Graham not sorry for ‘cheating’ call
James Graham insists he doesn’t even remember what he said - and won’t apologise for it in any case - after an on-field microphone captured the England enforcer accusing an Australian player of ‘‘cheating’’ in an expletive-laden rant during the Rugby League World Cup final.
The Dragons-bound prop refused to back down during a fiery aftermath to Australia’s gripping World Cup defence in Brisbane on Saturday night, which featured Graham angrily confronting a small group of Kangaroos players in the first half.
He was heard to accuse an Australian player of ‘‘cheating’’ and added a profanity moments after the Kangaroos were awarded a penalty for a Luke Gale’s high tackle on Cameron Smith. It is unclear who Graham’s tirade was directed at.
But the passionate 32-yearold said he had no recollection of what words he used and didn’t need to say sorry for it.
‘‘Loads of stuff gets said on the field,’’ Graham said. ‘‘If you don’t like it, turn off the ref mics.
‘‘That’s real life, real emotion out there. Stuff gets said all the time. Just because you pick it up ... you want to fake reality? You want people to pat each on the back? It is what it is. It’s just the game.
‘‘I don’t even remember what I said. I shouldn’t have to either. Remember that, that’s real. I shouldn’t have to remember what I said and apologise to anyone. And I won’t. It’s just part of the game. People say stuff. I spoke to a couple of players and it was like, ‘Yeah, whatever’. What’s done is done.’’
England gave holders Australia a mighty scare in a gripping game featuring a number of last ditch tackles with Boyd Cordner’s first-half try all that separated the teams in the 6-0 result.
England coach Wayne Bennett’s future was an immediate point of conjecture after the game, but not even the master coach would be drawn on it after coming close to engineering one of the biggest shocks in international rugby league.
‘‘I’m not talking about that tonight,’’ Bennett said. ‘‘I’m not in a good state to talk about those things.’’
But he certainly has the backing of his players, with Graham leading the chorus urging him to keep juggling his NRL commitments with the Broncos and England role.
England is due to play a three-match series against New Zealand at the end of next year.
‘‘I’d love Wayne to continue and the job and what he’s doing,’’ he said. ‘‘He’s been great for this group and I think that’s plain to see. For 80 minutes, we were only one score away.
‘‘We got to a first final in a World Cup for God knows how long [22 years] and we can take a lot out of that. I’ve been involved for almost a decade now and it’s clear to see [this is the best England team]. I think there’s a togetherness. You can see that and the way we kept turning up for each other tonight was a testament to how much it means to that group.’’
Bennett lamented the fact England couldn’t deliver a telling blow on Australia, who conceded just three tries and 16 points in their six games throughout the tournament.
‘‘There’s a pity there had to be a loser on a night like tonight,’’ Bennett said. ‘‘Nobody really loses.
‘‘The scoreboard says you lost, but what did we lose? There was effort, intensity, trying as hard as they did. It’s what makes sport great, someone has got to win and someone has got to lose. The Kangaroos were very good.’’