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Re: Shaun Wane 'set to be new England RL coach'

Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2020 6:52 pm
by Mike
I think wanes simple game plan will work well at international level. They don't have enough time together to do anything clever and a lot needs to come from attitude and commitment. He's very good at getting that out of players. My concern is that hes come too late, Has the player pool available peaked in quality and is now on the downward slide? Is our pack that good anymore? Our backs have not been great for a while either.

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Re: Shaun Wane 'set to be new England RL coach'

Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2020 3:29 pm
by josie andrews
England were right to replace Wayne Bennett before the World Cup

Wayne Bennett’s reign was only getting worse. England needed a new leader to build for the Rugby League World Cup next year

So that is it. Wane has replaced Wayne. After four years and 20 matches, the reign of King Bennett is over. It was telling that when his contract as England and Great Britain coach was not renewed by RFL head honcho Ralph Rimmer – so much to the chagrin of head of performance Kevin Sinfield that he fell on his sword – there was not a word from the surly old sage himself.

The Bennett paradox has been explored exhaustively. The “Fergie of League” tag is accurate: he is a decent player who has become a massively successful coach over a ridiculously long period; he is feared but loved by most of his players; and he is feared and loathed by many of the press. From my experiences, the myth is based on reality. Having dealt with Bennett as a volunteer, fan, press officer and journalist, I found him brilliantly effusive, humble, ignorant and miserable, respectively. The full gamut.


At a London meeting of local league volunteers in the 2000s, his talk inspired awe in me. A decade later at the Four Nations launch he told Scotland captain Danny Brough “you won’t be here again,” rudely dismissing the chances of Scotland reaching the final. Unfortunately Brough was too flabbergasted to reply: “Neither will you, mate.”

When Bennett took over from Steve McNamara in 2016, England were the second best team in the world. They are now probably fourth best. Bennett was beaten in his last five internationals, with Great Britain losing all four of their matches on tour last year and England going down 34-0 to New Zealand in their most recent match back in 2018. To make matters worse he oversaw defeats to Tonga and Papua New Guinea, meaning the Lions tour was the first time a Great Britain or England side had lost to opponents other than Australia or New Zealand since Wales beat England in 1995 – a run of 50 successive wins. Anyone can lose to Tonga – Australia did, too – but would the Kangaroos have then lost again three weeks later in Papua New Guinea? Like McNamara, Bennett lost all his games against Australia and his record against the Kiwis was mediocre: three wins, four defeats.


Before the collapses in November, it looked as if Bennett was giving his teams resilience and coherence: they hung in far longer than they used to. Having lost nine of their previous 12 tight contests (games decided by fewer than 12 points), under Bennett England and the Lions won three and lost three. Yes, the sample sizes are tiny, but that’s international rugby league. It’s a win-now challenge.

The Lions debacle brought the end for both Sinfield and Bennett. They totally misjudged the Lions return, making it clear from the start of the project that they had no intention of putting together a squad that represented the whole of the British Isles and honoured the illustrious heritage of the Lions. Instead, Bennett sent out England in a new kit.

His bizarre selections suggested that he was biased in favour of NRL and Australian players. Injuries to his ridiculously lopsided Lions squad meant that half-back Blake Austin ended up playing two Tests on the wing while Regan Grace was “not even considered”. In his first three years, Bennett used eight different half-backs in eight partnerships. It looked like he was going to use the same trial-and-error method on the Lions tour when he picked six half-backs, but he stuck with the new pairing of Jackson Hastings and Gareth Widdop through all four defeats on the tour.

Since Mal Reilly stood down in 1994, only McNamara has outlasted Bennett’s four-year spell and yet Bennett put so much emphasis on performance over profile that, after the dirge of Christchurch and the Port Moresby meltdown, he had no one to save him. The Lions tour entered the Heart of Darkness and Bennett became Brando’s Kurtz. As Bennett oversaw the final calamity in Papua New Guinea, he would have been forgiven for crying: “The horror! The horror!”.


