Horne wins GB
recall as Noble changes tack

Great Britain will undergo a change of tactics as they look to break their duck in the Gillette Tri-Nations Series. Hull half-back Richard Horne has been recalled to the Great Britain team for Saturday?s Gillette Tri-Nations clash with New Zealand at Huddersfield.

The 23-year-old Horne, who won the last of his eight caps against Australia in 2003, was named in Britain?s 18-man squad, with coach Brian Noble revealing that he would be in the final 17 to be unveiled an hour before kick-off, possibly at the expense of Iestyn Harris.

Great Britain?s 18-man squad is: P Wellens (St Helens); B Carney (Wigan), M Gleeson (Warrington), K Senior (Leeds), L Pryce (Bradford); I Harris (Bradford), R Horne (Hull), P Deacon (Bradford); S Fielden (Bradford), K Cunningham (St Helens), A Morley (Sydney Roosters), J Peacock (Bradford, capt), P Johnson (Bradford), K Sinfield (Leeds), M Higham (St Helens), J Thackray (Hull), G Ellis (Leeds), C Walker (Leeds).

Noble will not repeat the tactics of his predecessor, David Waite, who controversially played the gifted half-back on the wing for all three matches in the 2003 Ashes Series.

?I don?t think he?ll be featuring on the wing,? Noble told a news conference in Manchester.

?He?s a good rugby player. He brings speed, a line break and a depth of kicking game to the team. He?s a threat.?

Leeds loose forward Gareth Ellis, left out against Australia a week ago, is back in the reckoning at the expense of St Helens second rower Lee Gilmour, who has been dropped. Noble admitted the decision to axe Gilmour, who started in the second row in Britain?s opening 42-26 defeat by the Kiwis, was a difficult one.

?It was tough,? he said. ?We had to look at the balance of the team. There will be a few tactical changes for this weekend and some people who are missing out, if they looked at the statistics, wouldn?t deserve to miss out.

?I think Lee Gilmour comes into that category. He?s a very good player.?

After an impressive showing by the Great Britain pack against the Kangaroos, Noble is almost certain to restrict his changes to the backs and hinted that winger Leon Pryce, man of the match in Bradford?s Grand Final win, could be handed a more active role this week.

?He?s a good player who can play in a variety of positions and show up in most places and do a pretty good job,? he said.

While both Australia and New Zealand shuffle their line-ups after losing players in key positions, Noble has had the luxury of selecting from his full complement of 24 and, despite two defeats from their first two games, he is delighted with the spirit in the camp.

?Everybody is healthy and bouncing,? he said. ?We had a pretty good practice session this morning. I?m really pleased with what we came up with.

?The attitude of all the squad is exemplary. They?re digging in, they?re very determined this weekend. They?ve really put in this last few weeks. We were caught cold the first week but we improved massively last Saturday and weren?t far off a win.

?They understand that to get a win they?ve got to improve a little bit more. They?re very determined to get a win, they?re not talking about points difference or mathematical equations because it won?t mean anything unless we get a win.?

- - - - -

Thanks to www.superleague.co.uk for this news.