 Senior is outnumbered by New Zealand in the World Cup semi-final |
Veteran Leeds centre Keith Senior believes England suffered at last year's World Cup because of a "big divide" in the squad. The 32-year-old saw his side win just one game in Australia, after travelling with high hopes of winning the trophy. Senior, who confirmed his international retirement, said: "There were so many Saints and Leeds players. We didn't gel on the field - it was a disappointment. "At the end of the day we didn't perform, we let ourselves down." Between them, Leeds and St Helens - the two powerhouses of British rugby league - provided 15 of the 24 players in coach Tony Smith's England squad. England beat Papua New Guinea, but lost to New Zealand and the hosts in the pool stages, before falling to the Kiwis again in the semi-final in Brisbane. The Rugby Football League is conducting a review into the failure, including a survey of the players' opinions. Senior added: "There are a lots of ifs and buts about why we didn't perform. That's something the coaching staff have to look at. "There's definitely the players there. We haven't as much strength in depth compared to Australia but we can definitely get a winning 17 out on the field.  | 606: DEBATE |
"It's just getting the cohesion and working together. I think in this World Cup we didn't work as a unit." Senior, who will turn 33 in April, has ruled himself out of the end-of-season Four Nations Series to concentrate solely on club rugby. The former Sheffield Eagles player has won 33 caps since making his Great Britain debut in 1996 and played 10 times for England, eight of them in the World Cup tournaments of 2000 and 2008. "I've had a great international career but you have to think of your future," he said. "I want to play for as long as I can while the body is still feeling strong. "And it's about time I started to pay a bit back to Leeds for showing faith in me. If it means a couple more years playing Super League, that's something I need to do. "I had more or less decided before the World Cup. It's something I've been thinking about for the last few years. It's now time to put the international cap on the peg. "It's not the ideal way to finish but I have no regrets. It's not been the best time for internationals over the last 12 years but when is there a right time to retire?" Senior has scored 222 tries in 482 career appearances and has missed only 21 games for Leeds since joining them from Sheffield in 1999.
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