Noble's Lucky Thirteen?

Great Britain coach Brian Noble named a familiar looking side to take on New Zealand in the Lions Tri-Nations opener in Christchurch.






The usual suspects are there in the starting thirteen although three new caps will be awarded from the interchange bench against the Kiwi's with James Roby, Gareth Hock, Gareth Carvell and James Wilkin all in contention for their first appearance in the Great Britain shirt.

But whilst the line-up was in many ways expected, that still hasn't prevented the arguments and the criticisms regardign selection from surfacing once again. Here, The One Pointer looks at the pro's and con's of Noble's selection.

Great Britain are expected to line up as follows on Saturday:
1. Paul Wellens (St Helens)
2. Brian Carney (Newcastle Knights)
3. Martin Gleeson (Warrington Wolves)
4. Keith Senior (Leeds Rhinos)
5. Leon Pryce (St Helens)
6. Danny McGuire (Leeds Rhinos)
7. Sean Long (St Helens)
8. Stuart Fielden (Wigan Warriors)
9. Terry Newton (Bradford Bulls)
10. Adrian Morley (Sydney Roosters)
11. Jamie Peacock (C) (Leeds Rhinos)
12. Gareth Ellis (Leeds Rhinos)
13. Sean O'Loughlin (Wigan Warriors)

SUBS
Four from:
Gareth Hock (Wigan)
Gareth Carvell (Hull)
James Roby (St Helens)
Lee Gilmour (St Helens)
Jon Wilkin (St Helens)
On paper, that looks a strong enough side, certainly enough to match and even better the Kiwi's, so where do the arguments come from?

1. The Three-Quarters and the Left Centre/Wing Combination
With regards to the backline for Great Britain, Paul Wellens and Brain Carney picked themselves. They are the best British players in their position by some distance.
The rest of the players in that back line should be breathing a sigh of relief. Martin Gleeson hasn't recaptured the form he showed in the 2004 Tri-Nations series, when he returned from his lenghty suspension and Leeds centre Keith Senior has also struggled for form. All the while, Kirk Yeaman and Hull has impressed in the Super League and many argue that he is the one who should start at three or four in Christchurch.
As for the left wing, Leon Pryce's selection has upset many, particuarly those in Wigan and on Humberside.
Pryce, who was represented St Helens as stand-off throughout the season, and who has made not secret of his dislike for the wing positon, has been selected over Hull winger Gareth Raynor and Wigan flyer Mark Calderwood, with the later of the two not even making the trip down under. Many believe that Raynor should take the place of Pryce and that Noble should once again refrain from playing players out of position.
However, I think Noble has got this selection right. A victory on Saturday put GB in the driving seat for a final birth, leaving NZ facing a much win game a fortnight later. With this in mind, Noble has gone for experience. Playing the experience combination of Senior and Pryce on the left is, in my view, a much wiser choice than selecting Yeaman and Raynor, a combination that at present, has just one cap between them.

2. At Sixes and Sevens
Here at The One Pointer, our disapproval of Sean Long's Great Britain performances are hardly a secret.
The selection of Long at scrum half came as no suprise, but what was suprising is the decision to send home GB's best half-back alternative, Lee Briers after the warm-up game in Newcastle.
When he comes up against the world's best, Long has fails to produce. His kicking game goes awol and his attacking ideas are too predictable for the quality of the Kangaroos and Kiwi's.
McGuire is a decision I can support but his game is reliant on players around him making breaks and finding space. Unless Long suddenly finds a way to unlock the solid defences he'll encounter over the coming weeks, that partnership will be wasted.

3. The Loose Forward
In the absence of Paul Sculthorpe and Kevin Sinfield, Sean O'Loughlin will don the number '13' shirt this weekend. The only question is "why?"
O'Loughlin has got to be one of the most over-rated players currenly in the Super League. He has failed to find form this season in a poor Wigan side, his attacking abilities are unspectacular and his tackling technique is non-existent. Add to that a proneness to conceeding soft penalties and you immediatley have a weak link which any half-decent International side will exploit.
Compare the attributes that the Wigan captain brings with the likes of the in-form Jon Wilkin or Paul Cooke and the decision to include O'Loughlin starts to look even more perplexing and it is just a shame that whilst Noble has named a very strong pack based on merit, the last name on his starting team sheet happens to be a player who is completely undeserving of that place.

All in all, the side selected is more than capable of matching New Zealand on paper. The pack is particuarly strong, the back line is experienced and despite a few questionable decisions, Noble appears to have put together a strong side. How strong that side proves to be will be discovered once GB kick-off against a battle-hardened New Zealand outfit.