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Finally, after four long years – and a 12 month delay – the Rugby League World Cup is back and I can’t wait for it to start on Saturday.
When you put on your national team shirt, it is a badge of honor to represent your country. Every time I played for Great Britain it was a privilege and I gave everything.
This year’s tournament is for England at home and to be honest I would be very disappointed if Shaun Wane’s side doesn’t make it to at least the semi-finals. But it’s how they get to that point of the competition that will determine their fate.
It’s a great honor to play for your country and I can’t wait for the World Cup to start
England cannot take their opening games lightly. It’s really important that they are at their peak in intensity when they take the step against more skilled opponents.
Because it’s easy to go into cruise mode. Last week’s 50-0 win over Fiji has me somewhat concerned about the level of competition outside the top teams.
While some fans love to see their own team destroy another side, I’m more of a purist and would rather see a closer match.
Ultimately, you need tough competition. It doesn’t improve our sport by regularly having such wide margins, I just hope the smaller countries can find the quality to match their enthusiasm to play on the big stage.
England must at least make it to the semi-finals, with the tournament on their own grounds
Shaun Wane has a lot of quality in his squad and they need to maintain a high level of intensity
Either way, England need to keep the back of the league in mind as they enter the paddock for their first few games. They may regret going ‘cold’ into the semi-finals if they don’t perform well in the lead up.
This is a good opportunity for England. During my playing days with Great Britain there was a clear gap in talent between us and Australia. My old enemy, Mal Meninga and people like Peter Sterling were absolutely savage in terms of ability and application, and we couldn’t get anywhere near it.
But I don’t see such a clear difference between England and Australia today. We’ve got some great players, make no mistake about that, and we’ve got great experience there as well to match the Aussies.
That said, there is one aspect of the English game that Shaun hopes will have tightened up by the time they play against Samoa on Saturday.
I ran into the Three Lions in June when I coached the Combined Nations All Stars in Warrington, and I was amazed at their wastefulness that day.
England dominated in every facet and enforced constant penalties, while my boys had to fight tooth and nail to keep them from crossing the line. But after 80 minutes they only scored three tries on our.
However, they were wasteful against my Combined Nations All Stars earlier this year
It was almost impossible to get close to my old foe Mal Meninga (above) and Australia when we competed for our countries during our playing career. But that gap has since been closed quite a bit
Every match is different, of course, and the players have had time to learn since that day, but whoever they meet in the semi-finals and finals won’t be so generous in offering so many opportunities to score points.
So they have to be more clinical if they want to win the big competitions. There is no doubt that Australia and New Zealand will make you pay for a lack of ruthlessness.
Meanwhile, I don’t share some fans’ concerns about the sheer number of debutants Mal has selected for his Kangaroos squad. If you have a group of players of the quality and experience that Mal has, the 13 new guys are intelligent enough to fit the frame he’s setting out.
Rugby league is a simple game and generally every team has the same moves, but the major sides execute their game plan better than others.
Australia’s success over the years has come down to their defense and although they have many luxury players, this World Cup will be won or lost by their defensive approach and tackling game.
The Kangaroos have 13 new players – including NRL premiership winner Nathan Cleary (above) – on their squad, but I don’t see that as a problem for them
The key will be for Mal Meninga to make sure they are not complacent as they are favourites
But to say that Australia’s tournament can be lost this year doesn’t sit well with me. The bookmakers have the Kangaroos against incredibly short odds, but I would be very disappointed if they let complacency seep into the squad.
No matter how strong you are, you have to earn respect in every league you play. It would be very dangerous to play against England or New Zealand thinking that the game has already been won.
I do know Mal though and – I know he doesn’t mind me saying it – he’s been around a bit in his day. Not many can match his experience as a player and coach, and he will ensure that no stone is left unturned when it comes to preparing his team.
Mal understands how sports work, he understands behavioral habits and building winning habits in a playgroup and its coaching staff. So he won’t let them calm down, that’s for sure.
There is so much to look forward to, let the competitions begin!
The National Lottery have provided financial support to clubs and communities across England through the RLWC2021 CreatedBy Grants programme, contributing over £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 that allowed the Women’s Super League to restart and as an official partner of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.