Leeds Rhinos boss Brad Arthur hopes to hear next week if he has been chosen to coach England in this autumn’s World Cup.
Arthur has been interviewed for the role which became vacant in January when Shaun Wane stepped down after six years in charge.
Leeds’ 56-22 win at Huddersfield Giants yesterday (Friday), which took them top of Super League, won’t have done his chances any harm, but Arthur admitted it is now a waiting game as the selection panel weigh up their options.
Ex-Leeds gaffer Brian McDermott and Warrington Wolves’ Sam Burgess are understood to be among other candidates for the role and speaking after Friday’s game, Arthur said: “I’ll wait and see what happens in the next week.”
Arthur stressed: “I feel honoured and privileged I was given the opportunity to interview for it. I am really grateful to the club that they’ve supported me through it and they are really keen for me to do the job.
“Also, I probably wouldn’t be part of the consideration if the players hadn’t bought into some things I wanted to do with the team and the club, so the credit probably goes to them.”
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Brad Arthur celebrates milestone Leeds Rhinos match in style
Leeds’ 10-try victory against Huddersfield was Arthur’s 50th game as Leeds coach. The Australian took charge in July, 2024 and will decide by the end of June whether he is staying at the club next year.
He joked: “I was coming for 10 games, wasn’t I? It’s times-five I’ve been here so everyone can get off my back now!
“It has come around quickly, I have really enjoyed it. It is a great club, they have been so welcoming to me and my family and the players have really bought into some adjustments I wanted to make. I am very happy with the move I made.”
Arthur also celebrated veteran winger Ryan Hall’s 250th Leeds try, which came off a midfield scrum during the first half of Friday’s game.
The coach described Hall’s achievement as “great” and said: “The boys have been practicing that.
“That made it a bit nicer, that they have been practicing that scrum at training for a while and he got to pull it off in a game.”
