England captain Jamie Peacock has said he would back the idea of a mid-season match against a Rest of the World team.
Mid-season match against Rest of the World is best says skipper
England captain Jamie Peacock has said he agrees with the idea of a mid-season match against a Rest of the World team.
But the 32-year-old forward Peacock also insisted that if such a fixture should occur the game's decision-makers should not to turn their backs on France.
The French were on wrong the end of a 60-6 thrashing by England at Leigh Sports Village on Saturday.
And the result suggests that little progress has been made since last year's 66-12 rout in Paris or the 56-8 defeat in Toulouse in 2008.
Coach Bobbie Goulding, who is fully expecting calls for ditching the fixture to grow in volume, admits he would prefer to play the match at the end of the year.
Goulding, whose views are supported by former England coach Tony Smith, was forced to patch up his team for Saturday's match following a succession of customary withdrawals.
Exciting
Smith has suggested that a mid-season game against a Super League-based team of overseas stars would provide England with better preparation for their end-of-year clashes against Australia and New Zealand.
"I do think we should play France," said Peacock. "But I agree with Bobbie, who's got his hands tied behind his back. To play them at the end of the year would be best.
"I'd like to see us play a Rest of the World team in mid-season. I think it would be exciting and get lot of people there.
"Why not give it a go? We're always trying new things in rugby league. It would be something different in the middle of the year.
"But let's make sure we still play France. We still want to play France but you've got to give them an opportunity to get their best team out there."
