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GB Lions Tour on sale today + Eden Park schedule confirmed

morningstar

morningstar

Juniors
Messages
827
kiwileaguefan said:
Average, not all the bays are opened.
Click to expand...

Those bays were previously on sale. I bought my tickets in the central bay over a month ago when the PAX was 3400.

Not saying all the grey blocks are sold out, but if you have been to RLP before you know you get cooked by the sun on the TV facing stand so most savvy people buy in the opposite. Reckon they have made it unavailable to force people to buy on the other side for tv aesthetics.
 
adamkungl

adamkungl

Immortal
Messages
42,971
NZ: Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Ken Maumalo, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Joseph Manu, Jamayne Isaako; Shaun Johnson , Benji Marshall (c); Joe Tapine, Corey Harawira-Naera, Briton Nikora, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Brandon Smith, Zane Tetevano. Res: Kodi Nikorima, Kevin Proctor, Leeson Ah Mau, Adam Blair.

GB: Jonny Lomax; Jermain McGillvary, Jack Hughes, Jake Connor, Zak Hardaker; Gareth Widdop, Jackson Hastings; James Graham (c), Elliott Whitehead, John Bateman, Tom Burgess, Josh Hodgson, Chris Hill. Res: Josh Jones, Joe Philbin, Daryl Clark, Alex Walmsley.

NZ have thankfully brought back Shaun Johnson into the halves.

Wayne running with much the same team into the next NZ game, with the only significant changes due to injuries.
This backline will get torn apart if Kiwis get on the front foot, and will struggle for points again.

Getting proper flogged by NZ might be the best thing for England right now. Give them an excuse to punt Wayne, start fresh with someone who actually watches Super League and has respect for, and confidence in English RL.
Bennett did well to get them to the final in 2017 but their current trajectory into 2021 has them bombing out of the quarter finals to PNG or Samoa
 
J

JFK Files

Juniors
Messages
79
Its hard to put into words how bad that squad is, Kiwis will win by 30 and then PNG will beat them with ease.
Bennett fans keep referring to his successful career but realistically, anyone could have coached his teams to success. I would also argue that had England had another coach they would've won the WC in 2017. His team selections then were awful, Kevin Brown at 5/8, Bateman in the centres, no George Burgess or Sam Tomkins.
 
yakstorm

yakstorm

First Grade
Messages
6,037
JFK Files said:
Its hard to put into words how bad that squad is, Kiwis will win by 30 and then PNG will beat them with ease.
Bennett fans keep referring to his successful career but realistically, anyone could have coached his teams to success. I would also argue that had England had another coach they would've won the WC in 2017. His team selections then were awful, Kevin Brown at 5/8, Bateman in the centres, no George Burgess or Sam Tomkins.
Click to expand...

Well McNamara didn't with England, and he had the advantage of coaching the squad for a home World Cup, not one on the other side of the world, and one with a significantly improved Tonga.

Bennett is far from perfect, and really has been terrible this year with Great Britain (although it feels even the players aren't playing with the same pride as they do when they wear the England jumper and this is just a nothing tour to them) but I'd have to disagree with you that anyone could have coached his teams to success... I'm sure that's what Anthony Seibold was thinking when he took over Brisbane this year...

Are there better coaches out there for England than Bennett? I'm sure there are, and the RFL should be conducting regular reviews anyway, however anyone who takes over will have similar issues to Bennett in that the RFL / Super League have successfully blocked all of his requests to help develop the team which were:
  • Annual Pre-Season Training Camp : Never got off the ground
  • Mid-Season Internationals each year : Was completely removed from the calendar this year
  • Shorten the Super League season : Will never get entertained
 
jim_57

jim_57

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
4,602
adamkungl said:
NZ: Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, Ken Maumalo, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Joseph Manu, Jamayne Isaako; Shaun Johnson , Benji Marshall (c); Joe Tapine, Corey Harawira-Naera, Briton Nikora, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Brandon Smith, Zane Tetevano. Res: Kodi Nikorima, Kevin Proctor, Leeson Ah Mau, Adam Blair.

