Blog: McNamara should build England around Luke Robinson
Luke Robinson has impressed this season. Code13 thinks he could be England’s key man…
With the domestic season drawing to a close, talk will inevitably turn soon to the what should be England’s line-up going into this autumn’s Four Nations tournament.
While injury and accident could yet wreck the best-laid plans of anyone, some players are emerging whose form and fitness will be crucial to the England team’s chances. Players without whose creativity the English are going to struggle to score against the well-drilled Kiwi and Kangaroo defences.
Many have mentioned Danny Brough, Danny McGuire, Richie Myler and others, but one man who has got to be the first name on the team-sheet is Huddersfield Giants’ pivot Luke Robinson, a player who has turned out at hooker but has really shone when asked to deputise for Brough or Kevin Brown in the halves for Nathan Brown’s men.
After another star performance against Hull Kingston Rovers on Saturday night, Robinson has to be the half-back around which Steve McNamara should be slotting his other parts to the machine. His quicksilver feet and elusive running make him dangerous enough, but Robinson also has fast hands and a sharp tactical brain, and looks like a player who is beginning to hit his peak period. He could be the fulcrum of the England team for years to come, if handled correctly.
He also has another quality which is vital if our best players are ever to beat the Aussies and Kiwis: confidence. Robinson recalls the likes of Alex Murphy and Andy Gregory in his diminutive cockiness. Tough and brave, a necessity for a man of such small physical stature in a big man’s game, he also has the moral courage to try things, to add the unexpected and more than a touch of flair to proceedings.
Robinson is a man whose tricks don’t fail very often because he just doesn’t believe they can fail. Having interviewed the man, his confidence is infectious. If we are ever to break the moribund hold that fear and negative expectation seems to have over the England team we need men like Robinson.
So he should be paired with Brough in the halves for England. This then frees up a space at hooker for James Roby, with Sean O’Loughlin at loose forward and Kevin Sinfield on the bench. Sam Tomkins should obviously line up and full-back, and Gareth Widdop will also be in the reckoning, but that line-up should give England some genuine threat.
Luke Robinson is a brave and creative half-back. Will Steve McNamara be brave enough to recognise this and build his team around him?
