Four Nations reflections

by Charlie Mullan

Gap remains the same

AND so another international tournament ends in disappointment for England. Officials hoped when they changed the name of the team from Great Britain to England that would bring about a change in fortune, but sadly the same deficiencies remain.

Another heroic performance that ultimately fell short. Reflecting on the series, England have improved and have overtaken New Zealand in the world ratings. But Australia have improved also.

The emergence of the half-back partnership of Kyle Eastmond and Sam Tomkins will be around for a long time and whoever takes over from Tony Smith has to build a team around these two exciting 20-year-olds.

The problem for the new man in charge is how to replace the veteran props Adrian Morley and Jamie Peacock. International retirements can’t be too far away for the two 32-year-olds.

Sam Burgess showed he’s capable of fulfilling his potential on the world stage. His move to the NRL will continue his development and benefit England in the long run.

However, I can’t see England overcoming Australia as the leading force in rugby league ant time soon. Not until they can play with high intensity for the entire 80 minutes. It's okay doing it for 40 minutes when you are 26-0 down or for 60 minutes in a final. The Kangaroos waited to pounce and killed England off in the final quarter with 24 unanswered points.

Good on you Cam

It’s good to see that even in the heat of battle, opposition players look out for each other. When Michael Shenton took that sickening hit from Ben Hannant on the hour mark, Australia hooker Cameron Smith rushed to the scene to protect the stricken centre and made others aware of his plight. Play was still going on around Shenton and Smith made sure the Castleford player was safe before referee Leon Williamson called play to a halt so Shenton could be treated. It was good to see Shenton on the pitch after the final whistle walking recovered from his hit.

An honour and a privilege

It was a privilege to be at Elland Road for Saturday’s final if only to say I have seen Darren Lockyer in action for the first and probably the last time. Winning 50 caps in rugby league is a massive achievement considering how few internationals are scheduled in the calendar. Players complain about playing too many games but Lockyer is the exception. The 32-year-old may bring an end to his touring days but he ended it on a high. With 10 minutes of the final remaining, I turned to the person next to me and asked if he thought Lockyer had had a quiet game. I had barely finished my enquiry when Lockyer sent Slater over for his second try. After that Lockyer was involved in the final two tries to leave the supporters hoping to see him back in this country one more time. 

Inglis' English lesson

At half time of Australia's 26-16 win over England at the DW Stadium, the man of the series had been confirmed. Greg Inglis ripped through England's right hand side with to play his part in three of the five tries Australia scored in that first half. Inglis finished with 218 metres from just 11 carries. Around 153 of those metres came setting up those three tries as England struggled to control the freakish centre. In the final, he only managed 124 metres from 12 carries suggesting England had figured out a way of slowing him down, but not stopping him completely. To put that into context, Ryan Hall, Peter Fox and Chris Bridge combined for 126 metres on 25 carries. The frightening thing for England is that Inglis is only 22 and will be around for many years to torment them. It's no wonder Tony Smith resigned when he did.

National pride

I wondered why Rovers team-mates Shaun Briscoe and Peter Fox didn’t come out onto the pitch together. They got changed next to each other in the dressing rooms and I thought it would make sense for them both to take the field one behind the other. But then I saw Fox belt out the national anthem with pride and gusto and I’m guessing it sounded as bad as Phil Brown’s karaoke after losing 1-0 to Manchester United on the final day of last season. Now I know why Briscoe stood as far away from Fox as possible.

Pleasing the crowd

The Four Nations organisers will deem the tournament a success, which it was. However, they are still some way behind union when it comes to attracting the crowds. A total of 87,467 attended all seven games including 31,042 for the final at Elland Road. In contrast, England lost to Australia a week before at Twickenham in a meaningless game (if there is such a thing when England and Australia meet) in front of 80,020.

Seeing the future

I want Clare Balding to pick my lottery numbers this week. On Saturday after the final, she said and I quote ‘Tony Smith has announced his resignation at a press conference on Sunday morning,’ clearly using the past tense. She said that on Saturday night. How did she know he had resigned on Sunday morning? Can she see into the future? If so, can she tell me when 'comedy duo' Jedward are going to disappear off the face of this earth never to be seen again?