Victor Radley reveals what Shaun Wane said during half-time ‘spray’ against France

Much was made of England head coach Shaun Wane’s half-time talk during the game against France on Saturday.

England raced into an 18-0 in Bolton, only to be pegged back to 18-12 by the break after the French took advantage of a lack of concentration by the hosts.

After a near-perfect performance against Samoa in week one, it was the first blip for Wane’s men in the World Cup and the head coach could be seen on the BBC seemingly letting his players know exactly what he thought.

Man of the match George Williams said after the game that he and his teammates ‘got a bit of a roasting’ in the changing rooms at half-time, with Wane playing it down as ‘not that bad’ shortly afterward.

But in an interview on the BBC 5 Live Rugby League Podcast, Victor Radley has provided a little more insight into what went on during the interval at the University of Bolton Stadium.

“Yeah, he tells you how it is, I’ll tell you that for free,” said Radley. “He just came in and said nobody’s talking, I’m not asking what you think I’m telling you what I think.

“He then told us exactly what he thought, he walked out and then we all looked at each and got in a huddle.

“Sam (Tomkins) then spoke to us and we actually played good in that second half so it worked alright did Waney’s spray.”

England went on to win the game comfortably 42-18 after dominating the second half, with Radley again putting in an impressive performance.

The Australian-born forward has been a standout in the first two games after choosing to represent England on heritage grounds.

Elaborating on previous comments on his decision to represent his dad’s homeland, Radley explained what the biggest mental challenges were in making the decision.

“Obviously I can’t play Origin anymore, which I’m happy with now,” Radley added. “I know I have made the right decision since I came over here so that was a big one.

“A lot of people were telling me that I can play Origin, you can be paid well to play Origin, which I hadn’t yet done yet, so that was the big one to tell you the truth.

“In my mind I was thinking before that maybe it is smarter to do that, but I just didn’t have the same feeling about that than what I did when I thought about playing in the World Cup for England.

“I just went with that decision I had in my heart, and I’m stoked now, I’m loving it.”

Radley will likely feature in this weekend’s final group game against Greece at Bramall Lane in Sheffield, the city in which Radley’s father was born and raised, making it an extra special occasion for the Sydney Roosters man.