Tommy Makinson has revealed that England head coach Shaun Wane brutally turned down his request to put him back on during the final group game against Greece.
The St Helens winger started the game at fullback in Sheffield and watched on as his England wing rivals Dom Young (4) and Ryan Hall (2) crossed for six tries between them in the 94-4 rout.
And after he was taken from the field in the second half, Makinson has told of how his request to be put back on so he ‘could get a few (tries)’ was brutally turned down by his boss.
Speaking to the 5 Live Podcast, he said: “Course I was (gutted), that’s your job as a winger isn’t it. You want score as many as you can.
“When you’re seeing people going over and a scoreline like that you want to be involved in it.
“When Waney (Shaun Wane) took me off I was on the radio asking for him to put me back on so I could get a few but he told me ‘no chance’, so I got put in my place, well and truly.”
Despite the nature of the opposition, the decision to start Makinson at fullback was still a surprising one given Jack Welsby also played and was used at centre.
Despite this, the Saints star was still happy to play his part as he spoke more in-depth about the tournament so far from his and the team’s perspective.
“It has been a long time since I have played there (at fullback),” Makinson added. “I think Shaun is looking further down the track, I can fill a few positions and Jack Welsby can too, so we’ve got pretty good options.
“As a group we have loved it the World Cup so far. All our focus for two years has been on that first game against Samoa and we blew them away on the day.
“We knew how much improvement they’ve had through the tournament now and that’s going to be a different game if we play them again, but we have just taken each game as it comes.
“It has been enjoyable. I have loved every minute of it. I am at the back end of my career now and I’m just enjoying being in camp and I know it sounds cliché, but I’m just taking each day and game as it comes.”