“It’s an easier job than I thought it would be,” admitted Wayne Bennett with perhaps the most surprising comment following yet another failure for England at international level. And that is what it was: failure. Hope sprang eternal for English rugby league fans with Bennett and Sam Burgess heading up a brave new era. Ultimately, it was the same old result.
Has Bennett taken England backwards? Are England in a stronger position to win the World Cup than they were 12 months ago? Can rugby league’s “master coach” inspire a turnaround in just a few short months? As is often the case with English rugby league, there are more questions than answers as another post-mortem begins.
The coach himself has not been without his shortcomings this autumn; a failure to pick a half-back pairing and stick with it undoubtedly hindered England’s fluidity, although the 66-year-old does get some leeway when you factor in that perhaps nobody knows just who England’s best two halves are.
But as the Rugby Football League begins to sift its way through the wreckage and look for evidence, it will come across its own fingerprints. Bennett and England can still succeed at next year’s World Cup – but the problems are much deeper than simply the 17 men named in the squad.
“They [Australia] have got such an advantage because of State of Origin; England doesn’t have that,” Bennett added. The word “intensity” was mentioned numerous times – and he is right: Super League is no NRL. Recreating the quality of it here is near-impossible, but in addressing the amount of games teams are forced to play, there may yet be a glimmer of hope for England.
Super League teams play maybe in excess of 35 games every year – and that has an impact on the health of the national side. Super League fans will remember all too well that with the convoluted league structure, the amount of meaningless matches grew significantly last season: hardly a good way to replicate the intensity of the NRL, where they would never play more than 27.
Players burn out faster than their Australian counterparts – a problem which will intensify next season thanks to the RFL’s decision to have a second double-header weekend, where teams will play Friday and then Monday. But perhaps most importantly, the more league games played, the fewer opportunities England will have to meet, develop and, crucially, play internationals.
Bennett has clearly recognised this is a problem. The Observer revealed this year that Bennett had demanded extra time for the national team and despite some resistance from Super League clubs, he got his wish. Next year, England will meet for a pre-season camp in January and they will also travel to Australia and play Samoa in a Test during May, all of which is a marked improvement on the plans that were in place for this year.
Looking back, it was almost as if the RFL expected Bennett to perform miracles with limited time on his hands. At least in 2017, he will have more opportunities to nurture his group – but he must also resist the temptation to drop in so-called heritage players – essentially Australians that cannot make the Kangaroos side but who qualify for England via a parent or grandparent. His priority is to win games, yes, but as England coach Bennett has a responsibility to leave a legacy, whenever that may be.
The RFL has to decide what it wants after another autumn of unadulterated failure. Does it want Widnes v Wakefield four or five times a year, dwindling attendances and a lack of interest? Or does it want what everyone else wants: a strong England side? If it does, perhaps it is time to rethink the domestic calendar: it would give Bennett a fighting chance at the World Cup next year – despite the shaky start.
