'I wouldn't do anything different': England coach Shaun Wane strikes defiant tone as he targets World Cup redemption

Wane's men were imperious on their way to the last four of the home tournament, cruising through a group containing a star-studded Samoa before blowing Papua New Guinea away in the quarter-finals.

England were fancied to see off the Samoans in the rematch at the Emirates Stadium but paid the price for a shaky performance courtesy of Stephen Crichton's golden-point drop goal.

Asked about the biggest things he learned from the tournament, Wane replied: "I've thought about that every single day.

"I've looked at everything I did – the team I picked, the bench I picked, the changes and when we made them, whether we trained too hard or not hard enough using the GPS, how I verbalised my message to the players and the staff.

"I wouldn't do anything different. I've really, really had a look at myself and what I was in control of. I might have made a change on the bench but that wouldn't have changed the result.

"I just think that we made too many unforced errors on the day and put ourselves under immense pressure.

"If we'd played anything like we had for the previous few games, we would have won it. The fact is they were better than us on the day and that's really disappointing."

Wane fought back tears at the Emirates Stadium after declaring he was "absolutely wounded". That pain has not gone away.

"I won't get over that for a long, long time," said the England head coach.

"It really, really affected me the way we lost and it will do for a few months.

"The competition was great and the best six, seven weeks of my life but it was the manner of how we finished. Previous to the semi-final we did some good things, the country was proud of us and liked how we played.

"The players did fantastic in how they adapted to our way of playing and it showed in the way we played previous to the semi-final – but when it really mattered we didn't turn up and that's very disappointing."

Wane endured an anxious wait in the aftermath of the tournament as the Rugby Football League conducted an extensive review of England's performance.

The former Wigan Warriors boss, who replaced Wayne Bennett at the start of 2020, was put at ease last month when he was handed a contract extension until the conclusion of the 2025 World Cup.

Walking away never crossed Wane's mind.

"Definitely not," he said. "I'm an Englishman and very proud.

"I'd never ever do that. I'd always want to coach England."

Such was the disappointment that followed the heartbreaking loss to Samoa, there was some doubt over whether Wane would be kept on.

Although he was desperate to get another crack at the World Cup, the 58-year-old had braced himself for the worst.

"I did think that if they wanted to go another way, I'd understand," he said.

"It's international sport and we didn't get to a final. There were also reasons behind why we didn't get to a final as well.

"I know the RFL did a detailed review on what we did and me and my staff have done as well. We've analysed everything – starting with me – and it still tortures us to this day."

Wane will get a shot at redemption when he takes a new-look England team to France at the end of 2025.

The French are the next opponents for Wane's side in Warrington on April 29, with Tonga set to visit later this year for a three-match series.

Wane will select a youthful squad for the Halliwell Jones Stadium clash while retaining an experienced core, all with the next World Cup in mind.

The pain of last November will act as fuel for Wane all the way through to the tournament in France.

If and when England find themselves in a tense situation in the latter stages, Wane wants a group of players he can rely on.

"I can't wait for '25," he said.

"It's very important that we have the viewpoint that we want to do well in '25.

"I'm very much about working back and making things fit. Take Mikey Lewis, I view players as if they're playing against Samoa when we're losing by a point in the semi-final of a World Cup and how they would cope defensively and offensively.

"I'm very good at starting at the end and that's us wanting to be in the final of the World Cup in France. We have to work back from there and make it happen."