Former England head coach Wayne Bennett has backed a current Super League coach to lead England into the upcoming Rugby League World Cup following Shaun Wane’s resignation.
An RFL statement on Wednesday afternoon confirmed that Wane had made the decision to step down after almost six years in charge with a record of 14 wins and 19 losses.
That record doesn’t tell the story that four of those five defeats came in the most important games of his tenure, the Rugby League World Cup semi-final against Samoa and the three Ashes Tests against Australia.
Now, England have nine months to find a head coach with the national team set to kick off their Rugby League World Cup campaign on October 17th in Perth against Tonga.
One man who has experience of taking England to a World Cup final down under is Wayne Bennett, the man who Wane succeeded, and Bennett has now backed Super League coach Sam Burgess to take the reins.
Wayne Bennett backs Sam Burgess for England job
Bennett and Burgess have a strong relationship from their time at South Sydney Rabbitohs with Burgess playing under Bennett but also working under him before his move to coach Warrington Wolves.
The veteran coach has now put forward Burgess’ name alongside another England legend in James Graham with Bennett believing the pair would give England the best chance at the upcoming World Cup.
“Sam and James are my ideal choices as coaches,” Bennett said, as reported by The Sydney Morning Herald.
“Sam is one of the best players I’ve worked with and James Graham was outstanding during my time with him as English coach.
“Their passion was unbelievable, and they brought the English team a long way from where they had been.
“They were committed guys, they were just good football players; through their leadership on and off the field, they made my job so much easier.”
Could Sam Burgess coach England at Rugby League World Cup?
Few people would doubt the passion of the pair with Burgess a clear man motivator whilst Graham’s passion often boils over in the commentary box, however, the latter has no coaching experience and Burgess is just a few seasons into his own coaching journey.
That’s not enough to put Bennett off though, who emphasised the important of their leadership and passion as key to getting England back on track.
He said: “They’re young, and they have an eye for it, and I know what they’re made of.
“Sam is coaching at the moment, so James could be an assistant. You just want them in the team because they care and they have the respect of everybody who played during their era.
“They have to go down that path and pick those guys because of what they bring.”
It would be a quite spectacular appointment but with the RFL suggesting the role will become a part-time one, it’s viable for Super League or NRL coaches to take it on.
Willie Peters is among the favourites for the gig whilst a number of other Super League coaches are popular choices among the fans.
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