach of the Year Award showed just how dominant the Rhinos where in 2015.

Their Challenge Cup Final demolition of Hull KR was hard to watch but easy to admire – plenty of Super League teams would have put in a better performance than Rovers did but I don’t think any of them would have denied the Rhinos on the day.

Even though they scored 50 points, it was probably their defence that impressed me most – Hull KR never had a sniff of the Rhinos try line in the full 80 minutes.

Then you have to add in the fantastic army of support that they have and the wonderful atmosphere that is created at Headingley, especially under the lights when a big match is being played as testified to by a number of the recent Kiwi touring team after over 20,000 crammed into the stadium to watch them take on the Rhinos. 

If my team, Hull KR, did not exist I would be a Leeds Rhinos fan. Enough said.

You can see Ryan Hall's try that won the Rhinos the League Leaders Shield here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipPGY9RogNA

The final bit of extra time thinking for 2015:

Will Leigh Centurions get over the massive disappointment of finishing bottom of the middle 8s when they were so confident of gaining one of the four Super League places up for grabs?

There is no doubt that they will be the front runners in the Championship again.

They have basically gone out and bought all of Salford’s best players and have today finally announced the signing of Rangi Chase, although he didn’t seem too happy about it himself. That was probably because no-one in Super League wanted him.

Where will he play and who will make way? I can’t see Chase being happy at this level of the game or being rotated with Ridyard, Brierley or McNally and I predict that he will not see out the season with Leigh, let alone his two year contract.

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Has anyone signed a Marquee Player yet? Is Sam Tomkins Wigan’s Marquee signing? There was a massive fanfare about this rule coming in and I was half expecting the majority of the current Australian Test team to be making their way over to Super League to play for Salford. But it hasn’t happened and I wonder if club’s are actually struggling to work out how to use it and who to use it on. It could be a bit of a damp squib.

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The end to the Super League season was fantastic with the Rhinos taking the League Leaders Shield with the last play of the season, a wonderful semi-final between the Rhinos and the Saints (although the Giants bottled it again) and the best ever Grand Final that saw the Rhinos fittingly send off their departing legends with the treble in a storming game against Wigan Warriors.

But was this down to the introduction of the Super 8’s and did ‘Every Minute Matter.’’?

It certainly did if you had something to play for and the middle 8’s kept the season alive for a number of teams – but teams like Hull FC, Catalans Dragons and Warrington Wolves were dead and buried very early and were basically left with a few friendly fixtures to fulfill in the Super 8’s.

Would it be better if the points total went back to zero at the start of the Super 8’s just as it did with the Middle 8’s? It would certainly have made the Super 8’s even more exciting this year.
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I mentioned the Super League Grand Final above but the NRL Grand Final the week before surpassed even our great Final.

With the resurgent Brisbane Broncos, back under the steely Wayne Bennett eye, leading the North Queensland Cowboys 18-14 going into the final second Michael Morgan pulled off a wonderful back handed pass out of the tackle to send wingman Kyle Feldt diving in at the corner to level the match and give the all-time great Jonathan Thurston a touchline conversion to win the Cowboys first Grand Final – he hit’s the post and the game goes to Golden Point extra time.

Fortunately for Thurston he got another opportunity after the Broncos knocked on from the kick off. The ball was worked back to him and he kicked the winning drop goal – the stuff dreams are made.

It was fitting that it was Thurston who kicked the winning point – he lives and breathes every moment of the Cowboys matches and is never far away from the action – he is without doubt the greatest player in the game at the moment.

The fact that both Finals pulled in huge crowds – over 80,000 in Sydney and a first time sell out 73.000+ at Old Trafford showed that our game is pretty healthy at the moment.     

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dOkKCyOTHM - NRL Grand Final Highlights
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRwEy1Ax-2g - Super League Grand Final Highlights

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You can follow me on Twitter @sharpster69

10 Things I Learnt from the Third Test - England v. New Zealand

After an exciting end to the three match Test Series, here are a few things I learnt from the Third and final Test Match:

Jermaine McGilivary on debut for England.

1.

