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There is no sugar coating, I was extremely disappointed with England’s performance against Samoa last Saturday.
On the other side of the park, this English side is the strongest for a long time. You just can’t hide the fact that they missed a great chance at a World Cup at home, so it’s a huge bust.
In terms of where things went wrong for England, there are a number of things you can point to.
First and foremost I have the utmost respect for anyone who puts on the England jersey, but Kruise Leeming of Leeds Rhinos had to beat Michael McIlorum against Samoa.
McIlorum has been brilliant and fantastic at his duties throughout his career in England, but sometimes in life when the sport moves on, the team has to move on and you have to choose your best players.
There is no sugar coating, England were extremely disappointing against Samoa last weekend
And there’s no doubt about it, Kruise Leeming should have started Saturday as a whore. He’s the best player at his position at No. 9. He’s a kick threat, he’s a point threat, he’s so dangerous and dynamic off the goal line. For me there is no one like him.
England sorely missed the threat he presents and was dulled by it. But no personnel change would have affected the outcome at the Emirates. Tactically they were outmatched.
They knew they were a fitter and stronger team than Samoa we all saw it in Newcastle on the opening game so in that situation you need to keep the ball in play at all times, keep a high pace and ultimately your superior fitness levels will have a big impact.
They had made the wrong choices and were poor all over the park and failed to complete the basics
Samoa were very effective in breaking up the game and it paid off in the second half
But England let the Samoans control the pace of the match. The ball was out of play too often, especially in the second half.
It was stop-start and it played right into Samoa’s hands as it gave the heavyweights a break, a chance for them to catch their breath and carry on. England should never have allowed them to do that.
Most disappointingly, England fell well short of the expected standard in running the basics. I’ve been saying this for weeks, but the difference between winning the World Cup and failing a team is their ability to consistently execute the fundamentals throughout the full 80 minutes.
For me it is not a matter of complacency or arrogance in the camp. I know Shaun Wane won’t tolerate that. They just looked tired and weary and were defeated in all facets of the game. They will feel dirty about their performance.
Shaun Wane will see this as a missed opportunity and will be frustrated on his part
Looking back, Shaun will of course have to reflect on his own performance, every coach does that. Is there anything he could have changed or changed?
Of course, it doesn’t matter to public opinion: it’s a failure and they should have made it to the final. Simply put, there shouldn’t have been any chance for Samoa to reverse a 60-point deficit in a matter of weeks. I can imagine that the judicial investigation will take quite some time.
As for Samoa, I have to give them full credit for executing their game plan to shock us all, but I think it will be very difficult for them to do it again against this Australian side on Saturday.
The level of that semi-final at Headingly was so high it was almost clear from both New Zealand and Australia and it all stems from the incredible level of performance in the NRL.
As for Samoa, there are three main things they need to do the impossible and beat Australia
I would beg the Super League to look at the standards in that league and try to at least match them, if not better them, to move the English game forward. Both sides went toe to toe and it was absolutely stunning.
But these Aussies are just so disciplined. Last week I described them as robots and while they were battered and bruised in points by a determined side of the Kiwis, the core values that have defined them for so many years – discipline and doing the simple things right – got them over the line.
So, how do you beat a side that is so good at everything? Samoa needs three things to fall in their favour.
First, they need Australia to play a terrible game – easier said than done! Then they have to repeat what they did against England and slow down the game. When those two factors finally come together, all those Samoans will have to play the game of their lives to do the impossible and win at Old Trafford.
They will pray that Australia will have a terrible day at the office at Old Trafford on Saturday
It wasn’t England’s year, but I have incredible confidence in the future of rugby league thanks to the support of the National Lottery players
Look, it wasn’t England’s time this year, but there are reasons to be cheery for the future. In the short term I would like to ask every young English player – male or female – to play in Australia if the opportunity arises.
When I went it really instilled in me the values that take you to the top of the game – and that’s what we’re seeing now with this Australian team.
But other than that, the foundation the National Lottery has laid to help develop our game is fantastic and the future looks very promising indeed. In fact, we owe them a debt of gratitude.
National Lottery players are pouring £9.3 million into rugby league over the next five years and they have revived the women’s game during the pandemic when the future looked bleak. There might not have been a Women’s World Cup without their support, so they totally got us out of trouble.
We would all like to see England win a World Cup in the future, be it the men’s, women’s or wheelchair team, and I have no doubt that the National Lottery’s support will be vital in helping us reach the power we all want to see.
The National Lottery have provided financial support to clubs and communities across England through the RLWC2021 CreatedBy Grants programme, contributing more than £750,000.
Thanks to National Lottery players, more than £9.3 million in aid has been given to support the development of Rugby League between 2022-2027.
This includes funding for the Women’s & Girls’ competition during the pandemic, which allowed Women’s Super League to resume, and as an official partner of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.