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Wellens: certainty at full-back?

The fact that the Catalans Dragons are the only Super League club not represented, shows just how widespread the pool of English talent is.

Phil Clarke
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RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP 2008
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The countdown to the World Cup starts this week.

Australia take on New Zealand in a one-off centenary Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground and that might give us some indication as to England's two greatest rivals, the two favourites for the tournament and of course, group rivals for Tony Smith's men.

England's own preparations really get up and running next month when they take on France in Toulouse, but with the coach in attendance for all six games at Millennium Magic and the Super League season at its half-way point, I thought now would be the perfect time to (try and) pick the contenders for a place on the plane Down Under...

Full-back

Paul Wellens (St Helens) is the only contender for me. I just can't see any other competitor for that number one shirt.

Wingers

Ade Gardner (St Helens) and Gareth Raynor (Hull) are at the moment, the pair in pole position. But behind those frontrunners, don't rule out Rikki Sheriffe (Harlequins), Peter Fox (Hull KR) and possibly Martin Aspinwall (Huddersfield) - if he has a great second half to the season.

Centres

Martin Gleeson (Warrington) and Keith Senior (Leeds) have shown the form that still tells me they are the best two English centres, but Ryan Atkins (Wakefield) is shaping up as the new Senior, although he is not quite up with the original model yet. Kirk Yeaman (Hull) is not back to his very best yet, but could rival Gleeson for that right-centre birth.

Half-backs

Leon Pryce (St Helens) would be my stand-off, with Rob Burrow (Leeds) at scrum-half. That leaves Danny McGuire as the back-up for both positions and if all three are fit come the end of the season, young Danny might have to settle for the role of impact player from the bench. This is the one area where I think we have come up short as an international side over the last few years.

Props

Jamie Peacock (Leeds), Adrian Morley (Warrington), James Graham (Saints), Andy Lynch (Bradford) and Sam Burgess (Bradford) would be my first picks but the door is still open for Maurie Fa'asavalu (St Helens) and, if he recovers from injury Gareth Carvell (Hull). Whoever goes, this has been the one position over the last five years, where we have outplayed both Australia and New Zealand.

Hooker

James Roby (St Helens) and Matt Diskin (Leeds) are a cut above the other contenders, but Jon Clarke (Warrington) offers a third option and will bring versatility to a squad, which is more than handy in a tournament.

Back row

Gareth Ellis (Leeds), Jamie Jones-Buchanan (Leeds), Rob Purdham (Harlequins), Lee Gilmour (St Helens), Jon Wilkin (St Helens), Kevin Sinfield (Leeds), Sean O'Loughlin (Wigan) and Stephen Wilde (Huddersfield) would all make my cut, and with the exception of Ellis, who is the stand-out, the other six all have different strengths and weaknesses. In addition to those guys I would also consider Gareth Hock (Wigan), providing he can still produce aggressive performances with some control and restraint.

And maybe...

If Tony Smith feels he needs a further option, I have been very impressed with Danny Washbrook (Hull) this year. He has played well in a struggling side, wherever he has been asked to perform. Joe Westerman (Castleford) might have to wait for future World Cups, but cannot be ruled out having consistently performed well for the bottom-of-the-table team.

That's 33 to be going on with, but loss of form and injury is likely to rule out several of these players which might, in turn, open the door to one or two others that I have not listed.

Right now I have found it impossible to narrow it down to 23 and the fact that the Catalans Dragons are the only Super League club not represented, shows just how widespread the pool of English talent is.

I will come up with my final party closer to the time, but I do think that if Tony Smith's squad is made up from this list, we can be very competitive Down Under - especially if we can maintain the confidence built-up by the 3-0 Test series win over New Zealand last autumn.

The first thing Tony Smith will need to do though is a pick a side to face the French in a few weeks' time. It might well be that my selections are not that far off the mark (that would make a change!) but we will know when the coach picks that squad.

You can bet that every one of these players, and more, will be waiting by the phone and keeping an eye on that Australia-New Zealand Test, to see what they will be up against.