Jermaine McGillivary should have played in all 3 Tests. I picked him before the Series and he proved me right. http://rugbyleaguelife.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/my-england-sqaud-for-new-zealand-test.html He was THE form winger in Super League leading up to the Test Series and he carried that form into the Third Test, taking the ball out strongly and making plenty of good hard yards. He was certainly more effective than Joe Burgess in the first Two Tests.

Recalled - Matty Smith.

2.

England Head Coach Steve McNamara made a very good call to bring back Wigan scrum half Matty Smith to the starting line up. It was clear after the Second Test that a change had to be made at half back and the majority of England supporters, including me, would have preferred Castleford Tigers half back Luke Gale to be given a chance but Smith did the required job. He is not spectacular but his kicking game is excellent and it was far superior to what had been proffered in the Second Test and his game management, organisation and distribution where just what England needed.

Should Marshall have been selected?

3.

New Zealand Head Coach Stephen Kearney should have picked Benji Marshall. The Kiwis were crying out for some creativity at half back and whilst Kodi Nikarima and Peta Hiku had their best matches of the Series, a player with the experience and creative skills of Marshall could have been the difference between winning and losing the Test Series.

I'm not convinced by Gareth Widdop.

4.

I’m still not convinced that Gareth Widdop is England’s answer at stand off half. Most of the time he seemed to be running around in circles and up dead ends and turning back on himself. He has a high quality kicking game and is a very good goal kicker but I am not sure that he has the creative ability to fully crack it at international level.

John Bateman

5.

John Bateman is a Test Class player but just not at centre. He has had a very good series and has played like the quality second row he is – he constantly plays above his weight and is a constant thorn in the opposition’s side whether that is in attack or defence. But, he is not a centre and that could be one of the reasons why Ryan Hall had such a quiet series. 

Lose the beard, Sam.

6.

Sam Tomkins needs to lose his beard. Nothing more needs to be said.

Whitehead scores his 2nd try on Saturday.

7.

Canberra Raiders will have two quality English players in their ranks in 2016. Former Hull KR hooker Josh Hodgson had a brilliant first season with the Raiders in 2015 and his form saw him overtake the 2014 Man of Steel winner Daryl Clark in the pecking order of top quality English hookers. Hodgson will be joined at the Raiders by his Test colleague Elliott Whitehead who has signed from Catalans Dragons. Whitehead is an outstanding second row forward who fully deserved his Test spot. He was fairly quiet in the first two Tests but came to the fore in the Third Test to score two crucial tries.

Ben Thaler

8.

Ben Thaler was the right choice as referee, although at times I was worried that he was impersonating Gerard Sutton from the Second Test because he started giving penalties for petty little infringements at the play the ball – something he didn’t do in the First Test in Hull. However, he settled down and allowed the players to get on with the game and showed that there has been a vast improvement in his refereeing over the last 12 months.

Lizzie Jones singing before the Challenge Cup Final.

9.

Lizzie Jones should sing at all future big Rugby League occasions. Not out of sympathy but because Rugby League fans identify with her, love her and actually look forward to hearing her sing. She has a damn fine singing voice.

McNamara - should he stay or should he go?

10.

I’m still undecided on whether Steve McNamara should be retained as England Head Coach. Has he taken England as far as he can? Although this is a results business and you can clearly state an argument that his results against Australia and New Zealand over his 5 year tenure as Head Coach have not been good enough, there is no doubt that England are a much more competitive outfit, are more professionally prepared in camp, are defensively sound and have a very good team spirit. If he is awarded a new contract it needs to take in the 2016 Four Nations and the 2017 World Cup as we do not want to be in a position to be looking for a new Head Coach just 12 months out from a World Cup.

TEN THINGS WE LEARNT FROM THE SECOND TEST

Luke Gale should play in the 3rd Test

1.

Luke Gale must replace George Williams at half back if England are to have any chance of winning the Third Test and the series. The English half back pairing lacked creativity on Saturday. Widdop will not get dropped so it will have to be Williams – he had a good debut in the First Test at Hull but struggled on Saturday. England Head Coach Steve McNamara should take a leaf out of his counterpart Stephen Kearney’s book and change his scrum half. I don’t understand why McNamara has picked two scrum halves in his squad and ignored both of them in the first two tests. England need to bring their outside backs into the game more and bring something different in attack – on Saturday they were too easy for Kiwi defence to read. Gale could be the difference.

