International Origin: England vs Exiles

[TITAN PETE]

AAP Fri, Jun 03, 2011 - 1:40 AM


Jamie Peac**k is to captain England's rugby league team on Friday week against the best of Super League's foreign legion in a warm-up for the Four Nations series.

The 33-year-old Leeds prop, an international captain since leading Great Britain in 2005, missed last year's Four Nations with a knee injury.

James Graham led England in Peac**k's absence but coach Steve McNamara was happy to hand the armband back to Peac**k on Thursday.

"Jamie missed the tour last year due to his injury but he has worked extremely hard to get back," McNamara said.

"He's a huge influence both on the field and off the field and his presence is very much welcomed back."

Peac***k, who only returned to action at the end of April after an eight-month layoff, said: "I knew I had to come back and play very well and come back earlier than I'd have liked.

"I knew I needed to have five or six games rather than two or three.

"We have strong leaders anyway, so it's a good group to captain owing to the amount of leaders we have."

Former New Zealand coach Brian McLennan, who won the Super League with Leeds in 2008 and 2002, is in charge of the Exiles.

The aim of the match is to give England a meaningful contest ahead of this year's Four Nations, which they are hosting, after an all-too easy win against France preceded last year's edition 'Down Under' where they were well-beaten by both Australia and eventual champions New Zealand.

The Exiles fixture, which will be staged at Headingley, Leeds' home ground, is also a revival of the kind iof match that England used to play against the 'Other Nationalities'.

That team ceased to exist in the mid 1970s as the likes of Wales, Scotland and Ireland all developed their own international teams while the likes of Australia and New Zealand played ever more Tests in their own right.

[TITAN PETE]

I hope we get to see this match it should be interesting to see how Beaver & co perform at Rep Level & also where the Poms are at this moment..

[Boofhead]

When is the game?

[AmericanTitan]

When is the game?

June 10th.

Looking forward to watching it cause it'll be on during the afternoon for me.

[DIEHARD]

Go Exiles! Hopefully this can be come a tradition and a good testing ground for England.

They probably need to actively pursue NZ and AUS expat fans and why not include Welsh, French and other nations as well? Unless they want a purely southern hemisphere blend.

Will this be on NINE?

[TITAN PETE]

Exiles name squad for England RL clash

AAP Mon, Jun 06, 2011 - 11:52 PM


Exiles coach Brian McClennan has named an 18-man squad for the inaugural rugby league international against England at Headingley on Friday.

McClennan is in charge of a team drawn from the overseas players employed in the Super League and selected through a combination of fan votes and his own picks.

He was initially allowed a 22-man roster but has now released Catalan forward Steve Menzies, Leeds fullback Brent Webb, Warrington hooker Michael Monaghan and St Helens forward Josh Perry.

Monaghan and Perry were left out due to the rule that only allows three players from one particular club while ex-Manly captain Menzies, who would have been the oldest man in the squad at 36, has only just returned from injury.

Webb has not been selected, with Warrington's Brett Hodgson set to start at fullback.

"The players have come straight into camp with a great attitude and have gelled really well, which is very positive," McClennan said.

"We are representing all the nations Down Under and it is an honour to be part of the first ever International Origin Game.

"There is a real buzz about the camp and the players are looking forward to training hard this week, understanding our combinations and the way we want them to play. By Friday we will be ready for the match and giving it our all to win."

Perry's omission ruled out the chance of a potential flashpoint, with the former Manly player having not faced England captain Jamie Pea**** since the pair had a high-profile fight in the 2009 World Club Challenge.

"Having to reduce the squad down to the 18 has been difficult and I would like to thank those players who have missed out - they have taken it well," McClennan added.

"It is always difficult to leave quality players out and at any other time those players would have easily been involved - that shows the depth of overseas talent in the Super League."

[TITAN PETE]

Exiles Squad
Danny Buderus (captain) (Leeds Rhinos & Australia)
Thomas Leuluai (Wigan Warriors & NZ)
Louis Anderson (Warrington Wolves & NZ)
George Carmont (Wigan Warriors & NZ)
Rangi Chase (Castleford Tigers & NZ)
David Fa’alogo (Huddersfield Giants & NZ)
David Faiumu (Huddersfield Giants & NZ)
Craig Fitzgibbon (Hull FC & Australia)
Brett Hodgson (Warrington Wolves & Australia)
Matt King (Warrington Wolves & Australia)
Kylie Leuluai (Leeds Rhinos & NZ)
Willie Manu (Hull FC & Tonga)
Francis Meli (St Helens & NZ)
Glenn Morrison (Wakefield Wildcats & Australia)
Mark O’Meley (Hull FC & Australia),
Tony Puletua (St Helens & NZ)
Pat Richards (Wigan Warriors & Australia)
Iosia Soliola (St Helens & NZ)

[DIEHARD]

Looking forward to this, hopefully it offers England a high level of competition.

Go Exiles!

[DIEHARD]

Is there any confirmation of an Aussie broadcast?

[squirrell]

Im off to my home town of wrexham in 2 weeks so ill be attending the Crusaders against Hull KR first week in july.Im gonna wear my titans shirt and see if i get a few comments from the likes of Schifcoske,jarrod sammut,michael witt,winterstein and withers as they all play for my local team the crusaders.The locals might look at me weird though in a nrl shirt!!. whoo hoo

[DIEHARD]

Mate I love the Crusaders!!!!! I didn't realise that you were specifically from Wrexham! Enjoy your time at the Racecourse. Get some merch and please get some picies in your Titans gear for us.

