It’s been a strange week so far. After the high of the quarter-finals weekend, it was back to work on Monday with no rugby until Saturday. There was a bit of catching up to do. A couple of BBC podcasts I hadn’t had time to listen to and the league papers come out on Monday too. This week they included the fixtures for the new Super League season that starts in February.
At work there were the inevitable questions about the weekend. How did the rugby go? When are the next games? How will England get on against the Kiwis?
It all seems a bit strange that in just over a week, it will all be over. I’ll have seen the 24 games I was planning to see. I’ll have done my travels, and spent a fortune in the process. And England? Well, we’ll probably be back where we started. Miles away from being champions of the world and the wait for the coveted prize will continue for at least four more years.
I’ve been telling people that the match against the Kiwis is a really difficult one. Normally losing to New Zealand in the semis would be seen as failure, but this time round, there’s not much between them and the Aussies. It would be no surprise, unlike in 2008, if the Kiwis were once again crowned world champions, I’ve been telling people.
But is that true? Am I managing my own expectations? Preparing for the inevitable disappointment that I’ve become so familiar with, as an England fan?
I would dearly love England to win the World Cup. But dare I dream? Can Sam Tomkins produce some magic? Can the Burgess boys and James Graham dominate for England, like they do for their club sides in Australia each week? Can James Roby constantly keep the opposition going backwards with great play from dummy-half? Can Kevin Sinfield give one of those flawless ‘Sir Kev’ performances that he seems to always produce for Leeds when it really matters, and can Rangi Chase produce one of his magical performances that bamboozle the best of defences?
Rangi Chase? Shock, horror. On Thursday, Steve Mac produced one of the biggest surprises of the World Cup. Rangi Chase has been dropped, and Gareth Widdop has been selected instead.
I’ve got to admit that my mood lifted on Thursday at that news. I don’t know why, I’ve no problem with Chase. Not his greatest fan, never really seen it myself, but I’m not looking at Widdop as the saviour either. Sure he is in a key position for Melbourne Storm, maybe the best team in the World, but he is clearly the Ringo Starr of the Storm’s Fab Four of Smith, Slater, Cronk and Widdop.
I think that it is simply the change. England have been good in their matches to date. Not great, but ok. They will need to be much, much better on Saturday. They will be, as they are playing the Kiwis, but this change with Widdop, could be just the catalyst we need to ensure that increased intensity, that more precise execution of skill, and that greater desperation to leave nothing “in the locker” as they say.
I am in a no-man’s land of not daring to dream for fear of failure though.
How I wish I could recapture the innocent optimism of my youth, when I felt my team could win any game against any opposition. They never did mind, so I guess years and years of disappointment has impacted on my optimism. I’ve seen Wakey avoid seemingly certain relegation on more than one occasion, which was great, but I’ve never seen my team win the big prize. ‘Success’ has always meant avoiding complete failure.
I remember the crushing disappointment of the 2004 Tri-Nations final at Elland Road, when the Aussies put in a flawless first half performance and led 38-0 at half-time. That was a match we thought we were going to win. It was like watching a car crash unfold in front of my eyes and being helpless to do anything about it.
There have been others too. There was 2009, when we ran out of steam after 60 minutes and 2011, when we just never had enough to stop Darren Lockyer in his final performance as captain of Australia.
If we did actually win on Saturday, I’d probably spend all next week preparing myself for yet another defeat by the Aussies in the final. “Might as well have lost to the Kiwis, rather than lose in the chuffin’ final again.” That sort of thing.
However, I’m happy to deal with that problem when it happens. Just give us this win. This Saturday, against the Kiwis. I’ve done the hard yards. I’ve never had so much as a sniff of glory with England. I’ve certainly never had it with Wakey at the top level. In fact I’ve had a pretty rubbish experience of being a rugby league fan really.
In a few hours time, I will either be experiencing one of the greatest ever highs of my rugby league days, or I shall be plunged back into the pits of despair. Why do we put ourselves through this?
But come on, just this once. Pleeeeease!
The Rugby League World Cup 