England Rugby League

An arresting tackle which left me ‘out on Baile!’

Monday 26th October 09

I enjoyed last Friday’s game against France – the bits of it that I remember.

I can recall the first half and some of the second half but nothing else. It all seemed to be going well until Jean Philippe Baile hit me with his high shot.

I never saw it coming. It looked worse than what it was and in some ways I’m glad he’s not got banned. It was a tough shot but this is international Rugby League.

Not that I knew that at the end of the game at Doncaster. It could have been international star gazing as far as I was concerned. I was in la-la land.

The few hours post-match just didn’t happen, as far as my memory is concerned.

I slept okay, though, and woke up on Saturday morning without a headache, which is a good sign. I’d Sky+’d the game and watched it on Saturday when I got home.

It was interesting to see the tackle that got me. If only I’d ducked!

When you get knocked out or suffer concussion like I did you have to undergo cognitive tests to make sure you’re ok. I haven’t had mine but I think I’ll be all right.

I thought we played a lot better in the second half at Keepmoat Stadium. Our combinations weren’t working in the first half and we dropped too much ball. It was frustrating but we got our act together in the second half.

We’ll click this week, I can promise you that, and hopefully I played well enough to keep my spot.

I have played three times for England now and Australia are a step up from what I’ve experienced at international level before.  That’s not to say I’m worried about taking that step because I’m not.

All the boys know how tough it’s going to be but we’re confident and have been training really well.

All my life I’ve dreamed about playing for England against Australia and here I am, just a few days away from possibly going up against the Kangaroos.

It all seems a bit surreal in some ways – I’d only just left school when the Aussies were last here in 2006 and now it’s up to me to try and teach them a thing or two.

I’m going to give it my best shot – if we win on Saturday we know we’re in the final. Our destiny is in our hands. It would be nice to be part of the celebrations on Saturday night knowing what had happened!

Richie Myler
Richie Myler blog ahead of Wales game