Kruise Leeming reflected on his devastating World Cup snub by shedding a tear and making a vow – to become the best hooker in Super League in 2023. The Leeds Rhinos captain had hoped to make England’s 24-man squad after a fine season which saw him help his club reach the Super League Grand Final.
Yet Wane instead opted for Catalans Dragons veteran Micky McIlorum and Salford’s Andy Ackers as his two hookers, with England disappointingly dumped out at the semi-final stage by Samoa. When the England boss phoned Leeming with the bad news, it hit the former Huddersfield Giants man hard – but he is determined to ensure he is picked for the next England squad.
Leeming told Leeds Live: “Shaun Wane rang me and said it was one of the toughest calls he’s had to make. It broke my heart because I genuinely thought I had done enough to get in the World Cup squad.
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“It was almost like when you’re speaking to a referee – once they have made their mind up, there is nothing you can do. But I’ve lost no respect for Shaun because he went for the team that he believed was the best at the time.
“Coaches are human beings too and, up until that semi-final, England were going really well. There was no talk about his squad selection until that defeat to Samoa.”
Leeming had starred during the early stages of Rohan Smith’s mid-season revival at Headingley but then missed several games due to a stress fracture in his foot. By the time he returned, Brad Dwyer and Jarrod O’Connor had both hit form, resulting in Leeming playing predominantly from the bench in shorter spells.
“Having a foot injury and coming off the bench at the back end of the year didn’t help, but I thought in the Grand Final I showed that I can play on the big stage,” added Leeming. “I’ve never really not played well on the big stage – I feel I’m better in the bigger games – and I believed I had done enough to get in.
“If you had asked 10 people if I should be in England’s World Cup squad then six or seven might have said yes, and three or four might have said no. But it has given me a lot of fire and I will not mope around – this coming season I’m determined to ensure that 10 people out of 10 would have me in their England team.
“That’s the best way of looking it and hopefully the next time Shaun announces an England squad I will be in. I still believe there are various aspects of my game which can get better and which coaches such as Shaun and Rohan me want to work on.
“I’m certainly not the finished article and I think Micky Mac and Andy Ackers played well at the World Cup. Like I say, if you had asked 10 people whether I should have been in, it would have been a toss-up. I’ve just got to make it as glaringly obvious as possible that I should be in the next England squad – and that’s what I’m going try and do this coming season.
“I want to be the best hooker in Super League in 2023. Missing out on the World Cup has just given me the fire in the belly to go and do it.”
Leeming admitted he could not bring himself to watch the tournament unfold – he would record games and then delete them. "I struggled to watch any of the World Cup,” admitted the 27-year-old.
“I was recording games, getting home and then deleting them, which broke my heart. The only game I actually watched was the World Cup semi-final between England and Samoa. But you’ve just got to keep looking forward and the World Cup in France is now less than three years away.
“You learn more about yourself in times of adversity and, even if I had made the World Cup squad, I wouldn’t have felt I had made it. Like I say, I’m not the finished article and am still climbing a mountain. I still have the desire to be a great player for Leeds Rhinos and England. I don’t feel I’ve reached that level yet but that’s where I want to get to.
"I’m still listening to as many people as possible behind the scenes – Shaun Wane included – and trying to be the best version of myself that I can be. I’m determined to leave no stone unturned and, whatever level I get to, it won’t be through a lack of trying.”
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