After England’s heart breaking exit from the Rugby League World Cup at the semi-final stage due to a Golden Point drop goal from Stephen Crichton, many of the squad were left heartbroken.
Shaun Wane was in tears in the press conference whilst many players were too gutted to comment.
Those that did admitted they were “shattered” by the result such as Wigan Warriors’ Mike Cooper.
Now one England star has broken his silence since the defeat to Samoa in the shape of John Bateman.
The Wigan second-row has taken to Twitter to thank fans for their support.
He also revealed that he is now set to take some time away from everything with some “well earned family time.”
He said: “Didn’t finish the way we wanted it to go but what a 6 and so weeks it was with the best group of blokes I could ask for.
“Thank you to the fans who supported us along the way. We greatly appreciate it. Time to enjoy my time off and enjoy so well earned family time.”
Didn’t finish the way we wanted it to go but what a 6 and so weeks it was with the best group of blokes I could ask for.
Thank you to the fans who supported us along the way. We greatly appreciate it. 🏴
Time to enjoy my time off and enjoy so well earned family time ❤️
— John Bateman (@johnbateman1) November 15, 2022
There are massive questions over John Bateman’s Wigan future with reports down under, starting with the Daily Telegraph, suggesting he is about to join the Wests Tigers with the Tigers happy to pay a fee of $250,000 to the Warriors for Bateman’s services.
Though it seems that Bateman won’t be making an immediate decision on his future just yet as he takes a well deserved break.