There was once a time when picking players out of position at international level was frowned upon, but the Wigan forward John Bateman is going some way towards dispelling that train of thought this year.
Bateman, naturally a second-rower by trade, thrived in the backs for Wigan in the second half of this season, becoming a regular at centre as they reached a second successive Grand Final at Old Trafford.
The 22-year-old was handed his England debut at centre on Saturday during the 84-4 victory against France – a match that failed to sell out at the 11,000-capacity Leigh Sports Village and was ignored by the television companies – and again excelled in an unfamiliar position, scoring two tries and creating countless others.
An 80-point winning margin would normally suggest an unchanged team for the following week, but with Sam Tomkins likely to return to fitness for the opening match of the three-Test series against New Zealand on Sunday, Bateman’s position in the side could come under threat despite such an impressive debut. However, he hopes he has done enough to secure a start against the Kiwis and a potential battle with Penrith’s seasoned international Dean Whare.
“You always want to test yourself against the best and obviously he’s one of the best around,” Bateman said. “Hopefully I’ve done enough to get the nod at Hull. With any game at any level if you play well it always helps you for the following week, and that’s the same with England. I just wanted to make my debut, put my head down and work hard.”
Bateman said he is thankful to the Wigan coach Shaun Wane for his rapid development into an international player and that although he still prefers the rough and grunt of the forwards, he is slowly adapting to the more creative position.
“When I went to Wigan, Waney pulled me aside and said he wanted me to play different positions, and that’s obviously helped me in the long run,” he said. “It’s been good; I’ve still got stuff to learn but playing with people like Kallum [Watkins] is really good for me.
“I probably prefer being in the middle but I’ll play wherever I’m put. I’ll try my best everywhere and that’s what I’m doing at the moment – and it’s paying off. I’ve never played centre before this season; I probably had a bit more weight on when I was younger and slimmed down a bit when I came to Wigan. From that I’ve played a few games at centre to see how it went and it’s been going pretty well.”
Such an impressive debut for England capped off a marvellous week for Bateman, who also signed a new four-year deal with Wigan to secure his long-term future. “I’ve been trying to sort it out for a few weeks now and I’m delighted to get it sorted because I feel like I’ve become one of their own over the past two years,” he added.
While it was a dream afternoon for Bateman, it was far from a perfect day for the Rugby Football League, which has attracted plenty of criticism for its organising of the game. With no television or radio coverage and a failure to sell out, the game’s governing body has, not for the first time, taken plenty of flak.
The belief is that the three Test matches against New Zealand will fare much better; they will have mainstream coverage on national television and radio, and all could still sell out. Despite being a full Test match, however, the France game clearly lacked the marketing sparkle it perhaps should have had.
With Leeds Rhinos attracting TV coverage and a crowd in excess of 20,000 for their friendly against the Kiwis 24 hours earlier, it did at least show that if rugby league is marketed correctly, it can be a success.
And with healthy ticket sales and a real sense of anticipation before this England v New Zealand series gets going, international league could yet get a boost this autumn, even if last Saturday afternoon in Leigh did not quite deliver.
