21 October 2023 , 06:00
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If you’re an England rugby league fan going into this Tonga series you should feel robbed by a pen-pusher.
People get banned in sport for what they do on the pitch and rightly so. With the disciplinary procedures, you can’t just do what you want: there’s a set of rules just like in society. But you understand as a fan - or any stakeholder in rugby league - why that player isn’t playing as they’ve done something that warrants a suspension. However, to not be able to watch a player because of something that happened in an appeal - which has happened with England captain George Williams - it blows my mind just how ridiculous it all is. It looks stupid.
England fans are now getting robbed of seeing Williams for TWO Tests against Tonga because he had the audacity to appeal a one-game ban and they've called it 'frivolous'. We’re big on changing the rules in this country but this rule needs to be binned now. Why should a player ever get an extra game? If you really need to put jeopardy on a ‘frivolous’ appeal, make it a fine. Not this nonsense.
On the field, it’s a big challenge for England. The narrative going into this series is neither team were happy with how they exited last year’s World Cup. England weren’t happy with what happened against Samoa in the semi. They blew it with uncharacteristic errors and lapses of concentration we didn’t expect from those players. They’ll look to redeem themselves because they are better players than what they showed that day.
The real challenge will be in the halves and managing the games. They have some exciting players in their spine at one, six, seven and nine. But aside from Daryl Clark and Jack Welsby there’s not much game-management experience at Test level which will be needed when the games are tight. And it will be tight against Tonga who are a great side and have their own reasons to be motivated after how they lost in that World Cup quarter-final against Samoa.
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England's George Williams is banned for opening two Test matches against Tonga (PA)We know the England forwards will stand up. In the backs, it’s a shame Herbie Farnworth isn’t playing. He was exceptional in the NRL Grand Final and he’s world-class. If England want to win the series, there’s a lot of pressure on the young half-backs - Harry Smith and Mikey Lewis. Not their individual performances and what they contribute individually but how they manage the game, steer the side around and understand what play and what set is needed at what time in the game.
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