Worryingly, there appears to be still more questions than answers for Wayne Bennett in England’s quest to reach the Four Nations final, let alone win the tournament itself: but the main problem for the 66-year-old is that he now has just a matter of days to find the necessary answers.
Two games into the Four Nations, it is perhaps fair to suggest there are more doubts now than there were pre-tournament over what Bennett’s best team looks like as they approach Sunday’s must-win contest with Australia in London, even if the man himself hinted there are only a couple of spots available in his 17.
For England to reach the final, the margin of victory required may well depend on New Zealand’s performance against Scotland in Workington on Friday – but before then, Bennett will have to deduce what he has learned from England’s own 38-12 victory against the Bravehearts in Coventry on Saturday.
Although rugby league broke new ground as a sport by taking two games to the Ricoh Arena – Australia edged out New Zealand 14-8 in the second – there was a distinctly familiar feel to an England performance which, in the words of the players themselves, was way below the standard required to beat the world champions for the first time since 1995: a statistic that underlines the size of the task at hand for Bennett.
“Australia are a great side and if we turn up like that we’ll get pumped,” admitted the Wigan half-back George Williams. He is perhaps Bennett’s most intriguing selection dilemma: left out for the defeat to New Zealand, a strong performance on Saturday has put him in line for the nod on Sunday, but the man himself remained slightly more reserved about his chances.
“I don’t know if I’ve done enough,” he said. “I’ll just train hard and see what Wayne wants to do; I thought I did OK, but just OK. I was a little bit scrappy and it took me a while to get into the game. Once we started posting points I felt more relaxed and at ease. Wayne said to me: ‘Take the chance because sometimes you don’t get it when you deserve it.’”
Has Williams taken the chance handed to him? That will become clearer in the coming days – but if, as expected, he is picked, who partners him will be equally intriguing. As England began to awaken from their bonfire night slumber in Coventry, his partnership with Luke Gale did show promise – but with Gareth Widdop waiting in the wings to return, a third half-back pairing in as many games – hardly ideal preparation for the Australians – could be on the cards on Sunday.
Williams, however, said he enjoyed the opportunity to play with the Castleford scrum-half. “We were scrappy in the first half but once we got into the rhythm it clicked a little bit. He’s a great player and I’ve enjoyed working with him,” he said. “We have to be a whole new level. The Aussies are a great side like I keep saying and we can’t turn up like that. We chased the space a bit early on instead of going through the guts of Scotland and it burned us.”
The 22-year-old laid on a number of tries during England’s second-half renaissance in Coventry as they eventually ran out comfortable winners but his attention has already begun to turn towards a game that will tell us plenty about the capabilities of Bennett’s side. “It would be my first game against Australia so if I get the nod it would be a great chance to test myself,” Williams said.
“We’ll just put that game behind us and build on the New Zealand game because there was some nice positives from that. We need to forget about this – a win’s a win. It’s a massive week and we’ve got a lot to learn to be ready for them.”
With results in the first two weekends falling how they have, Sunday has in effect taken on the feel of a semi-final for England. For some it is the first real test of Bennett’s potential as coach – and the answers he provides to the questions facing him over the next week will go a long way to determining whether he passes it or not.
