With the end goal of the World Cup just four months away, nobody will be getting too carried away with this mid-season victory: least of all Shaun Wane. The England head coach is a firm believer in keeping his squad grounded, but this was still an impressive workout from his squad against a Combined Nations All Stars squad who had been victorious against England this time last year.
Wane has stressed his belief that the delay of the World Cup from last year to this autumn will only benefit his young squad. This was a result and a performance that suggests he may be right. With key players to come back from injury and his Australia-based heavyweights playing in the NRL unavailable for this Test, it is clear there are still several more gears for this squad to go through.
Nonetheless, the majority of the players who were on show here will have given Wane some food for thought over the next four months, with just one more warm-up game against Fiji to come before the World Cup begins against Samoa at St James’ Park in mid-October. “Overall, I thought there was more good than bad,” Wane said in typically demanding fashion afterwards.
“There are areas we can improve on but we did some good things. We were a bit clunky but we deserved the win. There are areas we can be better at, but if we’d won 80-0, I’d still want us to improve on things.” Last year’s defeat to the Combined Nations All Stars left a bitter taste in the mouth of Wane, who stressed the importance of victory here as a key step on the road to the World Cup.
His side were much the stronger of the two, and from the minute Jake Wardle marked his Test debut with a try after ten minutes, the hosts looked to be in control of the outcome. Wardle was one of several fringe players given an opportunity, and like the St Helens star Jack Welsby, they certainly underlined the depth Wane has at his disposal for the World Cup. That was also true for the man who scored England’s second here, too.
George Williams’s selection was questioned after an underwhelming run of form at club level for Warrington. But he justified Wane’s faith with a well-worked try as half-time approached, finishing a fine break from the outstanding John Bateman to move England 12-0 ahead. “I know George can play, I know he’s doing it tough, but I trust him,” Wane said of the former Wigan half-back.
Williams and Welsby linked up well in the halves, but with Jonny Lomax certain to feature in the World Cup if fit, that is another welcome selection headache for Wane to ponder over the summer. Bateman marked another impressive international appearance with a superb solo try after half-time, with Sam Tomkins converting all three tries to make it 18-0.
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The All Stars showed plenty of fight, but ultimately there was a lack of quality in attack, even if there was an interesting cameo from Kruise Leeming, the England-eligible hooker who has performed well for Leeds this year.
Kruise was instrumental in the visitors’ only try, as his pass laid the platform for Ken Sio to cross over in the final minutes. By then, though, the job had been done by Wane and his well-drilled England side.
