Shaun Wane forced to apologise to England star

As England took on Tonga, the game was a big one for the likes of Leeds Rhinos, Wigan Warriors and Warrington Wolves stars but for all those involved knew that winning and securing a series win was the most important objective for the team especially with the recent comments from the Tonga camp.

This was something Shaun Wane knew as he praised his side’s middles for their role in the win as he said: “Yeah I thought our middles were good, Mike McMeeken was very good. I thought John Bateman through the middle really tested them.

“I’m not bothered about playing well. Winning is the only thing and playing well comes a long second below it. So just to get the win is great, we’ll have a look in a few days when we come down off cloud nine.”

Wane was full of praise for many of his players including Matty Ashtom: “How good was Matty? I think he has to be better than what he was today. He has to be better definitely.

“You’re saying he was fantastic today? He has to better Matty, I thought. He’s a good player, a really good player, but he can play better than what he did.”

But another player received an apology from Wane and it was a player he knows well in Liam Farrell who played less than four minutes:

“No, he was going for 30 minutes in, but the game panned out differently, which happens. I’ve apologised to him. “He shook his head and understood, but I don’t think he did.”

On a slightly happier note Chris Hill was full of praise for young skipper Jack Welsby. He said: “Unbelievable, unbelievable. He’s an old head on young shoulders is Jack. Everyone’s got a lot of respect for him, even though he’s still really young. No doubt he’ll be future England captain for many years after George. He’s unbelievable.”