Look back to 1995 World Cup final: We needed to do more homework on Johns, says Larder

England, under Wayne Bennett, face Australia in Saturday’s World Cup final in Brisbane, the first time they have reached the showpiece since 1995.

Back then, Phil Larder was in charge and the esteemed Kangaroos were, once more, the opponents at Wembley.

England had already beaten the Green and Golds there in the tournament opener, but could not repeat the feat in the game that mattered most, going down 16-8.

Scrum-half Johns – who would eventually become one of the sport’s greatest players – was just 21 at the time and did not even feature in the first game against England.

The Newcastle Knights tyro only made his international debut against South Africa a few days later, scoring two tries and 11 goals, but went on to have a real impact and actually won man of the match in the final.

England, of course, have never lifted the World Cup with the last team to do so from these shores being Great Britain in 1972.

Asked if he had any regrets about that golden opportunity to make history that slipped away 22 years ago, Larder said: “One of the things that was important is that I always asked the players after every game to look in the mirror and analyse their own performance. It was to stop them coming into meetings and just passing the buck. So if I ask my players to do that I have to do it myself. In this instance, I felt I should have done more homework on Johns.

“He was just a young kid at the time, a rookie, but he wasn’t even selected when (Australia coach) Bobby Fulton first announced their team.

“Johns wasn’t even in the subs and he was a surprise pick in the end. We only found out about it on the Friday and didn’t have as much time to do an analysis and any reorganisation.

“But he ended up getting man of the match. He floated between playing scrum-half and hooker and we were still giving the majority of our defensive commitment to Brad Fittler, the Australia captain, who was a fantastic stand-off.

“That took a little bit of pressure off Johns and he made the most of it.

“It was disappointing (losing). The thing that sticks out for me was it was the biggest game of my career, and I lost it. I always thought I’d be going to my grave having lost the biggest match of my life.

“But then I got the second chance with England rugby union (as defence coach) and went to Australia and beat them there in the 2003 World Cup so I’m very grateful for that opportunity.”

In 1995, while Fittler, Johns and Geoff Toovey dictated in midfield, in contrast, England’s hopes were not helped given they were without both their first-choice half-backs.

Former Keighley Cougars coach Larder, 72, conceded: “The major problem we had was we’d picked up injuries. By the time we got to the final we had already lost Shaun Edwards. He was very important to us at scrum-half; he organised us and a lot of the Wigan guys – his club team-mates – were in the forwards.

“He’d a brilliant match in the first game against Australia. Brad Fittler was so important to them, handling the ball four times out of six. Shaun wasn’t the best tackler in the world, but he was a brilliant tactician so I pulled him out of the defensive line and put him directly opposite Fittler.

“Fittler always had three or four passing options, but Shaun, by communicating and seeing this, eradicated everything in that first game so he was then a massive loss for us in the final.

“But we then lost Daryl Powell as well. Again he was massive for us as he was such a robust, strong defensive player as well as being a great passer of the ball.

“Daryl actually got injured in the final training session, straining his groin.”

Larder, who was Malcolm Reilly’s assistant when Great Britain beat Australia in Sydney in 1988, hopes the present-day England side can go one step further.

He said: “I think Wayne Bennett’s done an outstanding job with them. You can see how they’ve improved and gelled more with every match.

“If you picked a side from both, there’d be as many Englishmen in it as Aussies. But the key positions – your spine with Billy Slater, Cooper Cronk and Cameron Smith – would be Australians. They are absolutely world-class.

“The one area still disappointing for England against Tonga last Saturday was the kicking game and that strategy must improve.

“But Sean O’Loughlin is world-class. His ball distribution and reading of the game is superb and, for me, James Graham is the best prop in rugby league.”