Looking forward to July 1st.

We need the passion and aggression, as led by Martin on the park, this is the only way we will beat the southern hemisphere.

Each man in his position putting body and soul on the line.

No room for anybody who can not handle the physical and psychological pressure.

Lindsay, Lincoln, UK

The result of a game of rugby is less important than taking part.

Having played against and lost, 72-zip to the ABs, it was their skills that I remember rather than the deficiences, if any, of my team members.

We won the drinking contest afterwards by a wide margin.

Enjoy the game.

John Donaldson, Hobart , Australia

Rumble,rumble.Oversized and slow both in wit and thought.Forwards in the backs position,cos they are too slow to get back in position.We win more on courage than ability.I love to watch the "super" 14s,fast exciting and try`s now and then.I sometimes wish for "super"12s,that would make them mobile

david, Barnsley, England

So basically England played those they available to them. How is that Martin Johnson or Charlie Hodgson's fault? You criticise but offer no real suggestion for an alternative - as usual. Charlie suffers from a Curse of the Shirt , his season at Sale maybe hinted he would be the safest bet at 10 tho.

Kate, Surrey, UK

christopher knowles
Funny I watched a lot of the super 14 games this year and there seemed to be more scrums than ever

Gareth Williams, Powys,

Johnson will NOT fail, and now that he knows who doesn't play well enough he will change it. A team does not change overnight as he must have time to adjust and maybe re-adjust the team members several times until he gets the perfect team. SB why do you do this? Coach or manager much? Yeah huh uh!

Holly, Allegan, USA/Michigan

I wouldn't be too tough on old Barnsey, after all he's probably secretly glad England lost again in NZ. I mean, how many games did SB play in where he was in a winning team against the AB's?

As for ELV's and old rules - the real difference lies iin the speed of play, skill and fitness levels.

Peter_qld, Brisbane, Australia

Davo- the SH have used the ELV's for under a year, as they were all taught how to play using the 'old rules' you wouldnt think that it would be that hard for them to switch back?

Besides McCaw was still playing under the ELVs- coming into the ruck from the side all the time!

Dan, Bournemouth, Dorset

Stuart Barnes has always excelled at one thing - changing his mind (I think the record is 3 times in one match).

He also said that Leicester Tigers had no chance of winning the Guinness semi-final against Gloucester!

He is not fit to lick the boots of Martin Johnson.

Tony, Loughborough, UK

Although we lost and there are obvious issues, why after 1 game is it the end of the world ?

Message for "davo, sydney, australia" I presume by Super 14 "old rules" you actually mean Rugby Union Rules. Not the Super 14 "ELV" rules that are there to elimate the pack because Austrailia don't have 1!

Christopher Knowles, Leeds, England

Message to "davo, sydney, australia"

I assume that by Super 14 "old rules" you actually meant Rugby Union Rules? Not the Super 14 "new" rules under ELVs designed to eliminate the forwards and set piece because Australia can only produce impotent forward packs.

Learn the game, don't change it !!!

Christopher Knowles, Leeds, England

Stuart barnes' opinion has always been irrelevant to rugby fans. No point in moaning about it.

Against New Zealand, england just simply played poorly with too many players found out not to be good enough at the highest test level. Borthwick, Palmer, Wigglesworth, Hodgson all need to go.

Paul, Sidcup, England

Don't panic!
Keep Hodgson in as there is no sensible replacement available. Tell him he has one last chance to prove he is an international and see how he does. If he fails again no problem, this test is probably not winnable with the team we have there anyway. Cipriani is back hopefully for Nov!

Skinner, Benfleet, England

The A/Bs win was remarkable in that they had to adapt from ELV playing conditions in Super 14 to "old rules" for this test. Not you nor any of your jouno mates have commented on this highly meritorious achievement.
Maybe the faster pace of the ELV playing conditions proved too much for the Brits

davo, sydney, australia

Barnesey, you've been a Hodgson advocate for years & he's never tackled well. However I've always suspected that this is because his rivalry with Jonny Wilkinson mirrored your own with Rob Andrew. The "creative" one versus the reliable big tackler who won all the caps?

Matt Jackson, Bristol, United Kingdom

Everyone appears to be forgetting young Dom Waldouck. Yes he is young, yes he has no international experience, but he has a Heineken Cup and a Guiness Premiership winners medal to his young credit. Noon and Flood play poorly for the 10th place club in the GP, Waldouck well for the champs.

Pete Johnston, Durham,

For Andy in Cairo to say Sheridan was good is to perpetuate the myth that here is a man before whom all mortals should quail. Carl Heyman outscrummaged him and now Somerville, not a famous scrummager and rather past his best, held him with something in hand.
He is the Graham Hick of World Rugby.