2.
England also need to give more game time to Josh Hodgson. For me, England have looked better in both matches with Hodgson at dummy half – he is better with the ball in his hands out of dummy half and creates more opportunities than James Roby. The St. Helens hooker is an outstanding player and a tackling machine but Hodgson is the more creative player – he carved out England’s only try scoring opportunity on Saturday with the little kick through near the line that should have seen James Graham score, he scored England’s first try of the series in Hull and constantly put players in holes with clever, sharp passes out of dummy half.

3.

The Olympic Stadium should be used for the 2016 Four Nations opener. A double header should be staged between Australia and New Zealand with England playing Scotland. Wembley is too big with a 90,000 capacity and if we want to pay regular visits to London the Olympic Stadium is the perfect size with a capacity of approx. 54,000. Short sightedness or realism? You decide.

4.

My concern about taking big games to Wembley Stadium, apart from the Challenge Cup Final of course, is borne out by the fact that we could not sell out the Olympic Stadium for the Second Test. A crowd in excess of 44,000 is a respectably sized attendance but when you have a run of the mill Rugby Union World Cup Group game between Ireland and the minnows Romania played in front of a crowd more than twice that size at Wembley Stadium a few weeks ago you have to ask some serious questions about why we could not sell out the Olympic Stadium for a match involving England and the world ranked no. 1 rugby league team, New Zealand. Are the RFL marketing the games well enough? Tickets were available from £20 which is a decent enough price or do northern rugby league fans not want their international games played in the south?

SKD scores the only try.

5.

England need to stop the Kiwis off loading the ball. The only time the Kiwis looked dangerous on Saturday was when they off loaded the ball out of the tackle. Isaac Luke, Jesse Bromwich, Kevin Proctor and one or two others were constantly looking for the off load and managed to succeed despite the best attention of the English defence. It was one such off load out of the tackle by debut half back Kodi Nikarima that led to the only try of the game by Shaun Kenny-Dowall.

6.

Something needs to be done to fire the crowds up. The atmosphere for the first half of the First Test at the KC Stadium in Hull was poor before the second half improved due to England’s improved performance. Likewise, the atmosphere at the Olympic Stadium was subdued and tense just like the England performance. England need to come out with all guns blazing on Saturday at the DW Stadium in Wigan to make sure the crowd have something to cheer about early on and make sure that the atmosphere is intimidating and loud enough to affect the Kiwis performance.

7.

New Zealand at full strength would have this series won already. It is worrying that with the number of first choice players that the Kiwis have missing that we have not tied this series up 2-0. First choice half backs Shaun Johnson, the current Golden Boot holder, and Kieran Foran, world class winger Manu Vatuvei, captain Simon Mannering, prop forward Jarred Warea-Hargreaves, experienced utility Thomas Leuluaia, North Queensland Premiership winner Jason Taumalolo and the up and coming youngster Dallin Watene-Zelezniak are all players that would have been expected to be a part of the Kiwi’s first choice 17. Losing both world class half backs is bad enough but they also left Benji Marshall at home as coach Stephen Kearney did not want to select him. How do you think this series would be balanced now if all of the above players had been included?

Thomas Burgess

8.

Thomas Burgess has been a revelation in this series. He has always been in the shadow of elder brother Sam and his twin George but he has really stood up in this series so far and has been England’s biggest attacking threat and has also defended strongly. A triple Burgess brother threat in the 2016 Four Nations tournament is something to look forward to.

Ben Thaler - must referee Third Test.

9.

Ben Thaler must referee the third and deciding test on Saturday. I thought Aussie referee Gerard Sutton didn’t help the game flow at the weekend. There were too many penalties for minor infringements at the play the ball that really did not warrant a penalty and just needed a quick word from the referee to say ‘’get on with it’’. Thaler let the first test flow and it was a better spectacle as a result. A panel will this week decide if it is Thaler or Sutton who will referee the final test. With it being the decider I can only assume that they will go with the neutral Sutton but I think that decision would detract from the potential spectacle of an existing Test Series decider.