[DIEHARD]

Inside RL: Origins of a good idea

CROWD-WISE, the inaugural International Origin match will be considered a success if the gate reaches five-figures.

That’s a reflection of the RFL’s limited ambitions, in a sport when club has always taken precedence over country.

It compares unfavourably with the full house who turned up at Twickenham a couple of weeks ago for England rugby union’s showpiece against Barbarians, but you’ve got to start somewhere and it is to be hoped that in – say – a decade’s time, Super League’s Origin fixture is so well established, the RFL struggle to find venues big enough.

Though nothing is new and fixtures of this kind – against Other Nationalities – were a regular feature of the rugby league’s calendar for many years, the International Origin concept is a good one and it deserves support.

The RFL have struggled for several years to find the right formula for providing England’s players with a meaningful mid-season hit out.

The old War of the Roses (or County of Origin) idea didn’t catch on and France – England’s opponents in recent years – weren’t tough enough.

Imagination

Scoring 60 or so points in what was effectively an opposed training session did neither set of players any good and failed to capture the paying public’s imagination.

By facing the Exiles, England have gone from one extreme to another. The danger is that in tomorrow’s foes, they may well have bitten off more than they can chew.

There’s certainly a case for arguing that the Aussie-Kiwi select side – chosen from players at Super League clubs – will go into the game as favourites.

They will field a multi-talented side and have a coach, ex-Leeds and New Zealand boss Brian McClennan, who is a motivational master with a proven track record of bringing a team together in a short space of time.

A loss tomorrow would be a huge blow to England’s pride, though the risk of defeat is no reason for not accepting a challenge and the prospect of a genuine contest must be more attractive to fans than another walk-over against sub-standard opposition.

England’s squad could have done with more of the “wow-factor”. It’s a solid group, but not what anyone would describe as “exciting”.

Wigan’s Leeds-born hooker Michael McIlorum, who has previously played for Ireland, is the only uncapped player. Danny Brough – captain of Scotland in the 2008 World Cup – would have made his first England appearance had he not been injured playing for Huddersfield against Castleford last weekend. Team boss Steve McNamara has shown loyalty to players involved in last year’s Four Nations and that’s admirable, but maybe he has missed a trick.

With a World Cup coming up in two years’ time, perhaps tomorrow would have been a good opportunity to have a look at some emerging players who may be involved in that tournament.

Clearly McNamara will want the likes of his captain Jamie Pea****, Adrian Morley and other stalwarts to be involved in his mid-season camp, but there’s little to be gained from fielding them in the match itself.

Some outstanding young players in exceptional form – for example St Helens’ Jamie Foster and Jonny Lomax, Hull KR’s Kris Welham or Castleford Tigers’ Joe Arundel – have not been selected, when they surely deserve a shot.

Realistically it’s probably too early to consider the likes of Leeds’ Zak Hardaker or Castleford’s outstanding teenage hooker Daryl Clarke for full Test duty, but it would have been interesting to see how they handled a first taste of open age rep’ rugby.

McNamara obviously wants to field what will be close to his first-choice 17 for the Four Nations, but he is already without the Australia-based trio of Sam Burgess, Gareth Ellis and Gareth Widdop – so what would be the harm in leaving out a few more tried and tested international-standard players?

For the record, the alternative argument is that collectively the Exiles will provide a more intense hit-out than England’s players are used to getting on a weekly basis in Super League and the youngsters will have an opportunity to shine against France at the end of the year.

The RFL are hoping the mate-on-mate aspect of tomorrow’s game – with club colleagues going head-to-head – will provide a real competitive spark and massive interest on the terraces.

That is what ignited Australia’s State of Origin, the annual three-game match-up which is regarded as the toughest series in world rugby league.

The prospect of Leeds Rhinos’ first-choice front-row of England’s Pea**** and the Exiles’ Kylie Leuluai and Danny Buderus slugging it out is an enticing one, but unfortunately, the full round of Engage Super League fixtures to be played two days later may negate that.

Players from Leeds, Wigan, St Helens and Warrington – who all have representatives on both sides – may not be as willing to bash their mates, knowing they will be lining up together later the same weekend.

It would have been far better had the Origin match been given its own stand-alone spot in the calendar, allowing for an improved build-up in the media and probably a bigger crowd. For example, with no representatives in either team, Hull KR fans will be reluctant to make the trip to Headingley Carnegie tomorrow night, when they are back there for a league match on Sunday.

Likewise, Wigan – who will have a posse of players on duty tomorrow – are at Castleford Tigers on Sunday. If supporters have to choose between the two matches, the international, which is being broadcast live on Sky, is the one most likely to lose out.

If the two games were a week apart, they may be more willing to make the effort to turn out for the Exiles contest. That’ll have to be considered in the future, even if it means – for example – scrapping Super League’s extra Magic Weekend fixture to create a space in the calendar.

All that said, supporters with the interests of the national team at heart should make an effort to roll up tomorrow evening.

There’s plenty to look forward to in terms of action on the field and the International Origin concept has the potential to become a major event – and a crucial part of England’s annual calendar – once a few teething problems are ironed out.

http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk

[hammer]

If England lose this match it will highlight just how low they have become in the International arena. No offence to the Exiles team but most are definitely past their prime.

[Cowboy Titan]

Broadcast on Channel 9 but we have to wait until 12:20am on Monday to see it.

[Boofhead]

What time will it be in Australia when the game is on?