GB: Jonny Lomax; Jermain McGillvary, Jack Hughes, Jake Connor, Zak Hardaker; Gareth Widdop, Jackson Hastings; James Graham (c), Elliott Whitehead, John Bateman, Tom Burgess, Josh Hodgson, Chris Hill. Res: Josh Jones, Joe Philbin, Daryl Clark, Alex Walmsley.

NZ have thankfully brought back Shaun Johnson into the halves.

Wayne running with much the same team into the next NZ game, with the only significant changes due to injuries.
This backline will get torn apart if Kiwis get on the front foot, and will struggle for points again.

Getting proper flogged by NZ might be the best thing for England right now. Give them an excuse to punt Wayne, start fresh with someone who actually watches Super League and has respect for, and confidence in English RL.
Bennett did well to get them to the final in 2017 but their current trajectory into 2021 has them bombing out of the quarter finals to PNG or Samoa
Click to expand...

They really should have drafted Herbie Farnworth from the Broncos in on the wing if they weren't going to fly someone over from England. At least he has a lot of potential and some speed.

Unless he's injured or had off-season surgery.
 
jim_57

jim_57

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
4,602
PNG any chance of a win at home?

I think it'll be something like 30-18 to GB but it could be a very interesting game.
 
adamkungl

adamkungl

Immortal
Messages
42,971
yakstorm said:
Well McNamara didn't with England, and he had the advantage of coaching the squad for a home World Cup, not one on the other side of the world, and one with a significantly improved Tonga.

Bennett is far from perfect, and really has been terrible this year with Great Britain (although it feels even the players aren't playing with the same pride as they do when they wear the England jumper and this is just a nothing tour to them) but I'd have to disagree with you that anyone could have coached his teams to success... I'm sure that's what Anthony Seibold was thinking when he took over Brisbane this year...

Are there better coaches out there for England than Bennett? I'm sure there are, and the RFL should be conducting regular reviews anyway, however anyone who takes over will have similar issues to Bennett in that the RFL / Super League have successfully blocked all of his requests to help develop the team which were:
  • Annual Pre-Season Training Camp : Never got off the ground
  • Mid-Season Internationals each year : Was completely removed from the calendar this year
  • Shorten the Super League season : Will never get entertained
Click to expand...

All true, but for me the core issue is I don't thing Bennett watches enough Super League, or has enough respect for it.
If he does (ok, he's a professional coach, he probably does) it doesn't show in his selections. He has a big blind spot for Australian players.
Can anyone say with a straight face that Chris Heighington was in the top 10 "English" forwards?
 
Springs09

Springs09

Juniors
Messages
1,903
I think a lot of both Australian and English coaches have anti-English bias. For example how many Australian halves are in Super League over young English halves, or how Rangi Chase was for a while first choice England halfback, which was especially weird as Gareth Widdop was in great form for Melbourne at the time.

McNamara was also the first one to pick Heighington back in 2011.
 
jim_57

jim_57

Moderator
Staff member
Messages
4,602
Springs09 said:
I think a lot of both Australian and English coaches have anti-English bias. For example how many Australian halves are in Super League over young English halves, or how Rangi Chase was for a while first choice England halfback, which was especially weird as Gareth Widdop was in great form for Melbourne at the time.

McNamara was also the first one to pick Heighington back in 2011.
Click to expand...

That's a big symptom of P&R, better to bring halves over from Aus/NZ then invest 2 years in to young halves and flirt with relegation.
 
yakstorm

yakstorm

First Grade
Messages
6,037
No idea what is selling in Christchurch... Looks like the West is either been taken off sale or has been sold out... Bronze seats in the East seem to have sold well, Green not so much.

In the South, there is now only one bay left on sale, with only limited tickets left (groups of 4 max). No idea how many may have been sold here, as these bays were on sale for a long time, and then suddenly all disappeared...

Most recent Test crowds in Christchurch:
  • 2006: New Zealand v Great Britain - 17,005
  • 2017: New Zealand v Scotland - 12,130
  • 2017: Tonga v Lebanon - 8,309
 
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