10.

The series will be decided at the DW Stadium in Wigan on Saturday. A sell-out crowd of over 25,000 will be in attendance to witness the series decider. It should be an exciting game but both teams will need to bring a more attacking style of play rather than concentrating on slowing the play the ball down and stifling the game. This match needs to entertain and needs to be as thrilling as we know rugby league can be to show the millions watching on BBC TV what a great game this is and how good international rugby league can be.

SAM BURGESS - EASY WAY OUT OR SENSIBLE OPTION?

Sam Burgess in happier times with England RU.

Even with all of the speculation that has surrounded the future of Sam Burgess since England were knocked out of the Rugby Union World Cup, I was still surprised to open up the BBC website on Thursday afternoon and see the breaking news that Burgess had quit Bath Rugby with immediate effect and would, presumably, be returning to the NRL with South Sydney Rabbitohs – a fact that was confirmed later in the day.

I was bang in the middle of writing an article about why both Burgess and Jarryd Hayne should fight to overcome the difficulties they were currently having in their new careers, Hayne having been ‘waived’ at the weekend by the San Francisco 49ers in the NFL, and must admit that I was disappointed with the news that Burgess had quit.

Not because it ruined my article but because I thought it was the easy option for him to jump ship and return to his home from home in Sydney with the Rabbitohs.

I tweeted ‘’Must be honest, I feel slightly disappointed that Burgess has taken the ‘easy’ option and quit RU. Would like to hear his reasons.’

A friend of mine tweeted back saying ‘’Easy option or sensible option Andy? If I was him my mind would’ve been made up after the Wales WC game.’’

There is no doubt that Burgess was unduly vilified by the Rugby Union press and some former RU players, who should take a long hard look at themselves, and was made the major scapegoat for England’s failure to get themselves out of the ‘Group of Death’.

England RU Head Coach Stuart Lancaster.

The vast majority of fans, both League and Union, could see that the failings of the team could not purely be put at one man’s door – whether that was Burgess, Head Coach Stuart Lancaster or anyone else.

However, Burgess was not helped by the England Head Coach or his coaching team.

Lancaster and his assistant Andy Farrell, a former dual code international himself, clearly believed from the outset of Burgess’ rugby union career that he should play in the centre position rather than on the side of the scrum where he had been playing the majority of his rugby for Bath.

This seeming intransigence means that Burgess was having to learn the complexities of two different positions and took the World Cup spot of Luther Burrell – the incumbent Test centre who had played in all of England’s Six Nations matches earlier in the year – adding to the intensity of the pressure already on him.

I am sure Sam knew that the glare of publicity would mainly be aimed in his direction and was prepared accordingly.

As the new kid on the block who had jumped ship from the rival code with near mythical status and succeeded in making the massive jump to the international scene, the pressure for him to succeed was immense and the huge press corps that was following the Rugby Union World Cup were waiting to glimpse any sign of failure.

Without a doubt that failure did not come from Burgess. He played a cameo role in the opening victory over Fiji and the defeat against Australia and was not selected for the final dead rubber against Uruguay – a strange decision in itself although numerous other star players were also not selected.

It was the Wales group game that really made people sit up and take notice of how poor England were and Burgess was in the full glare as he started at centre in place of the injured Jonathan Joseph.

Big Sam performed well enough.

A lot of ‘experts’ have said that he contained the Welsh British Lions centre Jamie Roberts well in the game and England were leading by 7 points when he was replaced by George Ford late on.

Owen Farrell was moved out wide to replace Burgess in the centres with Ford taking over at fly half – England imploded and lost the game.

That made the following weeks encounter with Australia a must win game – Burgess was back on the bench as Joseph was now fit and England lost by 20 points and were out of the World Cup, the first host nation not to get out of the group stages.

The answer to all of this – #Blame Burgess.

Some of the press have really laid into Burgess alongside the England coaching staff but no other player, maybe apart from the captain Chris Robshaw, has had their role questioned or scrutinised like Sam’s.

