England boss Shaun Wane lifts lid on Leeds Rhinos links and club coaching ambitions

England boss Shaun Wane has revealed the truth behind previous speculation linking him with a coaching role at Leeds Rhinos.

Wane has also spoken fondly of the three seasons he spent with Leeds as a player in the early 1990s. The 60-year-old has been linked in the media with the Rhinos coaching job several times since stepping down as Wigan Warriors boss six years ago, but – on the eve of England’s second Test against Samoa at AMT Headingley – confirmed he has never been approached.

Leeds have had four head coaches since Brian McDermott left the club midway through 2018, but Wane joked: “He never rang me, Gary [Hetherington, Rhinos’ chief executive]. All this availability, he never rang me, even though we’re mates and I know him really well.”

Asked if Leeds was a job he’d like at some stage in his coaching career, Wane added: “It is, it’s a big club, big city, great support, but they’ve obviously got a fantastic coach here now, so they are very, very sorted.”

Former Parramatta Eels coach Brad Arthur is contracted to Rhinos for the 2025 season and the club are hopeful he will agree to a longer deal, having joined them in July this year.

Shaun Wane confirms club ambitions remain

Wherever the opportunity comes, Wane is likely to return to club coaching in the future, having been in charge of Wigan from the autumn of 2011 until the end of the 2018 season. He is committed to England until at least the end of 2026, when a World Cup will take place in the southern hemisphere, but after masterminding three Super League Grand Final victories and a Challenge Cup final win, admitted he misses the day-to-day involvement of being in charge of a club side.

“Definitely,” he said of ambitions to be a Super League head coach again. “I like this, it gets the juices flowing when I am into our England players and they are buying into everything I am saying. It is a good feeling and I want it a bit more.”

Wane has been associated with his hometown club Wigan for most of his career, as a player and coach, but played 64 games for Leeds from 1990-93.  “I absolutely loved it,” the former prop-forward recalled.

“When I was told I had to leave Wigan, I was shocked and I didn’t want to leave. When I got here [Leeds], the way this club looked after me and my missus was outstanding. My wife has such good memories of being here. I had David Ward here [as coach] and met some really, really good people. I loved my time here.”

The RFL are hoping for a crowd of around 16,000 for Saturday’s doubleheader, which begins with England’s women taking on Wales at noon. England completed a Test series clean sweep against Tonga with a 26-4 victory at Headingley a year ago, watched by 15,477 fans.

Wane said: “Last year, going to Huddersfield the atmosphere wasn’t great. When we came here it was a proper Test match atmosphere and that’s what it is going to be on Saturday.”