It’s been a number of days since England head coach Brian McDermott addressed members of the rugby league media on Tuesday morning and much has been made of what he’s said, however, there’s some stuff that’s gone unsaid.
One thing that it’s incredibly important to clarify off the bat is the situation around assistant coaches and their pay, as it was incorrectly reported by numerous outlets that both Paul Wellens and Sean O’Loughlin, who were confirmed to McDermott’s staff, that they wouldn’t be paid at the World Cup.
That is NOT correct, as confirmed by the RFL to Serious About Rugby League. What McDermott was referencing when he said ‘they’re not really getting paid for it’ was all the extras that the pair have been doing alongside McDermott – specifically Zoom calls at incredibly inconvenient times.
Speaking on Tuesday about those extras that the pair were doing, McDermott said: “They’ve been very helpful and very respectful, and they’re both full-time – Wello with the Cowboys and Lockers with Wigan – so I’ve got to be careful about texting them at 2 am in the morning or 2 pm in the afternoon and asking for Zoom calls.
“They’re not really getting paid for it, which hasn’t been a problem for them at all. They’ve never mentioned it, but I’ve been mindful of leaning on them too much, really, but they’ve been great, they’ve been awesome.”
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Bevan French eligibility addressed
Two of the other topics of note that McDermott addressed were his full-back selection choices and his stance on heritage players, something that has been controversial.
The England boss even admitted that he has almost vetted players on their passion and desire to represent England, insisting that it’s all about if they will feel English and want to represent when they are ‘knackered’ in the midst of battle.
South Sydney Rabbitohs’ Jamie Humphreys is someone who McDermott confirmed was both eligible and also incredibly passionate, with the playmaker qualifying for England because he played in the country as a child but players can even become eligible due to residency and that means two of the very best in Super League are currently eligible, in Bevan French and Jai Field.
McDermott shut down any suggestion of the duo representing England though, stating: “Well, they’ve come across my radar but they don’t want to play for England in my understanding.”
“I don’t mean to be abrupt but I think it’s a simple thing. I’ve made it clear that you’ve got to want to play for England and both those guys are Australians and they don’t qualify through heritage. They qualify through residency which is a different route.
“As an example, Jamie Humphreys rang me up who qualifies through a version of residency and he does qualify and I listened to him speak and I was blown away by his passion about representing the nation that nurtured his junior rugby league.
“I don’t know if Bevan French or Jai Field have a desire to play for England but they haven’t reached out so there’s no reason for me to reach and go towards them either.”
What will England’s full-back situation look like?
If Field did have a desire to represent England then he’d surely be in the full-back discussion given that last year’s Ashes starters, Jack Welsby and AJ Brimson, have spent much of and all of the year away from the number one shirt.
For Welsby, he’s spent a lot of time at centre whilst Brimson has played exclusively in that position but when asked about his thoughts to the full-back role, McDermott appeared to indicate that the pair will fight it out.
He said: “I know Jack Welsby has been in a team which has been out of form and I think Jack, by his own admission, would have said he was out of form for the first third of the year.
“He certainly didn’t lack care, Jack, or application. He was just extremely frustrated. The game style that Paul Rowley had them playing there just didn’t click.
“It didn’t work at Saints and Jack was too far away from the ruck. Jack’s a ruck player, he’s a spontaneous player, Jack. Jack took over a heritage at Saints where they used to play from the ruck, everything was flat and fast.
“AJ has been playing centre for us but they’re both good players. They’re both just genuinely good players. I think the good rugby league players, if you put them in any position they’ll work it out.”
On whether a third name could be in contention, McDermott simply confirmed that cover will feature in the squad, suggesting that the number one shirt is between that pair.
He explained: “We’ve certainly got cover in the squad and when I name my 23-man squad and finalise those positions, I think you’ll find when you all read it that there is coverage everywhere.
“There’s some genuine coverage everywhere and there’s only a couple of players that can only play one position. Nearly all of them can play multiple positions and when you’re going on tour to Australia where it’s going to be 48 hours before somebody else flies out through injury, you’re going to have to have some cover as well.
“So even if AJ and Jack Welsby get injured, there’s coverage for full back in other positions yet.”
