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Should we be happy that England have three players in the World XIII, sad that it isn’t more, or concerned that only one of the three plays in Super League? In fact, all these reactions are reasonable. The three players who do make our selection are undoubtedly world class, and two learned their trade at home before making the successful switch down under. We can take heart from that. There are also English players ranked in the top five in each position of the World XIII, with the worrying exception of scrum half. Given the absence of an overseas tour either to or from Australian or New Zealand this year, England’s stars have not had the biggest of stages on which to demonstrate their talents. Their triumph in the Autumn International series was as comfortable as many expected, and we look back on that tournament and the lessons that can be learned from it as World Cup year dawns. The countdown to the 2013 season is on. We have the Super League fixtures for you, plus in depth interviews with Michael Shenton on his return to Castleford and Huddersfield bound Chris Thorman who talks about his eclectic career to date. London’s Tony Clubb answers a quickfire round of questions and we get the lowdown on the blockbusting new autobiography of Adrian Morley. At grassroots level, we pay a visit to Castleford Panthers and celebrate Wath Brow Hornets victory in the NCL Cup Final. We also take a look back at the successful end to the first summer season in the women’s game and how players’ agents operate at Academy level. On the international scene, we have features on Fiji, the Pacific Islands of Samoa and Tonga, plus the USA and our regular rounds ups from Australia, France, Wales and New Zealand. League legend Darren Lockyer also chats to us about the importance of the World Cup. That’s not all. We have a Christmas competition bonanza for you, with games, shirts, books, DVDs and even a supply of soup to be won!