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Smith opts for brawn in Paris challenge
ENGLAND will look to turn their back on the past by beginning a bold new chapter in their history tonight when some of the brightest and biggest talent in Super League faces France in the Gillette Fusion international in Paris.
Seven months on from a disappointing World Cup campaign, coach Tony Smith has acknowledged the need for change by naming an unfamiliar team for the Test at Stade Jean Bouin.
Led by old stagers Jamie Peacock and Adrian Morley, Smith's new-look England is packed full of both youth and experience among a group of players who will form the nucleus of the national team come the next World Cup in 2013.
Perhaps the most striking quality about England is their sheer size with the likes of James Graham, Eorl Crabtree and Ben Westwood adding to the authoritative brute force that Peacock and Morley bring to the party.
"We're going big. We've got a huge team out there," said Smith. "The only exception in our forwards is Scott Moore, but he's a solid little nugget as well – he's proved that all year.
"If you look at the pack, they don't come much bigger than that. It's an enormous team. We wanted to go big. It's strong, fast and skilful."
Moore, the Huddersfield hooker, and Leeds winger Ryan Hall are the only debutants in an England side that features seven members of last year's World Cup party and involves players from 11 different Super League clubs.
With a Four Nations tournament looming at the end of the season Smith has left his players in no doubt that they are in pole position to stake a claim for the more enticing fixtures against Australia and New Zealand.
"This team gets the first crack. I'm giving them a chance, on the international scene, to put their names forward," he said.
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Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 11 February 2012
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