John Bateman believes England can do something “very special” at the World Cup - even if he’s not guaranteed to feature.
The abrasive Wigan back-row was man of the match as Shaun Wane’s side eased to an 18-4 victory over the Combined Nations All Stars. Bateman - who debuted for England in 2015 - switched to loose forward and gave an all-action display. He scored one try, created another for George Williams with an impressive midfield surge and put in some big defensive hits.
St Helens’ Morgan Knowles, missing here through injury, is tipped to be England’s No.13 for their World Cup opener against Samoa at Newcastle on October 15. But Bateman showed he could be the man to fill that crucial loose forward role left up for grabs ever since Sean O’Loughlin’s international retirement in 2019. Wane has high expectations and said afterwards he’s not even sure if Bateman is one of only three or four players nailed on for a start.
Still, the Yorkshireman - who played centre in the 2017 World Cup final - said: “I do enjoy playing 13. You can get your hands on the ball, you’re in the mix and you see that tonight: you touch it a lot more. I enjoy being around that middle, especially in games like that. It’s back and forth which is probably my game as well. I love being in the arm wrestle and the thick of it. I haven’t played there for a while and am probably just stuck on an edge for my club.”
And he relished having his no-nonsense ex-Wigan team-mate Michael McIlorum pulling the strings at hooker. The Catalans star, 34, made his first England appearance since 2013 and Bateman said: “I think he’s got even harder and tougher.
"He's one of those players who when you are beside him he gives you that confidence. You don’t get many players like that. Micky’s aggressive, he’s nasty with it and that’s what you want. There’s no point standing off teams.”
They are the sort of attributes Wane feels will be needed to finally bring the World Cup home for the first time in 50 years. The coach's decision to back out-of-sorts Williams paid off with the Warrington scrum-half delivering a brilliant kicking game. Huddersfield centre Jake Wardle scored a debut try after just 11 minutes and Ellery Hanley’s side only mustered a consolation through Ken Sio.
England aren’t in action again until their final warm-up against Fiji in October. But Bateman said: “We’ve taken some good steps forward. There’s still plenty of stuff for us to work on but this World Cup will be massive for us. On home soil, we have a great opportunity to make something very special - and everyone should be looking forward to it and getting around us.”