Shaun Wane promises fresh start with clubs as new England head coach

Garlanded, lauded and honoured to the hilt, Bennett was given license to say things that just weren’t true. For example, there are “more Test matches and more competitions and you’re starting to see the benefits of it”. In the two years since the last World Cup, New Zealand have played nine Tests, as have England and Great Britain combined. Tonga, the new world force, have only played five: fewer than France, Ireland and Italy, but more than Australia or Papua New Guinea. Wales and Samoa have been seen just thrice.

Between the 2013 and 2017 World Cups, the Kiwis played 16 Tests, the Kangaroos 13, England 12, France 11, Ireland 10 and Italy 15. None of them is likely to match that tally before the next World Cup kicks off in 2021.

The RFL are still yet to confirm whether England will go to Australia for a mid-season Test, or face France, or not play at all.

England have been competitive for two decades without threatening to knock the Kangaroos off their perch. To be crowned world champions next November, Wane has to make the team more than the sum of their parts. Nothing Bennett did last year suggested he would do that in the Ashes later this year, or – importantly – in a home World Cup next summer. Wane will have his work cut out for him, but – as the first England coach since David Waite to not be spending the vast majority of his time coaching his club – at least he can concentrate on the job in hand.

Foreign quota

Scotland and Italy will get a good look at each other before their World Cup clash when they meet in the European Championship in October. France, who are favourites to win the six-team tournament, host Italy the weekend before, then go to Scotland in the third week. The winner of Wales v Ireland should win the other group and reach the final in early November.

Spain, who will have a new coach after the retirement of stalwart Darren Fisher, are expected to be committed newcomers. One of Kevin Sinfield’s last decisions in his RFL role was to keep England out of the tournament yet again, although they are slated to return in 2022. It would be their first appearance since 2012 and they are likely to replace whoever finishes bottom this autumn.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/no-he ... -world-cup

Re: Shaun Wane 'set to be new England RL coach'

Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2020 9:15 pm
by nathan_rugby
Phil Clarke’s view on it tonight.

- he should have got the job
- he was lucky to get the Wigan job
- he is a transformation coach
- we won the last grand final because we spent the most money and that’s generally the way it works

Re: Shaun Wane 'set to be new England RL coach'

Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2020 12:07 am
by Nezza Faz
nathan_rugby wrote: Thu Feb 06, 2020 9:15 pm Phil Clarke’s view on it tonight.

- he should have got the job
- he was lucky to get the Wigan job
- he is a transformation coach
- we won the last grand final because we spent the most money and that’s generally the way it works
Clarke's beginning to get on my nerves as part of the rubbishy Sky commentary team. I think he takes much of an anti-Wigan stance, to prove to viewers in general, that he's not biased in Wigan's favour, but this goes way over the top.
Get rid, I don't know what he offers anyway ?

Re: Shaun Wane 'set to be new England RL coach'

Posted: Mon Feb 10, 2020 4:12 pm
by SJ
It seemed WB was one step forward. SW feels like two steps back !

Re: Shaun Wane 'set to be new England RL coach'

Posted: Mon Feb 10, 2020 4:36 pm
by Caboosegg
SJ wrote: Mon Feb 10, 2020 4:12 pm It seemed WB was one step forward. SW feels like two steps back !
I missed disagreeing with you SJ :D:D:D

WB has taken us a step backwards with that GB tour. SM took us to the same level as WB as we only made the semi finals under either.

some people will point to us beating NZ but in the same way everyone found excuses to bash SW, they were missing a raft of Talent.

Re: Shaun Wane 'set to be new England RL coach'

Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2020 1:06 am
by moto748
Indeed. Bennett's record is no better than McNamara's, in fact you could plausibly argue that's slightly worse.

