‘I’ve been dancing with my shirt off’ – Lee Radford reveals his role in camp with Samoa

Castleford head coach Lee Radford has spoken about his role in the Samoa camp.

Radford revealed that his role with the Pacific Island nation cam about after previous assistant coach Richard Agar had to give up the position due to responsibilities elsewhere.

That led to head coach Matt Parish giving Radford a call prior to the World Cup, and it was a role he duly accepted.

And as he prepares to take Samoa into battle against his home nation England, the Tigers boss has revealed what sort of a role he has been playing in camp.

“It has been different,” said Radford. “I have been dancing with my shirt off on a couple of occasions.

“I have worn a skirt to a couple of the team meetings, and I’ve let the side down on numerous occasions,” he joked.

He continued on a more serious note: “I have been looking after the defence and I obviously copped a little bit of flack after that first game (60-6 defeat to England), but there is a good work relationship amongst the group.”

With Samoa looking for revenge over the host nation for their heavy defeat on the opening day of the tournament, many eyes are on the fullback battle between the experienced Sam Tomkins and Joseph Sua’ali’I.

And Radford believes that Samoa’s number one is going to be one of the world’s best players for years to come.

“It has been fantastic to be in and around some of these players, seeing the likes of Joseph Sua’ali’i, because what he delivers on the field, he is just as good off it,” Radford said on the Sydney Roosters fullback.

He continued: “For a 19-year-old kid to hold his own meetings in team sessions is pretty phenomenal and what we have seen in the World Cup from game one to game three has developed and we’re going to see a very special player over the next five, six, seven years.”