Bennett sees improvement in England performance

Wayne Bennett declared England were a different team than the one he coached in last year’s Four Nations after plotting their 30-10 defeat of Samoa in the Pacific Test at Campbelltown Stadium on Saturday.

ENG

With England playing Australia in the opening match of the Rugby League World Cup in Melbourne, Bennett wanted his team to play a physical opposition in front of a hostile crowd and he believed they showed significant improvement from last year’s Four Nations.

“From the team that I left in November last year to the team I saw here tonight, I just think there is a lot more confidence in the team and in the individuals within the team,” Bennett said.

Despite being limited to just two short training sessions, England played like a Bennett-coached team as they completed 78 per cent of their sets of possession, made 1571 metres through a big forward pack and defended strongly on their try line in a controlled performance.

“It was a tough game of football, we got challenged a fair bit there and we had to work hard to get the result we did so that’s what we’re here for,” Bennett said. “We won’t get any better sitting, watching the other nations play.

“It was just an add-on from where we finished the Four Nations and what we did over there in November. We didn’t have a lot of time to do anything but we picked up where we left off in the UK.”

Bennett was particularly happy with the performance of halfback Luke Gale, who directed the team around on the field and was responsible for two try assists, along with five-eighth Kevin Brown.

“I thought he was playing with a lot more confidence, he is one of the best players in the UK at the moment and I thought he was really good,” Bennett said of Gale. “I thought Kevin Brown in the second half complemented him.”

The pair were given the playmaking duties following the loss of St George Illawarra five-eighth Gareth Widdop, who was in the dressing rooms with the England team, and Wigan halfback George Williams due to injury.

Bennett also indicated that injured backrowers John Bateman and Ben Currie were likely to be in the World Cup squad at the end of the season, while Mike McKeekan was blooded in the Pacific Test.

“He is a young player who I think has got a big future ahead of him,” Bennett said. “I just wanted to get him through and get him some game time. His second stint was better than his first stint.”

However, it was the leadership of captain Sean O’Loughlin and Australian-based forwards Sam Burgess and James Graham which most impressed Bennett.

“Those three guys [O’Loughlin, Burgess and Graham] … they really love playing for England, they want England to be successful and they drive most of the things that we do at training and off the field,” Bennett said.

After missing the Four Nations through injury, O’Loughlin said he had enjoyed the camp at Coogee and the atmosphere of the Pacific Test, which attracted a capacity crowd of 18,271 at Campbelltown Stadium.

“I think it has been great to come over here and to come together as a group, I think we get more out of that than at home,” O’Loughlin said.

“To be all in a hotel spending 24 hours per day with each other, it is good going into the World Cup to get that kind of bonding so I think it has been a real success off the field and on the field we have had a real tough physical battle which I think it was what everyone wanted out of this game.”

Samoa coach Matt Parrish also felt his team would benefit from the hit-out after failing to recover once they fell behind in just the third minute when Graham and O’Loughlin combined to put winger Ryan Hall over for the opening try.

England led 14-0 at halftime after fullback Stefan Ratchford stepped his way through the defence to score in the 38th minute but Samoa hit back four minutes into the second term through centre Joey Leilua.

However, a 52nd minute try by his Canberra team-mate Josh Hodgson wrested control back to England until some individual brilliance from Samoa five-eighth Anthony Milford reduced the margin to just 10 points in the 66th minute.

Late tries to Graham and winger Jermaine McGillvary completed the 30-10 win for England.

“They were good, they were very Wayne Bennett-like and they certainly gave us a lesson,” Parish said.

“They will be there-abouts in the World Cup. With no disrespect I thought they were a lot better than they were at the Four Nations which gives us a lot of hope because at 14-6 and 20-10 we had opportunities but we couldn’t nail them.”

By Brad Walter | @BradWalterSport
Chief Correspondent, RLWC2017