Internationals Kiwis v England 2015 Test Series

[eudebrito]

Some pretty lofty opinions around here, beat a fading Australian outfit and our best team is invincible is it?

Call me a minority, but even though it was half a B team, the A team would have struggled to win the series too, the forwards on tour should have been good enough to get a roll on, only happened in fits and starts, the weather, the slow ruck speed, physical English pack… Taumalolo is great, but he wouldn’t have been skittling them. And Proctor and Harris are basically Mannering clones, so wouldn’t point to the captain being a big out either.

The halves… they definitely would have helped on attack, but it was a short ten, defence coming up fast, in the wet, would not have been easy for Johnson and Foran at all, would have been better options taken, might have swung the balance but would still have been tight. That goes for Benji as well, they would have pressured him, the other half would have had to done a lot of good work too.

Agree that in a world cup game on a neutral field in Australia, dry track, neutral ref, faster game, the kiwis are the better team, but with all the other factors in play over there, a full strength team still would have found it tough, credit to England, shame about the rain, the ref and the commentators, but hey, that’s what overseas tours are about, or they are for some teams, I strongly doubt the Kangaroos would be playing with a super league ref 2 out of 3 times.

 

[Swanley]

I've had a few days to digest this and I think we have done really well to take it to a 3rd game.
Both forwards were equal, including the bench, I’d say that someone like Marty T did not really have much of an impact as he had in the past which was telling.
We were missing Mannering, Jason T and beastwood, but they were also missing both Burgess brothers, George and Sam, so it evens out a bit.
The biggest impact was the halves. Their number 7 for the first two tests was useless...and they had the opportunity to bring in another experienced half, which they did and the Kiwis never had this luxury.
We were stuck with a winger/fullback trying to be a Nigel Vagana and it never really worked, and our first 7 was/is a player whose club is still trying to find his preferred position and the coaching staff expected him to be a Test 7. It was a gamble which didn’t pay off.
The 2nd 7 was a success and highlight of the tour. What’s to say we didn't win the 1st test if he started?
I think to lose the 3rd test by 6 points is in fact an indication of far the kiwis have come. And I can say this as I was at the KC Stadium in 2007 when we get pumped 44 nil. It was not pleasant to watch…….
I never realised that we have lost our last 10 games at Wigan. Next time let’s start the tour there and not end it!
Plus I hear that the NZRL actually made some money from this tour through gate receipts….this has to be a good thing.

 

[jonno]

Nz league is heading in the right direction. That's what matters most to me..

Sam Burgers v JWH would have been an awesome match up.

And SJ v Tomkin's sounds like it could become a bit of a grudge match in the future.

Lots to look forward to next time...

 

[Harrigan]

Here's Saturday's stats

 

[Danpatmac]

what was the penalty count?

 

[Harrigan]

9-6 in favour of England if you look closely enough