Re: Sinny retires : Tue Sep 02, 2014 12:18 am  

William Eve wrote:

Given the less-than-ordinary nature of Sinfield's international career credentials, your lame attempt to ascribe some kind of international improvement at the door of Sinfield's captaincy above was indeed laughable.

Haha, coming from the man who tried many times to ascribe England's international failure at the door of Sinfield given the less-than-ordinary nature of the England/GB team as a whole for many decades now......pot kettle black William. Come on I thought you were better than that or does highlighting the England team showing good signs of improvement under Sinfield's captaincy irritate you that much. Let's not forget Sinfield only took over as captain roughlyl 12 months prior to the WC and we closed the gap quite a bit compared to our recent WC showings, we went from embarrassing batterings to making the Aussies/Kiwis fight to the wire for their wins.....imagine what could've happened had we give the guy the captaincy several years earlier and had more time to stamp his leadership over the national team

Re: Sinny retires : Tue Sep 02, 2014 12:21 am  

Him wrote:

Whilst I still think Sinfield is good enough to play for England for another couple of years he wouldn't be around for the next World Cup. So I think it's the right move for England as we should use the 3 years to build for the World Cup.

I'd be looking to secure a spine of the team of:
1. Hardaker
6. Tomkins
7. Widdop
9. Roby
14. Clark/Burrow

They're all quality players and bar injury I think we need these playing together as much as possible prior to the next World Cup.

As for captain, I'd go with O'Loughlin and Graham as vice captain, lining up to take over whenever O'Loughlin retires.

Agree with most of your selections above... even the serial miscreant who looks like Keith-Senior-with-hair at fullback.

Burrow? Oh dear.

Re: Sinny retires : Tue Sep 02, 2014 12:25 am  

ThePrinter wrote:

Haha, coming from the man who tried many times to ascribe England's international failure at the door of Sinfield given the less-than-ordinary nature of the England/GB team as a whole for many decades now......pot kettle black William. Come on I thought you were better than that or does highlighting the England team showing good signs of improvement under Sinfield's captaincy irritate you that much. Let's not forget Sinfield only took over as captain roughlyl 12 months prior to the WC and we closed the gap quite a bit compared to our recent WC showings, we went from embarrassing batterings to making the Aussies/Kiwis fight to the wire for their wins.....imagine what could've happened had we give the guy the captaincy several years earlier and had more time to stamp his leadership over the national team

Skippering England to ignominious defeat against the likes of Italy is certainly food for thought, I'll grant you that. As I suggested earlier, you're on much safer ground discussing Kev's domestic career instead.

Re: Sinny retires : Tue Sep 02, 2014 12:46 am  

William Eve wrote:

Agree with most of your selections above... even the serial miscreant who looks like Keith-Senior-with-hair at fullback.

Burrow? Oh dear.

Burrow has proven his worth both in big games for Leeds and for GB. He offers a more dynamic threat but it really depends how Roby's game alters (if at all) as he gets older and if you feel the need for another pivot. If you don't have a Sinfield/O'Loughlin at loose who can play a bit and go with a workhorse backrower or another prop at Loose then you might want someone on the bench with more of a halfback's game.

Like the best that Bangkok has to offer, Burrow provides something different to other, regular hookers.

Re: Sinny retires : Tue Sep 02, 2014 1:42 am  

The problem with Roby is his inability to play 80 minutes. If he can then the bench can be set up very differently. Having to pick a player who can sub at hooker on the bench means no room for either a genuine big forward or utility back.

Re: Sinny retires : Tue Sep 02, 2014 6:27 am  

William Eve wrote:

Skippering England to ignominious defeat against the likes of Italy is certainly food for thought, I'll grant you that. As I suggested earlier, you're on much safer ground discussing Kev's domestic career instead.

Is that what you've been left with? A warm-up match? Oh dear that sabbatical hasn't done you any good has it.

Re: Sinny retires : Tue Sep 02, 2014 7:47 am  

Lets be honest, up until the last WC sinfield had endured quite a torid time on the international stage.But during his periods in the team until that point he was steering a rudderless ship, our team on the whole was so far behind the NZ and OZ teams as shown in results from the mid 2000's on so its hardly surprising he couldn't shine.

In the WC, Sinfield finally had a side around him who could genuinly compete for 80 minutes with the other 2 big nations and and,surprise surprise! , he delivered in every game. Its a shame of course what happened at the end of the semi (in which he was excellent on the whole), but imo he retires at least with his head held high, if not with the legacy he will leave when he retires from his club.

Re: Sinny retires : Tue Sep 02, 2014 7:54 am  

A true professional whose determination, commitment and attitude could never be questioned. Shame the entire team and coaching set up is so far behind the Aussies, but I don't think Sinfield can be blamed for that.

Re: Sinny retires : Tue Sep 02, 2014 8:20 am  

El Diablo wrote:

O'Loughlin looks the stand-out candidate to me.

He will probably do a good job captaining the team from the medical room.

Re: Sinny retires : Tue Sep 02, 2014 8:35 am  

BrisbaneRhino wrote:

The problem with Roby is his inability to play 80 minutes. If he can then the bench can be set up very differently. Having to pick a player who can sub at hooker on the bench means no room for either a genuine big forward or utility back.

You keep saying this, but Roby plays 80 minutes every week. Also, why is picking a half back or utility on the bench a better tactic than playing a 2nd hooker?