First Test - England v New Zealand (Sunday 1st Nov 5PM GMT/ Monday 6AM NZDT/4AM EST)

[Burns]

First English win over NZ since 2011 Four Nations, which means its essentially their first 'big' win in four years.

 

[Fast Eddie]

Nikorima at half anyone?

Yeah no idea why this hasn't be the plan so far. Looks to definitely have the most halves talent out of the 3 guys, Lolohea is gonna be a centre for quite some time.

 

[roughyedspud]

Thing about lolohea,and i saw him a couple of years ago in the nyc destroy everyone with his step & speed,but he needs a organising 7 inside him...like shaun johnson,you can have skill in the world but if you don't have a partner doing the bog standard shit it counts for nothing and they end up running around like headless chooks...

Like johnson does...and benji before him

 

[The Clan]

England had Widdop starting as a 1st choice half for the first time and George Williams making his international debut after just 1 full season for Wigan yet they still ran the game. Tell me more about the Kiwis inexperienced half backs?

James Graham, Chris a Hill and Tom Burgess bullied the much vaunted New Zealand forwards all through the match, you could even hear Graham telling Bromich so at a scrum.

 

[lafai]

England had Widdop starting as a 1st choice half for the first time and George Williams making his international debut after just 1 full season for Wigan yet they still ran the game. Tell me more about the Kiwis inexperienced half backs?

James Graham, Chris a Hill and Tom Burgess bullied the much vaunted New Zealand forwards all through the match, you could even hear Graham telling Bromich so at a scrum.

Did the 2014 Four Nations not happen in regards to Widdop? Pretty sure he was a first choice half. And they are natural halves. Hiku & Lolohea? Both centres at this stage of their careers.

 

[Rich102]

The Kiwi's came out of the blocks strong and, if the referee had blown fulltime after 20 minutes, would have won the game.
England, to their credit, kept fighting for the whole 80 minutes.
Memo to S Kearney: You can't disrespect your opposition by playing two untried halves in a test match - especially if neither is any good at half. Admit you're wrong and get Marshall there ASAP and pair him with Nikorima.
Kearney is going to have a lot of explaining to do about his interchanges as well. Replacing Bromich with Nikorima and then hooking Nikorima after only 10 minutes or so was baffling.
Maybe going to the south of France wasn't the best build up to a test match.
At the end of the day the Kiwi's made too many errors to win the game and they look far short of match fitness too. (Blair looked well short of a gallop).
I will watch the next match with interest but not a hightened expectation of success.

From a Warriors point of view RTS is the goods but we dodged a bullet by not signing Moa.

 

[Fast Eddie]

Thing about lolohea,and i saw him a couple of years ago in the nyc destroy everyone with his step & speed,but he needs a organising 7 inside him...like shaun johnson,you can have skill in the world but if you don't have a partner doing the bog standard shit it counts for nothing and they end up running around like headless chooks...

Like johnson does...and benji before him

He is just a good ball runner at this stage, he's not gonna set anything up for anyone. Thats why he is best suited to centre and looked good there during the NRL last season. Maybe he can move into 5/8th in a few years but right now he's not a good one, certainly not halfback material anyway.

 

[Rich102]

Thing about lolohea,and i saw him a couple of years ago in the nyc destroy everyone with his step & speed,but he needs a organising 7 inside him...like shaun johnson,you can have skill in the world but if you don't have a partner doing the bog standard shit it counts for nothing and they end up running around like headless chooks...

Like johnson does...and benji before him

Yep. Plus his kicking is pointless. More hope than direction.
Exactly why he and Johnson should never be a halves combination.
Plus, as Fast Eddie points out, Lolohea is far better suited to center.

 

[t-ba]

England had Widdop starting as a 1st choice half for the first time and George Williams making his international debut after just 1 full season for Wigan yet they still ran the game. Tell me more about the Kiwis inexperienced half backs?

James Graham, Chris a Hill and Tom Burgess bullied the much vaunted New Zealand forwards all through the match, you could even hear Graham telling Bromich so at a scrum.

Forwards did alright. NZ really missed JWH.

As for the halves, Peta Hiku plays at Winger and Fullback for Manly, centre sometimes. Tom Symonds, a ginger second rower is preferred in the halves over him. Lolohea is a 20 year old utility who played all over the park for the Warriors this year and only really got thrown in the halves properly after Shaun Johnson went down six weeks out from the finals. Widdop's been playing for years in the halves, and that is his actual position, and George Williams is apparently some kind of Wunderkind.