Throughout all of this he has retained his dignity and integrity and has not spoken to the press.

The first sign that there was a potential problem was when Bath gave Burgess an unplanned 10 day break which was explained as him ‘’not feeling right’’ – he then turned up with the England Rugby League squad to watch their friendly against France and sat next to Head Coach Steve McNamara, the man who gave Burgess his Super League debut for the Bradford Bulls back in 2006.

There is no doubt that Burgess has put in a huge amount of work to get himself anywhere near the standard that he needed to be to warrant his position in the England World Cup squad – even though it was clear that the RFU and Lancaster desperately wanted him to make the transition quickly it was down to the man himself to make sure he was performing at a high enough standard.

Having done that and ran the gauntlet of the Rugby Union press over the last few weeks with a great amount of dignity, I can only think that his decision was formulating itself before the start of the World Cup tournament.

It has been reported that Burgess and South Sydney Head Coach Michael McGuire were texting each other throughout the brilliant NRL Grand Final between North Queensland Cowboys and Brisbane Broncos back at the end of September.

Burgess will be back where he belongs.

There was never any doubt that if Burgess sent out the signals that he was unhappy in rugby union then Russell Crowe, the owner of the Rabbitohs, would be beating on the door of the Bath owner Bruce Craig in order to finalise a deal.

This was denied as late as Tuesday by both Craig and his Head Coach Mike Ford, but it is clear that they were trying to deflect attention away from what was going on behind the scenes.

Burgess was only going one way and that was back to Sydney and his mother, brothers and soon to be in-laws plus his extended family at the Rabbitohs.

He will be welcomed home as a returning hero – the option was always there and it was an easy decision for him to make.

Burgess has cited missing his family as the main reason for his decision.

The three brothers will be at South's from next year.

It is clear that family means much to him and that he is very close to his brothers and his mother, who all live in Sydney, but surely he must have known this before the World Cup or even before he signed his 3 year contract with Bath – after all, he’s not a young kid anymore.

Would he have made the same decision if England had won the World Cup or at least performed admirably and the press had given him glowing reports?

Although Bath have received a significant transfer fee for Burgess – reportedly much higher than what they paid to get him released from his Rabbitohs contract – I would feel massively disappointed by his decision.

Everyone has the right to change their mind at any time in every aspect of life but I feel that Burgess owed it to the Bath club to see out his contract – or at least play until the end of this season – basically he has left a hole in their squad although I am sure they will be quick to fill it now that a large chunk of their salary cap is now unexpectedly available.

For Sam’s long term future I guess he has made a sensible decision.

He may feel that he will not become an international forward in rugby union, even though his build and skill set is suited perfectly to the modern day flanker position, within the next 2 years of his contract and that there is no point in trying if he is not going to attain success at the highest level of the game within that timescale.

I always thought that by the 2019 Rugby Union World Cup in Japan he would be safely back playing rugby league anyway.

It is sensible because he is going back to a game that he was born to play – Burgess was and always will be a rugby league player.

He is the type of player who needs to be involved from minute 1 to minute 80, who makes 40 to 50 tackles a match and hits the ball up 20 times a match – he is a modern day warrior.

It is sensible because he is back with his family. He is getting married in Sydney in December and his fiance’s family are in Australia.

It is sensible because he will be the highest paid player in the world of rugby league with the Rabbitohs reportedly paying him £700,000 per season over his 3 year deal.

However, I still can’t help but feel that Burgess has let a lot of people down by his sudden change of heart.

Undoubtedly Stuart Lancaster and Andy Farrell’s positions will come under even greater scrutiny as they were the one’s who pushed for his inclusion in the England squad and expected him to be a part of their long term plans and I wonder how Luther Burrell feels after losing his World Cup position to a temporary interloper.

There is no doubt that Burgess made a success of his time in rugby union, you do not earn international recognition on name alone, but I feel that he should have seen his contract out and shown his critics how good he is.

England RL 2016?

It is great for rugby league that we have our biggest name back with us and I can’t wait to see him playing for England in next year’s Four Nations tournament in the UK.

Welcome back Sam.