Lee Radford named Samoa assistant coach ahead of World Cup

Castleford Tigers boss Lee Radford has secured a coaching job for the World Cup.

The former Hull FC head coach will link up with Matt Parish at Samoa as the Pacific Islanders look to cause an upset or two in this year’s tournament.

Samoa will go up against England in the World Cup’s opening game at St James’ Park in Newcastle and a familiar face will be amongst them.

Not only will Radford will be present amongst the Samoa coaching staff, but former FC and Salford halfback Daniel Holdsworth will also be a part of the group.

That’s because Penrith Panthers and former Hull KR man Andrew Webster has stepped aside after being appointed to the New Zealand Warriors job next season.

“We are really happy for Andrew Webster, it is a great opportunity for him and one he thoroughly deserves,” Parish told NRL.com.

“Daniel Holdsworth, who has done a great job with the Sharks, will run our attack and I’m sure he will work well with our young spine.

“We also have Lee Radford, the Castleford coach, who has won two Challenge Cups with Hull FC, so while we are building a strong presence on the field, we certainly have a strong off-field staff as well.”

Samoa, of course, are being widely tipped to be one of the surprise packages of the tournament.