Bennett, England poised with perfect World Cup pilgrimage

Where in the world is Wayne Bennett?

England coach for the past two years in a testing and dubious work environment given the mother country’s hesitation around a non-nationalistic coach, Bennett now seems to have fallen off the face of the planet just a couple of weeks out from the start of the 2017 Rugby League World Cup.

England coach: Wayne Bennett. 

Indeed, so have his side, apart from the late unveiling of their squad over the internet.

Virtually zero promotional gigs, barely any media attention on them and all the focus firmly dispensed to the Pacific nations.  

A coach’s dream. Flying under the radar, as they say.

And wouldn’t he be loving it.

The prolific 67-year-old man-manager has undoubtedly seen it all in his near five-decade association with rugby league and he has drawn on all of his lessons to give England the ultimate preparation for the historic tournament.

After taking over from popular coach, Steve McNamara, as an almost loathed choice by many English fans, Bennett embarked on perhaps the toughest coaching assignment of his career.

Immediately, he demanded the Rugby Football League shorten the Super League season this year, pencilled in both pre-season and mid-year training camps, and ensured the side were able to play an additional game by becoming involved in the Pacific Tests in Australia.

Such is Bennett’s influence in the game, he managed to convince Broncos’ suits to take part in the World Club Series back in February, providing him with crucial time in England to work on his plans for the national side.

After a disappointing campaign in the 2016 Four Nations tournament, where the Poms won only one match - against Scotland, the additional time assessing players and making arrangements with staff in England was well needed.

For all of England’s growth in the last decade amongst their national side through players shifting to the NRL and the increasing professional development of the Super League competition, the key things they have lacked is the ability to overcome their own mistakes at crucial parts of games and the experience to close-out matches.

They’ve always had the ability, the competitiveness and have never been short of emotional determination or pride.

It’s why Bennett is the perfect coach for them. 

He will keep it simple, keep them focussed and give them the confidence they need.

Bennett addressing England players during his first camp in 2016.

He is a simple coach, with simple ideals. One of them mainly being about effort.

It’s why the overlooking of George Burgess for the side, speaks volumes.

Arguably one of the top-three best forwards in the game when South Sydney won the NRL title in 2014, Burgess’ form has drizzled down to a shadow of his former self. Put simply, when he plays it looks like he just isn’t having a crack.

Bennett knows it and he won’t have it in his squad. His omission would have sent a clear-as-daylight message to the England squad – mediocracy won’t be accepted here.

Their 30-10 win over Samoa in the mid-year Pacific Test was by no means an inspiring win for England’s World Cup journey under Bennett, but it was a real improvement on where they have come from and could prove to be a crucial experience.

While all the emphasis of the tournament thus far has been on the defection of Jason Taumalolo and Andrew Fifita to Tonga - from their respective nations of New Zealand and Australia - any talk of England’s preparations have seldom appeared in the Australian-based media.

Remember this? We all know who the real man coaching was.

A quick assessment on social media after the England squad was announced showed murmurings of discontent about both the list of players and Bennett’s ability to successfully guide the side through to the end. While it is unclear whether that discussion amongst the fans translated into the English media, it showed the first signs of the team’s chances being written-off before the tournament has even begun.

Again, such discourse would leave Bennett salivating about how to get the best out of his side through the five-week competition.

How many times has the coach been written-off in the past, only to later prove his detractors, haters and naysayers, blind wrong?

Even this season at the Brisbane Broncos it was suggested the mastercoach had finally lost his touch to engage with the younger generation of player.

Does anybody play the media better than Wayne?

Yet, despite not having a consistent line-up for the majority of the year, Bennett managed to lead Brisbane to a preliminary final, going out just one game short of the grand finale, to what has been said to be one of the best sides in modern rugby league history.

Bennett initially had all the ruthless rugby league media breathing down his neck when he first took on the England job. Now, whether by default or design, he has virtually no-one looking at him or his side.

Perfectly-positioned, written-off before it’s even begun, flying under-the-radar and with no-hope given of tournament honours, Coach Bennett has played everything right into his team’s hands.

It might look like his promiscuous approach to the England job has been a learn-on-the-run and do-the-best-we-can style, but Bennett has played his cards better than ever.

That wry smile.

If there’s a team to look out for at the World Cup, it’s the missing-in-action England.

There’s something intriguing about their preparation.

And there’s the man with that all-too-familiar wry smile at the helm; the one that usually appears after he has proved all of his doubters wrong. 

Stage set for RLWC 2017 to help brew growth

Make no mistake, the clandestine decisions of Jason Taumalolo and Andrew Fifita to defect from their countries of origin to play for their countries of heritage is a landmark moment for international rugby league. 

Have you got a ticket yet?

Both players will forego significant sums of money to play for the minnow rugby league nation of Tonga. Their decisions have the ability to influence future players to make decisions about their representative careers not just solely based on money.  

Many will scoff at the influence now, citing both players’ dissatisfactions with their national team set-ups as the reason for their preference to play for Tonga, but their transition has awoken interest in a tournament that has traditionally only ever been perceived as a battle between Australia, New Zealand and England.  

At the 2008 World Cup – also played in Australia – Jarryd Hayne played for Fiji at a time when the game had not made significant inroads with the island nation. You could argue that Hayne’s representation with Fiji during that tournament helped propel interest in the smaller nations and highlight the opportunities of growing the game throughout the pacific. 

Over the last 10-15 years, the amount of Polynesian players in rugby league has increased dramatically. This has helped not only New Zealand in becoming stronger through players who often move to the country at young age, but has seen a sharp development in the likes of Tonga, Samoa, and Fiji. 

