State of the Nation '“ Rugby League: England being better prepared is a misconception

DISMAY: Jermaine McGillvary shows his disappointment after England's 6-0 defeat to Australia in the Rugby League World Cup Final in Brisbane last month. Picture: Grant Trouville/NRL Imagery/PA.

That is quite sad to comprehend. Yes, admittedly it was the first time the national team had qualified for the showpiece occasion in 22 years but is that something really to be celebrated?

Wayne Bennett’s side actually lost the Brisbane decider 6-0 against reigning champions Australia last month meaning there has still not been a northern hemisphere victory in the tournament since Great Britain prospered in 1972.

Yes, England did push hard, showed tremendous courage, competed brilliantly and were desperately unlucky not to come away with a win.

But, still, they lost yet again so where does that leave the state of the nation looking into 2018?

Having played their part in an enthralling final where the exhausted Kangaroos did, for once, look genuinely ripe for the taking, there is a common misconception that England are now automatically better prepared than ever to complete the final step when the World Cup is next held here in 2021.

However, as much as I hope that does happen, it is purely that: hope. There is no concrete reason or plan in place to suggest anything will be any different in four years’ time for England, who also lost their group game versus Australia 18-4 in Melbourne.

In all honesty, they have probably just missed their best chance in a generation to end that miserable run; in that final, Australia, without the legendary Johnathan Thurston and Greg Inglis, were truly on the ropes and, with a smidgen more finesse and guile executed at the right time, England could have capitalised.

Yet, at the same time, when brutally analysed, if England had been involved in a three-Test series against Australia rather than the World Cup last autumn, essentially the final Test would be a ‘dead rubber’ as the series would already have been lost.

Furthermore, they would have entered that third Test not just two-nil down but having scored just one try in 160 minutes of action against the Kangaroos.

It may be fastidious to highlight this but it is true nonetheless and a little reminder about where England truly are. They were in a better state in 1990 when narrowly losing a home Ashes series 2-1 in Great Britain colours. Two years after that, they still fell in the World Cup final 10-6 against Australia, a smaller losing margin than 2017, let’s not forget.

They are, then, no nearer to being champions now – or series victors over Australia – than they have ever been in the last 46 years. Yes, Thurston and the brilliant trio of Cooper Cronk, Billy Slater and Cameron Smith will all not be around in ‘green and gold’ in four years’ time but only a fool will believe they will not have new icons waiting to seamlessly take over.

England, too, will have lost world-class operators like captain Sean O’Loughlin, James Graham and James Roby plus probably record try-scorer Ryan Hall and – stunning in this World Cup – new hero Jermaine McGillvary.

It remains to be seen whether Bennett, the revered Australian whose two-year deal as coach has now expired, will stay. As much as the Brisbane Broncos chief earned praise aplenty from his squad, he will be 71 when the next World Cup comes around.

The RFL are looking at a new four-year plan towards that and, with the tournament being in the UK, how would that suit the veteran Queenslander’s own plans?

Regardless, an announcement is expected by the end of this month and, thankfully, Kevin Sinfield, the former England captain now working as RFL rugby director, is heavily involved in making sure the right decision is reached.

Certainly, there is no shortage of potential candidates ready to step in if needed with Castleford Tigers’ highly-respected Daryl Powell and Leeds Rhinos’ Grand Final-winning coach Brian McDermott both publicly stating they would be interested.

In terms of fixtures, frustratingly, there are still not enough.

An exciting three-match autumn series against New Zealand does await with Hull’s KCOM Stadium, Anfield and Elland Road as venues but plans for a vital mid-season Test against the Kiwis in Denver, America have still yet to gain backing from NRL clubs.