England: G Widdop (Melbourne); T Briscoe (Hull), M Shenton (Castleford), R Atkins (Warrington), R Hall (Leeds); K Brown (Huddersfield), S Tomkins (Wigan); A Morley (Warrington, capt), J Roby (St Helens), D Griffin (Huddersfield), G Ellis (Wests Tigers), S Burgess (South Sydney), S O'Loughlin (Wigan). Subs: L Robinson (Huddersfield), E Crabtree (Huddersfield), J Tomkins (Wigan), B Westwood (Warrington), B Harrison (Warrington), L Cudjoe (Huddersfield). Tomkins & Brown in the Halves. news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_l ... 096373.stm

England: G Widdop (Melbourne); T Briscoe (Hull), M Shenton (Castleford), R Atkins (Warrington), R Hall (Leeds); K Brown (Huddersfield), S Tomkins (Wigan); A Morley (Warrington, capt), J Roby (St Helens), D Griffin (Huddersfield), G Ellis (Wests Tigers), S Burgess (South Sydney), S O'Loughlin (Wigan). Subs: L Robinson (Huddersfield), E Crabtree (Huddersfield), J Tomkins (Wigan), B Westwood (Warrington), B Harrison (Warrington), L Cudjoe (Huddersfield). Tomkins & Brown in the Halves. news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_l ... 096373.stm

Given the injury situation it's probably the best team we have. Fielden was not considered to give him time to adjust to the time difference, Graham given extra time to put his dummy back in......... sorry, rested.



I'd expect those two to come in for the first game.



I'm glad to see Tomkins in the halves. Full back it seems will proove to be his best postion but his size would make him a target for the kiwis and convicts.

Widdop isn't much bigger than Tomkins. I think it boils down to necessity. Widdop is a decent young full-back from the little IU've seen of him but i think if we had any better options in the halves Sam would play at 1. Well he would if it was up to me anyway. The kid's frightening!

I can't see the logic in playing Sam at 7?



He's the leagues best 6 and for a good % of the season he was the leagues best FB as well. When you have a talent like Tomkins who is bang on form then quite simply you pick him in his best position and then work the rest of the backline around him. You certainly don’t shift him around to accommodate wasters like Kev Brown.



It’s not like there weren’t other options for 7 either. Both Deacon and Brough finished the season in good form and they are out and out 7’s.



Another option could have been Rob Burrow as well. Although his form wasn’t great when you have the injures we have at HB he’s more than an adequate stand in.



Like I said before it’s time the team was built around Tomkins at HB.

I don't think it really makes a different. With an international side where your only going to have limited exposure into playing as a team then your never going to build up the sort of partnership a true 6+7 would have (unlike Aussies who have all the SOO as well) so you'd just go with the split halves. Tomkins and Brown will probably play the same role just opposite sides of the pitch.

I think we needed a fit and on form Eastmond to have half a chance against Australia and NZ.

Put Eastmond in that side and (dare I say it) Sinfield at hooker and i don't think it looks too bad. At least we have some pace and size in the backs for a change with Atkins + Hall. I think Briscoe is a class act as well.



Still think we'll get hammered by the aussies as their backline is just unreal, any one of their backs would be hailed as the messiah were he English.

We probably will play with a split pitch but it still doesn't mean Sam shouldn't be the #6 in the side. He should be playing #6 for England for the next decade and again the team should be built around him playing there.



The long term HB partnership for England is Sam at #6 and Eastmond at #7 when one or the other isn’t available to play the other should still be in their same position. It gives continuity to the side.

But both positions are the same? In this instance its just a number on the back.



The only difference will be same putting the ball in at scrums.

They maybe the same apart from they play on different sides of the pitch and link up with different players. What's the point in playing Sam at 7 now and then swapping him back to 6 when Eastmond is fit? I don't see Australia swapping Lockyer to 7 when Thurston is unfit do you?



He should have gone with either Deacon or Brough at 7 and let Sam run the show at 6 like Lockyer has done for Aus for almost the past decade.



We need to be building a style of play which brings out the best in Sam. That for me is when he's playing with an organising 7.

You beat me to it!

Goulding over Hall, for me, but ah well doesn't really matter.