Bennett offers Kiwis advice
Wayne Bennett has not ruled out coming to the rescue of New Zealand Rugby League again but the super coach knows one thing they definitely do not need - another review.
Bennett is currently preparing England for this weekend’s World Cup semifinal against Tonga, hoping to recreate the famous triumph he enjoyed with the Kiwis when they stunned Australia in the 2008 final.
On that occasion, Bennett was brought in to mentor a then-rookie coach Stephen Kearney throughout the tournament, who was appointed after the disastrous Gary Kemble-led tour of the UK a year earlier.
The NZRL now find themselves at an even lower ebb this week following the Kiwis’ embarrassing quarterfinal exit at the hands of Fiji.
With David Kidwell’s contract now up the NZRL will almost certainly appoint a new coach, although any decision is unlikely to be made until an independent review into the failed campaign is complete.
The current NZRL policy that the head coach has to be a New Zealander is also under review. But even if that does not change, there are no nationality restrictions on an advisory or assistants role.
And Bennett, widely regarded as one of the greatest minds in the game, hinted that he would be open to help in some way once his commitments with England are complete at the end of the World Cup.
‘‘Right now I’m working with England and happy to be there. But I enjoyed my time with the Kiwis, we had a great result, it was a great tournament,’’ Bennett said as he looked back on 2008.
‘‘It’s what brought me back this time, I wanted to be a part of it again. It was a great experience.’’
The NZRL is no stranger to reviews.
They conducted one following last year’s disappointing Four Nations, where they were heavily beaten by Australia in the final and also suffered a shock draw with minnows Scotland. While another inquest was held into the events that led to the cocaine scandal during May’s Anzac test.
With his focus on steering England into next week’s final in Brisbane, Bennett did not want to dwell too much on the issues with the Kiwis.
But, a master of the one liners, he did offer one piece of advice that should be ringing around NZRL headquarters.
‘‘Look, they’ll recover from this,’’ he said. ‘‘The last thing they need is a review, though.’’
Bennett also gave a staunch defence of Kiwis skipper Adam Blair following his ill-judged comments immediately after the Fiji result.
Blair infuriated frustrated New Zealand league fans by saying that the defeat, their second-straight to a tier two nation, was not a negative and that he was hugely proud of the culture they had created.
Blair is joining the Warriors next season from the Broncos, where he played under Bennett for the last three years and filled in as captain on a number off occasions.
Bennett stood by his leadership and believes Blair should be given some slack for comments that were said in the heat of the moment.
‘‘It’s when we’re at our most vulnerable,’’ Bennett said, referring to post-match interviews.
‘‘What we say at those times is sometimes not what you feel. He had just played his heart out for his country because that’s what Adam does.
‘‘I see (Shaun) Johnson getting criticism as well and I think it’s terribly unfair. It’s terribly unfair the amount of pressure they have to come under so quickly. It’s not easy.’’