Don't know what your lifetime is but it remains a mystery why a sport that from the 1960s to the 1990s turned out superstar half backs like the following just can't produce one or two today:



David Eckersley

Alan Hardisty

Chris Hesketh

Tommy Bishop

Graham Steadman

Tony Myler

Parry Gordon

Alex Murphy

Sean Edwards

Roger Millward

John Woods

Gary Schofield

Dave Topliss

Andy Gregory

Ken Kelly

Steve Nash

There isn't the patience to coach youngsters into becoming top quality HB's, when there are so many "better" options down under.

It's easier and cheaper for clubs to go for an Aussie import, rather than put the effort in with home grown players.

We may even have lost the ability to produce top quality international halves, which would be scary.

But this isn't a thread about England half backs in your lifetime ......

Any decent half backs coming through at other clubs? I know Hull have a young lad they rate. At Bradford we've got a young lad called Adam Brook, been given a full time contract recently and his highly thought of at the club.

Dave Hewitt is the latest Saints academy standoff whose close to breaking through according to Brown. Played for england academy in May, but has another year of 19s left I think. The scrum half in the age group below (Rob Fairclough) has potential too Im told - but theyre a good 5 years away

I'd actually like to see more of an emphasis on touch and tag rugby at younger levels.



A lot of junior teams seem to be focused around "big lads" - early developers who can simply run their way through weaker teams. There is no emphasis on creative play because, frankly, there doesn't need to be.



Touch, which removes that element altogether and puts the emphasis on speed, evasiveness and creativity, is extremely popular in Australia. Perhaps that's part of the story why they regularly produce better half backs?

Yes and maybe if Sinfield had kicked the ball dead and we'd had a minute to rest and get organised Burgess might not have made a high tackle which to me seemed clearly down to fatigue.

widdop and chase it is then?



shame we cant tempt brough back to england!

Widdop, yes, Chase - definitely not.

who else then?



i think chase had a fall out with the coach so might not be in with a chance again.



kev brown?

This is the same in most junior sports, the "early developers" prosper due to physical size and strength and less emphasis is given to developing skills.

Again, although it's not the same at every club/sport, there is so much effort devoted to winning, the finer arts go out of the window.



Whether touch rugby is the answer, I don't know but, it would make the playing field more level at an early age.



Also, the move from 6 yards to 10 metres made the game more about power, rather than craft but, I don't see us reverting to 6 yards any time soon.

Agree entirely!



As a lad I know playing touch rugby improved both my speed and handling.

It takes some of the fear out of it that some kids have and also takes away a lot of the aggression/intimidation seen at too many amateur games both on the pitch and from parents.



Touch is also great for keeping adults involved, a part of amateur RL very much neglected in my opinion.