The 2022 Rugby League World Cup is now firmly in the rear view mirror but the pain England suffered as they were defeated in the semi-finals by Samoa is still raw.
Now former Wales international, Melbourne Storm, Huddersfield Giants and St Helens prop Keith Mason has had his saw on what went wrong for England during the tournament:
“I thought they started off really well but they always seem to fall at the last hurdle. I enjoyed it, I enjoyed watching Samoa and I liked to see Samoa get to their first final. Australia are the benchmark, they’re just too good, no matter what year it is, they have so many players to pick from,” Mason said to Serious About Rugby League.
“England played well but peaked early. In big games like the semi-final, I’ve played in semi-finals, you’ve got to grab it with both hands and I felt like they just seemed like they weren’t at the races and that was bad timing.”
One of the big talking points after the World Cup has been whether or not former Wigan Warriors boss Shaun Wane should remain in the hotseat as a review goes on into what went wrong during the Rugby League World Cup.
Mason gave his view:
“It seems like they’ve got his respect, he’s English which is good and brings the best out of players having had some success at Wigan.
“I don’t really mind. They have a lot of thinks in place, Paul Sculthorpe has been involved. There’s going to be some good players coming through in the next few years.”