Re: Shaun Wane 'set to be new England RL coach'

Posted: Tue Feb 11, 2020 11:50 am
by SJ
Caboosegg wrote: Mon Feb 10, 2020 4:36 pm
SJ wrote: Mon Feb 10, 2020 4:12 pm It seemed WB was one step forward. SW feels like two steps back !
I missed disagreeing with you SJ :D:D:D

WB has taken us a step backwards with that GB tour. SM took us to the same level as WB as we only made the semi finals under either.

some people will point to us beating NZ but in the same way everyone found excuses to bash SW, they were missing a raft of Talent.
Thanks "G". That's heart warming. The irony is tho ' WB didn't fulfill my expectations. Perhaps SW will quell my fears. Let's hope so. By the way "G" the sky's not fallen in. What did you just utter"give it time "
Did someone say lets eat..........yoooo🎂🍷👍

Re: Shaun Wane 'set to be new England RL coach'

Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2020 8:42 am
by josie andrews
Sean O'Loughlin hopes Shaun Wane picks him for England... but isn't banking on any favours

Sean O’Loughlin is not expecting any favours from his old coach Shaun Wane - as he eyes a place in the England side for the Ashes series.

Ex-Warriors boss Wane has taken over from Wayne Bennett as national coach for the visit of Australia this year, ahead of the 2021 World Cup.

O'Loughlin, 37, says he "definitely" wants to be involved in this autumn's series against the Kangaroos.

And he may have been heartened by Wane's admission that he will pick him if his form warrants it - even though he plans to retire this year, ruling him out of the World Cup.

O'Loughlin was Wane's skipper for all three of his Grand Final triumphs with Wigan, as well as the World Club Challenge and Challenge Cup triumphs.

"Whoever is coaching the side, if they wanted me to play then I’d definitely play," said the loose forward, who is the incumbent England captain but wasn't selected for Great Britain's tour Down Under.

"But I know Waney, and if I was to get picked then it’d be on merit.

"If I play well enough he’d pick me, but if I wasn’t he’d have no problem telling me that. That’s exactly what you want - you pick that team on who can perform best at international level and I know Waney will be doing that as well.

“ It’s a bit different for me now - in previous years it’s been a target to get in.

"I’d have loved to have played for Great Britain, but missing it was a bonus for me. This year, if I got the opportunity I would do it, definitely.

"But it’s not something I’m setting my stall out for now, at my stage of my career."

O'Loughlin, set for a coaching role with Wigan when he hangs up his boots, praised Wane's predecessor.

“ I was a big fan of my time under Wayne and working with him," he said.

He brought a lot to it. As a player I learned a lot from him, and hopefully going into coaching, to see some of the stuff he does I learned from that as well.

"I was a bit disappointed for him, but for Waney to get the role I think he’s made for it.

" He’s been out of the game for a couple of years and he’ll have been itching to get back. The England role is very well suited for him - he’s passionate about his roots and about his rugby.

"I know it’s not a day-to-day role when you get your hands on the players, but he’ll invest a lot of time into it.

"He’ll have his eye on the World Cup in 2021 and will feel it’s something achievable for him and the team. He’ll be focused on getting the best out of all the players and just get to know them all as well. Because he hasn’t got the club ties he can go around and visit all the clubs and the coaches.

"He’ll already have relationships with a lot of them but can get to know the players that he’s maybe not met before. I think he’ll enjoy the role but I think the players will enjoy being coached by him as well.

“I saw him on the Saturday before the appointment and he was telling me about it. I was buzzing for him. With not being involved for the sport for a couple of years I think he’s missed it, and getting this opportunity now he’ll definitely be doing his best to make it his."

https://www.wigantoday.net/sport/sean-o ... 1-10251940

Re: Shaun Wane 'set to be new England RL coach'

Posted: Wed Feb 12, 2020 11:07 am
by SJ
Whether Lol is playing well or not If he gets picked on merit it's hardly forward thinking is it Josie?