While the battles between Tonga, Samoa, Fiji and Papua New Guinea during the NRL midseason seemed more of a gimmick when first introduced, their capacity to attract genuine interest from a broader variety of rugby league fan is beginning to take hold. 

It is likely that in a few years, these matches will find an equal place amongst the historical state of origin matches, filling in the gaps of stand-alone weekends. The opportunity to incorporate Northern Hemisphere teams in a full-scale midyear break in domestic rugby league competitions is something that could be explored.

The inclusion of the PNG Hunters in the Queensland Cup has helped boost the depth and overall strength of Papua New Guinea and can only be seen to positively improve the country’s footprint in international rugby league. 

It is also with great optimism that the introduction of the Toronto Wolfpack into the Northern Hemisphere game - via the third tier of the Rugby Football League in England - that hope of a revival of the sport can take hold in that part of the world. 

One of the success stories from the 2013 Rugby League World Cup - The U.S.A Tomahawk.

The administration involved in making their existence possible should be applauded for their bold risk to accept a cross-continent possibility. If the Wolfpack and perhaps another team in Canada or America can be introduced to the Rugby Football League and attract a new wave of interest to the game both in North America and Europe, international rugby league is only going to benefit. 

Furthermore, the Rugby League International Federation has made one of the best and first long-term, forward-thinking decisions about the future of the game seen in quite some time.

 In 2025, the Rugby League World Cup will be played in North America. 

What this does, is give the international game and the entire sport of rugby league something to work towards. If improvements can be made in the payments of players to all nations in the tournament, not just the big three of Australia, England and New Zealand, than the potential to grow the game in both domestic and international competitions is wide open. 

North America is perhaps rugby league’s most underutilised source of talent identification, player development and game exposure, given the size of the population and love of sport in both the U.S.A and Canada. 

It will require a commitment from all forms of administration in the game, but with the RLIF now having full-time employees and the game beginning to make even the smallest footprint in the area, it gives hope of strong, long-term growth. 

Detractors can shoot it down all they like, but unless people make decisions like Fifita and Tamaulolo to do something out of the norm and against the tide of money, the game will continue to exist in its insular form. 

Would Semi Radradra have ever have turned out for Australia if there was the same $20,000 on the table to play for Fiji? 

With so many NRL players turning out for some of the smaller nations at the 2017 Rugby League World Cup, interest in the tournament will perhaps be at its highest ever. 

The 2013 tournament in the United Kingdom saw huge interest from the English fans in the matches of the smaller nations. Played at some of the old-style packed-in grounds to what appeared like full-houses and on the back of Andrew Voss’ talented commentary, these matches were exciting and appealing to many fans back here in Australia. 

One of the 2013 matches in England between Samoa and Fiji.

With matches being played right across Australia, New Zealand and in PNG, the 2017 tournament has the potential to garner the same, if not more interest than the 2013 edition. 

To Fifita, Tamaulolo, Hayne, Moses, Papalii, Segeyaro, Vaughan, Farah, Tedesco and anyone else turning out for a minnow nation, thank you. 

For you are contributing to the long-term growth of rugby league. 

People might not see it on the surface, but these decisions are helping a wider development of the greatest game of all.

Premier League State of Affairs: LIVERPOOL

The Reds find themselves top of the league after 11 rounds of the Premier League, in a place that looked virtually impossible just 12 months ago.

Sadio Mane is Liverpool's top Premier League goalscorer, with six in ten appearances. 
(Photo: Sky Sports)

It’s hard to believe the transformation and evolution of the playing group since Jurgen Klopp took over in October, 2015.

But for those who witnessed the German sprinkle his magic over Mainz 05 and Borussia Dortmund earlier in his career, maybe Liverpool’s improvement is no surprise at all.

Over the course of last season, Klopp helped restore the Liverpool squad’s confidence in themselves. He set new standards and raised the side’s expectations, with the influence eventually taking them to – two – cup finals.

In his first preseason at the club in July, 2016, he took them on what has become a standard international trip across two continents, building both fitness and camradery.

Crucially, during this time he made the astute signings of Sadio Mane from Southampton, and Georginio Wijnaldum from Newcastle United. Both additions came almost as a surprise to the wider, outside stakeholders, but have provided depth and improvement in much-needed areas.

Klopp didn’t exactly plug the gaps in the side’s holes considering he resisted the urge to sign a left back and utilised what he had on hand, but he made calculated decisions.

While putting faith in the majority of the squad he had might have been considered a gamble by some, the add-ons have installed a healthy competition for places in the starting team.

The fact that striker Daniel Sturridge, who was not long ago considered Liverpool’s best player, cannot hold down a place in Klopp’s favoured XI is a telling sign of how far the Reds have come.

But how far they can go will be an exciting journey to watch unfold. While matching the breathtaking brilliance and deadliness of the Brendon Rodgers’ Luis Suarez-led side of 2013-14 would be tough, Klopp’s side is beginning to open up sides and tear them apart.

Of course, no title is ever won in November, and whether the weight and long held expectations of winning a maiden Premier League title burdens their chances remains to be seen.

In recent weeks, Klopp has been pouring cold water on any title-winning talk, attempting to douse any false pretences that could develop amongst his players.

He knows, no title is secured until it’s all said and done. Liverpool fans should also know this better than any.

But it’s clear this Klopp-guided team is a legitimate chance at winning some silverware this season.

If they can keep their momentum going, Liverpool could do anything this season.

As they say: you’ve got to lose one, to win one.

Last season, Liverpool lost two.

Prediction: Close, very close.