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I don't normally post on here so wish me best of luck with my first one. It seems that the England coaching team made up the Code of Discipline after the incident! A proper code would have set out clearly what the penalties would have been for breaches before the event. Players would not, it seems to me, have gone out drinking if they had realised the consequences and we would have our strongest team out.......Also it is unfortunate that some in the team (Lockers) may be thought of as being involved when they are merely injured.


On a related theme, the trip to South Africa, training at altitude, was, imo a
gimmick. Rugby League is not an indurance sport like Grand Tour Cycling. 80 mins is not 6 hours. Nor do they play at altitude. Wiggo Froomey et al need altitude training and anyway spend more time at altitude. South Africa was, in part at least a jolly.

Rb

robbobillinge wrote:I don't normally post on here so wish me best of luck with my first one. It seems that the England coaching team made up the Code of Discipline after the incident! A proper code would have set out clearly what the penalties would have been for breaches before the event. Players would not, it seems to me, have gone out drinking if they had realised the consequences and we would have our strongest team out.......Also it is unfortunate that some in the team (Lockers) may be thought of as being involved when they are merely injured.


On a related theme, the trip to South Africa, training at altitude, was, imo a
gimmick. Rugby League is not an indurance sport like Grand Tour Cycling. 80 mins is not 6 hours. Nor do they play at altitude. Wiggo Froomey et al need altitude training and anyway spend more time at altitude. South Africa was, in part at least a jolly.

Rb

Welcome to the site

Good first post

josie andrews wrote:
Welcome to the site

Good first post

Lol. He registered on here before you did!

But your right and I agree with everything he said. Especially about the 'jolly' to South Africa which makes about as much sense as our spending a week in Florida for 'warm weather training' to prepare for us for a season which begins in February!

Spartacus / Kiwi there is some sense in what you say BUT a major flaw; McNamara / England RL made the story live and hot news the moment THEY CHOSE to inform the press. Having done so, they cannot then stop the speculation ONCE THEY STARTED IT.

When they chose to inform the press, they did not let enough facts be known which has simply fuelled the flames RE Graham who has been an automatic selection as long as I can remember. The statement should have said Gareth Hock sent home for breaking alcohol curfew & missing 20 minutes of training the following day, Players X, Y, Z suspended for breaking alcohol curfew. IF you choose to go public you have to take it on the chin.

PERSONALLY, I think none of this should have ever come out. Any player suspended 'passed off' as carrying an injury etc.

??? Need to be ask re McNamara Squad Selection. He selected Hock then left him out, the recalled him. Brough & Crabtree seem to have been unwanted for a very long time, likewise players such as Ratchford. Whether he plays superbly or not, Tom Burgess was a very questionable selection IMO.

Quite frankly McNamara made his bed, he needed to lie in it. He even as far as I can see lied to leave the press conference aided / abetted by the RFL.

P.S welcome to the site Rob

cpwigan wrote:
Quite frankly McNamara made his bed, he needed to lie in it. He even as far as I can see lied to leave the press conference aided / abetted by the RFL.

His parting shot was mentioned on Radio 2. Simon Mayo laughed at him and asked "How could he miss the bus? He's the boss, it couldn't leave without him! "

I can see all points of view on this subject....the trouble is that it isn't good preparation for todays game...plus the media have the scent of blood and will now seize upon anything no matter how trivial..

cpwigan wrote:Spartacus / Kiwi there is some sense in what you say BUT a major flaw; McNamara / England RL made the story live and hot news the moment THEY CHOSE to inform the press. Having done so, they cannot then stop the speculation ONCE THEY STARTED IT.

When they chose to inform the press, they did not let enough facts be known which has simply fuelled the flames RE Graham who has been an automatic selection as long as I can remember. The statement should have said Gareth Hock sent home for breaking alcohol curfew & missing 20 minutes of training the following day, Players X, Y, Z suspended for breaking alcohol curfew. IF you choose to go public you have to take it on the chin.

PERSONALLY, I think none of this should have ever come out. Any player suspended 'passed off' as carrying an injury etc.

??? Need to be ask re McNamara Squad Selection. He selected Hock then left him out, the recalled him. Brough & Crabtree seem to have been unwanted for a very long time, likewise players such as Ratchford. Whether he plays superbly or not, Tom Burgess was a very questionable selection IMO.

Quite frankly McNamara made his bed, he needed to lie in it. He even as far as I can see lied to leave the press conference aided / abetted by the RFL.

Something would have had to have been said at some point. Once Hock had been removed from the squad, and he wasn't going to train with the squad or get selected, at some point, someone was going to ask why. Notwithstanding that, there was a squad place that needed filling that was going to be filled by someone not in the starting squad. Once the decision to remove him was made, Mac was in a position where he couldn't kick it into the long grass. I think you're ignoring the fact that he didn't make the bed he is lying in. It wasn't him who broke the rules and did whatever it was that warranted the action he took in response.

Of course he made it Spartacus. Hock was never a certain starter, far from it. Whatsmore, McNamara had him out of the squad once pre WC and then selected him. V Aus he could easily have justified leaving him out on the need to eliminate mistakes, not concede penalties. I am a huge Hock fan as a RL player but even I can see easy justifications for not selecting him. He could have been suspended or left to rot. To be honest it should never have got to the situation it did. S.Africa was a farcical jolly, something was wrong to lose to Italy irrespective of their win today, and then for 7 players to break a curfew says a lot. We also know that not all the 6 were suspended, we do not know why? Nobody needed to know anything until post tournament, if at all. The public statement was the most crazy idea possible and opened up a can of worms with more questions than answers.

McNamara should not have been on his own at the Press Conference to answer questions about Hock. That should have been done by the Chairman or Chief Executive of the RFL, as it was the decision of the Management Committee to endorse any decision on discipline recomended by the Coaching Staff.

That is why I think McNamara walked out, maybe wrong but understandable in the situation he found himself in.