Finally, thanks to those of you that took the time to send your own lists in and I think however different the selections have been, you will all agree that selecting a squad is an art and not a science - and your opinions are probably worth as much as mine!

Who'd be an international coach?

Now to this week's questions...

Got a question for Phil? Either send it via the feedback form at the bottom of the page or send it in HERE or to skysports.club@bskyb.com.

Hi Phil, does the eight-point try rule still exist in Rugby League? I haven't heard of one given in years. My interpretation of the rule is that if a player is fouled in the act of scoring then eight points are awarded alongside a conversion attempt in front of the posts. During the Huddersfield v Warrington game at the Millennium Magic weekend Rod Jensen scored a try and Kevin Penny slid into him with his knees whilst he was scoring. Shouldn't the rule have been applied here? Bearing in mind the Huddersfield only lost by two points, it would have been a crucial decision. Cheers Ben, Leeds

PHIL SAYS: The eight-point try does still exist Ben, but it tells you something about its enforcement when you consider the last time we saw one on Sky Sports was when St Helens played Wakefield back in 2005 and a foul was committed on James Roby in the act of scoring. I agree with you though, Penny should have been penalised and I also think that Thomas Leulai caught a St Helens try-scorer with his foot. Of course, conditions underfoot at the Millennium Stadium were pretty slippery so both incidents could have been purely accidental but I think the fact that the eight-point try has all but disappeared is a testament to the players' discipline. Also, you don't get such shows of petulance in rugby league for two reasons. One; there are ample opportunities to vent your frustration on any given opponent over the 80 minutes and two; should you do something untoward, you know full well you will be on the receiving end the next time you get the ball!

Hi Phil. I find it amazing the commentators on Sky Sports hail the "Millennium Magic" as being successful. Just over 62,000 spectators were at the matches which I personally feel is pathetic considering the "derbies" being played. Consider this if the games were played on their home grounds: Cas v Wakefield 8,000+; Bradford v Leeds 20,000+; Huddersfield v Warrington 10,000+; Total for Sat's games 38,00+; Sunday Hull v Hull K.R. 24,000+; Wigan v Saints 24,000; Catalan v Quins 10,000+; Total 58,000 giving a 2 day total of approx 96,000 spectators/supporters. Cost to the spectators is minimal compared to the trip to Cardiff. Unless the Rugby League can get interest from people outside the R.L. "heartland" then I don't see how this venture can be considered a success - it's far to expensive and a long journey. I'm also becoming concerned with the standard of refereeing & the inconsistencies with some decisions. From a disheartened Warrior! John Cunliffe

PHIL SAYS: Well John, I am hoping the poor performance of your team is not clouding your judgement here - assuming the Warrior stands for Wigan and not your chosen weekend activities! To answer your question, the crowds that you state above are optimistic and record attendance for the matches you cite. For instance not every Wigan-Saints game pulls in 24,000 and if Warrington played Huddersfield in front of more than 20,000 supporters, I am sure both clubs would be overjoyed! It was also significant to notice several hundred Catalans fans who were not there in 2007, which not only gives that club their big day out, but also suggests those fans went to Cardiff whereas they might not have been tempted to make the trip to The Stoop for just the one game. I have said all along that this concept needs a good five years to establish itself before we can make accurate assessments of its merits. I believe there was a slight increase in the crowd from 12 months ago and even if it is below the total attendance that would have gone to those games at club grounds, you are not taking into account the pleasure and enjoyment that the 60,000-plus would have had in Cardiff. It provided them with the chance for a big day out at an event closer to the Challenge Cup final or Grand Final than your average Super League game - and it might well be the closest Wigan get to such an occasion this year (only kidding!) I think the RFL do need to do more postcode analysis of ticket sales to understand where Millennium Magic is doing well and where it has under-performed and perhaps it is time to invest some real money into market research. Only then can they be sure it's attracting new fans.

Got a question for Phil? Either send it via the feedback form at the bottom of the page or send it in HERE or to skysports.club@bskyb.com.