Back to the future

Phil Clarke follows Great Britain's lead and signs off for the 2007 season in style... with a trip down memory lane.

It has been a great three weeks to support Great Britain - we look like a team that could have finally found the x-factor needed to be successful. Confidence clearly comes from winning and an encouragement from your coach to try new things. Admittedly it wasn't the strongest team that New Zealand could have fielded and their own confidence wasn't helped by their 58-0 loss to the Kangaroos a week before travelling to the UK. But they are still one of the best teams in the world. My greatest memory from the three-Test series will be the back to the future style of play from Tony Smith's team. Obviously you need to play in a manner suitable to the current game, but also with the knowledge of what has worked well before - and Great Britain did just that. Two of the tries they scored last Saturday reminded me of the tries you often saw in the 1970s and 80s. The first came when Sean O'Loughlin kicked from the scrum for Danny McGuire to score. It was the second time we had seen this play in the series. The other instance that took me back to the future was when David Hodgson scored in the corner after O'Loughlin picked up at the base of the scrum and passed to Rob Burrow, who passed to Keith Senior, who released his wingman to score.

Debate

It was just the sort of try that Harry Pinner used to create in his heyday at St Helens: skilful, crisp passing, allied to vision and imagination. However the game evolves over the next decade or so, you can be certain that these attributes will still be in fashion and fundamental to success. As will you, the supporters and followers of the game. This is my last column for the 2007 season, so it just leaves me to say thank you for all your questions over the past months. Not only have they got me thinking, they have encouraged plenty of debate. In fact a lot of the questions I have used have led to discussions with players, coaches and administrators within the game, so as well as getting me thinking, you are indeed playing your part in shaping the future of the game.

Now to the final questions of the season...

RESIDENCY EVIL
Phil, the international set-up has become embarrassing; it seems that anyone can play for any country no matter what, prime example is Maurie Fa'asavalu playing for Great Britain yet he has represented Samoa at rugby union. Willie Talau and Nigel Vagana have now decided they are both Samoan after playing most their careers for the Kiwis. The USA and Lebanon teams the other night were a farce, Ryan McGoldrick an American and that well known Middle Eastern character Chris Saab, to name just one with that distinctive Middle Eastern accent. In the past Paul Newlove played so many games for England and then decided to change his allegiance to Ireland. It does happen in other sports where footballers are born in one country but they decide to represent another for various reasons but not after playing for their own country - like Henry Paul when he played for England RU after representing New Zealand RL his whole career. But we are not just any other sport and I've never felt this way about our great game but I'm afraid it's really embarrassing at the moment. I have nothing against expanding our game to pastures new, but wearing the jersey of your home nation should be a proud moment not just a quick fix to pass time in the close-season because you're no longer good enough or won't be picked for your home nation. Craig Finney, Haydock, Merseyside
PHIL SAYS: You obviously feel very strongly about this issue Craig, and nothing I can say will change your opinion on the subject. I have written about it several times this season and if you have time you can see what I thought by clicking on my recent archive. Whatever your interest or line of work you'll appreciate that things move on in life, times change and so do the rules that we live, work and play by. Many things in life have changed to make it safer. We now wear seatbelts when we didn't 30 years ago, many people now use the internet to work quicker or have more fun. People use it for social networking when that used to take place in a smoky pub. More than ever before in history people migrate from country to country because of war, famine or the prospect of employment. Sport always reflects the society that we live in and whether you like it or not the rules have changed significantly over the last 30 years. Football might be different, but most international sports have the same rules as rugby league, i.e.; to qualify under the rules of residency you have to have lived in that country for three years or your grandparents need to have come from that country. If it makes you feel better Craig, several players from both Australia and New Zealand have those same grounds for qualification. I do however agree with you over the issue for playing for two different countries in rugby league. If you have chosen to represent one country then you should stick to that one for life and not be allowed to play for another. GREAT SCOTS
Hi Phil, as a Scot, I was delighted with Scotland qualifying for the World Cup. The performance against a Wales team which was meant to be superior was fantastic! My question Phil is, do you think that the RFL should use this opportunity to try and build the game in Scotland or should this be the job of Scotland Rugby League? I love watching the Lions play and would love to see some Scots in the team in the future. John Findlay, Wandsworth
PHIL SAYS: I am not really qualified to say who should develop rugby league north of the border John, but I know that the RFL employs two development officers in Scotland. I'm also aware that they have done some great work in and around the Glasgow area, but it's an uphill struggle against sports like rugby union and football with more money and resources at their disposal. Ultimately it needs Scottish people to work passionately at grassroots level and it won't succeed if it's just left to the RFL. It would be great to see more Scottish stars in the Great Britain team, but remember previous stars like George Fairbairn and Alan Tait came from a union background. With union now being professional and wealthier than league it is much more difficult to see that happening but Brian Carney is a great example of what's possible: his rise from the Irish Students rugby league team to the Lions was an inspirational story for any player to follow.