Steve McNamara enjoyed a rare luxury after England’s win of not having to duck questions, or denounce those who asked them, about off-field problems. The coach has been tetchy since the shock defeat against Italy and his temper has flared on at least three occasions as he battled to deal with the indiscretions of Gareth Hock, James Graham and Zak Hardaker.
This has not been an easy month for England but finally there are signs of recovery. Where drink, discipline and disappointment dogged the first fortnight, suddenly there is the hint of belief. England are safely into the quarter-finals of the World Cup, where Samoa or France await, and McNamara can begin plotting for the serious stuff.
Not all is perfect, and England will have to play to their maximum in both a probable semi-final with New Zealand and a final with Australia if they are to cause a major shock by lifting the World Cup for the first time in 41 years. But they should comfortably dispatch the losers of Monday night’s final Group B match, who will swap Perpignan for Wigan before Saturday night’s quarter-final. England will then be roared on by a Wembley crowd expected to top 60,000 for the semi-final.
Rangi Chase and Kevin Sinfield, the much-derided half-back pairing that McNamara has staked his reputation on, produced their most destructive display against Fiji, when six tries in an 18-minute spell did all the damage for England. Rob Burrow also impressed after his introduction off the bench, leaving McNamara with a dilemma over whether to recall Gareth Widdop, the Melbourne stand-off, or keep faith with the Super League’s smallest player for the knockout stages.
There are difficult choices elsewhere, too, with Tom Briscoe battling Josh Charnley for a place on the right wing, James Roby facing competition from Michael McIlorum at hooker and a richness of talent at prop causing headaches around who to leave out. There is plenty to keep McNamara occupied as he stays in the UK rather than flying to the south of France .
“I honestly don’t know which way that [France-Samoa] game will go,” said McNamara. “We know where we’re playing and what time we’re playing, so it’s pretty straightforward for us. We can concentrate on rectifying some of the things we need to, and improving in certain areas.
“Come Tuesday we’ll know who we’re playing and we can do a little bit more groundwork, but we’ve already got lots of information on both those teams that is sat ready to go. We’ve had access to all the games and we’ve got that footage. The benefits of going there and watching that game, as opposed to being with our own group, is not worth it at this stage.”
McNamara confirmed that Burrow and Sinfield, who were withdrawn after suffering head knocks in the second half, will be fit for Saturday, leaving his biggest worry over the availability of second-row Ben Westwood. The Warrington powerhouse was put on report by the referee, Ben Cummins, after appearing to lead with the elbow in a tackle with Tariq Sims. Westwood, however, laughed off suggestions of a possible suspension.
“I thought we were playing football for a minute the way he went down, but he soon got back up after I called him soft,” he said. “There was nothing in it. It was just a chest-on-forearm and he decided to play on it a little bit, which I thought was a little bit disappointing with five minutes to go when they’re not going to get anything out of it.
“I said ‘what are you doing, get up’ and he soon jumped up and wanted to have a fight with me. He can’t have been that bad.” For the first time in a month, England are left talking about on-field indiscretions. McNamara will finally be smiling.
Article source: http://www.skysports.com/rugbyunion/match_preview/0,,11069_57956_1,00.html
Rugby League World Cup: England"s Steve McNamara enjoys rare luxury
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