James Bruce, Essex,

Barnes of course was one who repetitively trumpeted Hodgson's claims. Now he thinks Goode is the answer, contrary to the evidence. Like Hodgson, Goode has a record of wilting under pressure, he's too slow and he can't tackle. The real problem lies in the second row where no-one has replaced Johnson.

Roger Goodacre, London,

Dear Mr Barnes,

Surely this can't be the same Charlie Hodgson who you insisted should replace Jonny Wilkinson not so long ago.

Jonny has never been a bottler when it comes to tackling.

So how could you ever make the case for Hodgson over Wilkinson in test rugby?

David, Dubai, UAE

England have won twice on NZ soil, once in 2003 and the other back in the 70s (I think). Good team or bad team the result is the same. From the northern hemisphere only France has a slightly better record. And we claim there is no divide between tri-nations and six-nations.

Baz, Wimbledon, England

Stuart, after your playing career, you overstate the importance of a 'specialist'. Many international fly-halves have defensive frailties - Nonu would run over all and England found this out at their expense. The attacking woes are a result of a boring midfield. Bring on the Tri-Nations!

GT, Shangai, China

Problem with the offence! Oops, Brian Ashton's gone, who's responsible for this new hiring? Not me! Fire him, let's hire Jake, uhh, wait a minute, we're still getting flak on new rules, we uhh, wait, I've got it, we need a quality control manager! Where's Clive?

David, Amsterdam, Netherlands

England: Mostly a second-string team with no manager or fly-half. Poor. I think the ABs need to be getting a bigger score than they did. Their lineout was non-existant and pack unconvincing. Their 3/4 were sublime, men against boys. Don't get Lamb over for the next test, he needs to bulk up a bit.

Rob, Worcester, UK

Use the Brian Ashton solution - Balshaw!!

Or perhaps Rob A wants a game himself?

The only sensible option now is Flood, Barkely at 12 and Bosher (Ronseal) Noon at 13.

We still won't come anywhere near winning though.

David, St Albans, UK

One game in and the 'know it all' critics are at Martin Johnsons throat already - the AB's would have had the same result against all of the 6 Nations countries (possibly even worse for some) - roll on the main competition,the Tri -Nations..

Rod Parsons, Spalding, England

Talk of ABs weaker by NHclubs is pompous-this week McCaw signed for 4more yrs.The plyrs you've got excl McAlistair were at end of useful life in NZ. NH is our retirement plan- and they bring all the money back ! who the losers! Carter 3mth holiday for for mill +. SH teams 6 NH 0 just in last week

David, Christchurch, New zealand

I thought Flood was injured? I assumed that was why he wasn't on the bench. Half backs Care and Barclay, centres Flood and Noon, back three Tait, Lewsey and Strettle.

Get Hartley in at hooker and leave that back row to it. I don't care what anyone says, that backrow is brilliant.

James Cullup, Oxford,

The most intelligent part of this tour was Johnson leaving players who were half fit and under prepared at home. The players in that list are numerous. England played well in spells, and that is the key. No point in panicking stood up and were counted with All Blacks. Some top class performances.

Simon, leicester, UK

Can we afford Ryan Lamb's air fare? We're loaded, especially when compared to NZ rugby but that's not the point. Everyone, except a few Sale fanatics and Martin Johnson, knew that Charlie H is not made of the right stuff and should have been anywhere else except in NZ. A poor start by MJ

Peter Banks, London,

To be fair the NZ team weren't great. England were poor in critical positions. Again the lack of creativity and a poor back 3 resulted in enormous pressure. I thought that the Eng pack weren't bad. Macaw got away with loads again. Great NZ scrum. Sheridan was good, Stevens was bullied.

Andy, Cairo, Egypt

Johnson will fail and be used for years in classrooms as an example of 'Peter principle' i.e a bright man prematurely promoted past his level of competence. He is not qualified for the job, never having coached a senior club and will continue to make misrakes, operating in the Machiavellian RFU.

R G James, Brasschaat, Belgium

NZ outclassed England, but there are some questions over the first and last quarters of the match. Doubtless, Henry will have these on his mind as he brings the ABs to their peak before 2011. Let's have a look at Ryan Lamb on Saturday - can England afford his air fare?

Tony Gold, London,

when the game went Open in 1996 new zealand rugby was always going to suffer as it has no economy. compare man united v fulham - the cost of putting out the nz team would be 20% of the payroll for the pommy strawberries and full cream brigade i estimate. good job to the serfs today. do the sums mate

bryce bevin, lisbon, portugal

Too many imports into English rugby? Perhaps you're starting to see how that affects the depth of England-qualified players in key psoitions.

Charles, Wellington, New Zealand

last week stuart you told us how rubbish the ABs were... basically, the end of the line for a100 years of NZ rugby dominance. This week not a word about the ABs (?). Just how poorly England played.

England played as well as they ever have quite frankly.

Jay Mann, napier, NZ