Still Crazy After All These Years
Ah well, the dust has settled and as Robert Louis Stephenson said
"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive"
RL fans in the UK have certainly been travelling for a long time and have stayed hopeful throughout.
During the preliminary matches, England demonstrated a gradual progression and I'm sure the intention was to peak for the final against Australia. Unfortunately, it didn't happen and it must go down as another missed opportunity. When will the next chance be? Will they continue to occur at the same frequency?
We defended quite well, although for once we were very lucky with some of the refereeing decisions. I thought our attacking options let us down and with the exception of the penalty try, which I thought was a fair decision, we didn't really threaten their line. I was disappointed that our pack didn't make much of an impression against theirs but the England team dropped the ball far too many times and players who could've made a difference e.g. Sinfield, Tomkins, Hall etc either played poorly or weren't allowed any space.
I thought we were starting to get on top after half time but mistakes cost us although it was still a close game. I was waiting for a modern English day hero to stand up but unfortunately, not for the first time, Jonathan Thurston was the man. He's been a thorn in our side for many years and as a comparatively young man, will continue for some time yet.
Nobody should begrudge Darren Lockyear his last minute try because he has been a truly inspirational figure for Australia over the years. Whenever they've been in trouble he has usually been able to produce some magic to save the day. The 2003 Ashes Series springs to mind.
The sad thing is that we have the potential to beat the Kangaroos if we perform to our potential. We're still hoping, still travelling and
"still crazy after all these years"
"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive"
RL fans in the UK have certainly been travelling for a long time and have stayed hopeful throughout.
During the preliminary matches, England demonstrated a gradual progression and I'm sure the intention was to peak for the final against Australia. Unfortunately, it didn't happen and it must go down as another missed opportunity. When will the next chance be? Will they continue to occur at the same frequency?
We defended quite well, although for once we were very lucky with some of the refereeing decisions. I thought our attacking options let us down and with the exception of the penalty try, which I thought was a fair decision, we didn't really threaten their line. I was disappointed that our pack didn't make much of an impression against theirs but the England team dropped the ball far too many times and players who could've made a difference e.g. Sinfield, Tomkins, Hall etc either played poorly or weren't allowed any space.
I thought we were starting to get on top after half time but mistakes cost us although it was still a close game. I was waiting for a modern English day hero to stand up but unfortunately, not for the first time, Jonathan Thurston was the man. He's been a thorn in our side for many years and as a comparatively young man, will continue for some time yet.
Nobody should begrudge Darren Lockyear his last minute try because he has been a truly inspirational figure for Australia over the years. Whenever they've been in trouble he has usually been able to produce some magic to save the day. The 2003 Ashes Series springs to mind.
The sad thing is that we have the potential to beat the Kangaroos if we perform to our potential. We're still hoping, still travelling and
"still crazy after all these years"
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