England head coach Brian McDermott has confirmed that he’s had some early discussions about leading the national team beyond the Rugby League World Cup, even admitting that he’d hope to coach the nation at the 2030 World Cup in four years’ time.
Appointed earlier this year, McDermott was hired on a contract that saw him appointed just for the Rugby League World Cup, with a decision on his future to be made after the tournament.
When speaking to media on Tuesday morning, a month out from the World Cup kicking off, McDermott announced who his coaching staff will be and then conceded that if he were to stay in 2027, things would be a lot easier now that pieces are in place.
Speaking about how he’d had to start from scratch and build up a coaching staff that will feature Paul Wellens and Sean O’Loughlin as assistants, he said: “I’ve enjoyed it all, but if there’s anything where I thought, well, this is going to be a tough one, it’s that I’m getting up at half past three to catch somebody really early on their evening to talk them through where are we going to stay, what’s the training venues look like, what does training look like, what does the training programme look like, what’s the nutrition going to look like, what’s the strapping going to look like.
“If we do this again together next year, it’s going to be a tonne easier but I’m really happy with where it’s at.”
Brian McDermott confirms ‘very informal discussions’ over future
Despite despite hypothetically when he spoke about doing it again next, McDermott was then asked by Serious About Rugby League if talks had been held about the prospects of him being in charge ‘next year’, as he made reference to.
“We’ve had very informal discussions about what that might look like and that’s all it is. It’s been a really short conversation,” he confirmed.
Adding to that, he said: “Clearly, I’d like to do the job for longer. I’d like to get another crack at the World Cup in four years’ time.
“If you’re going to do this properly then give me four years’ preparation where we’re building it up year by year and getting players connected to a programme which has got a start, a middle and the end.
“I mean this has been a crazy, crazy period over the last few months to try and coordinate all this and I think we’re in good shape by the way, but I’ve made it no secret that I’d like a crack at the next World Cup and a four-year build-up to that.”
McDermott admitted that one reason the discussions haven’t progressed further is because of the job at hand, stating that he’s keen to remain focused on the 2026 Rugby League World Cup.
“We haven’t gone too deep into those discussions and quickly when you mention that, you think ‘No, no, let’s not talk about that. I’ve got to get my mind on this here’, so it has been mentioned but I’m not chasing that just yet.”