Congrats on the win but jesus don't get ahead of yourselves. Put Shaun Johnson, an interested Keiran Foran and JWH into any side and it's going to be hard to beat. Fortuitous for England that they are unavailable, but it's still a well earnt victory.

 

[The Clan]

Did the 2014 Four Nations not happen in regards to Widdop? Pretty sure he was a first choice half. And they are natural halves. Hiku & Lolohea? Both centres at this stage of their careers.

This is the first series that Widdop has gone into as the first choice half, he's previously been an understudy to Sinfield.

George Williams has just turned 21 (yesterday)

England played him because there's no one else better, New Zealand have the option to do the same but chose not to, England can only beat what's put in front of them, it's no good making excuses afterwards

 

[Brutus]

England almost beat a full-strength Kiwi side in the world cup semi.

They can do it.

 

[The Clan]

Forwards did alright. NZ really missed JWH.

As for the halves, Peta Hiku plays at Winger and Fullback for Manly, centre sometimes. Tom Symonds, a ginger second rower is preferred in the halves over him. Lolohea is a 20 year old utility who played all over the park for the Warriors this year and only really got thrown in the halves properly after Shaun Johnson went down six weeks out from the finals. Widdop's been playing for years in the halves, and that is his actual position, and George Williams is apparently some kind of Wunderkind.

Congrats on the win but jesus don't get ahead of yourselves. Put Shaun Johnson, an interested Keiran Foran and JWH into any side and it's going to be hard to beat. Fortuitous for England that they are unavailable, but it's still a well earnt victory.

Not getting ahead of myself or anyone else for that matter, just responding in kind to some of the excuse making idiots.

It's fortuitous for New Zealand that Tomkins, G Burgess, Charnley, Reed and Westwood weren't fit for England

 

[t-ba]

Not getting ahead of myself or anyone else for that matter, just responding in kind to some of the excuse making idiots.

It's fortuitous for New Zealand that Tomkins, G Burgess, Charnley, Reed and Westwood weren't fit for England

Are you honestly comparing those players to JWH, Foran and Shaun Johnson? :lol:

No offence, but England has been full of excuses for the last 40 years of dross that they've served up. Why not just take the win in stride? Once you win the series then you can start abusing the shit out of everyone.

 

[Chief_Chujo]

How did hodgo and Whitehead go?

 

[The Voice of Reason!]

Just seen the result but haven't seen the game.

Looks like I was very wrong indeed and that we now have a series on our hands.

 

[The Clan]

Are you honestly comparing those players to JWH, Foran and Shaun Johnson? :lol:

No offence, but England has been full of excuses for the last 40 years of dross that they've served up. Why not just take the win in stride? Once you win the series then you can start abusing the shit out of everyone.

Where's my abuse of anyone?

Read my post, I'm not getting ahead of anything but likewise I'm not sitting still for the excuses and the crying about who's not playing.

That said, I'll give you Johnson but Foran and JWH are no better than those players I listed as missing for England.
Now if you included Mannering and Taumalolo then I'd say yes New Zealand would be much stronger with them on the tour

 

[Steve Davy]

Are you honestly comparing those players to JWH, Foran and Shaun Johnson? :lol:

No offence, but England has been full of excuses for the last 40 years of dross that they've served up. Why not just take the win in stride? Once you win the series then you can start abusing the shit out of everyone.

TBF, I think that is what people are doing. England won today, what New Zealand have managed over the last few years is far more impressive, which is the context for people being pleased with the win in a way they were not at beating France. No-one (I hope) is claiming this makes England the best team in the world.

 

[siv]

If they win next week - the Poms will trumpet it long and hard

 

[The Clan]

If they win next week - the Poms will trumpet it long and hard

Why not?

Every Test team who ever played has gone into a series with players missing, at the end of the day you send the best available and if they lose they lose no ones interested in excuses!

New Zealand fans talk about their strength in depth and the huge number of their players now earning a living in the NRL but as soon as a few aren't available it's all about it being a weak team and development players so the series doesn't mean anything.

So while I'll keep it in context and look forward to the next World Cup or 4 Nations, I'll also celebrate our weakened England team turning over New Zealand's weakened team.

Thanks

 

[Bobby DIGital]

I haven't seen the game yet, but Kearney picking Hiku in the halves is ridiculous.