Try telling Shaun Wane there is nothing to play for next Saturday in Leeds. His England side have been superior in the opening two Tests of this series with Tonga so a 2-0 advantage with one to play is a fair reflection of the contest so far.
But the notion of the final game at Headingley being a dead rubber is very much out of the question. Wane, one of the most demanding coaches there is, would not accept that mentality in any ordinary scenario, let alone where he and his players have clearly taken personal offence to comments made by the Tonga head coach, Kristian Woolf, and their captain, Addin Fonua-Blake, in the aftermath of last Saturday’s opening match at St Helens. Woolf bemoaned the quality of the pitch and the speed of the ruck while Fonua-Blake claimed England did not win the opening Test, Tonga lost it.
