Rival coaches chart different course in final
Mal Meninga has launched an extraordinary attack on Rugby League World Cup final rivals England and their slow down tactics in the ruck, arming himself with images of Wayne Bennett’s side’s spoiling tactics and freely distributing them to members of the media on the eve of tonight’s decider.
The Kangaroos coach has lit the fuse for a fiery decider in Brisbane, hitting back at Bennett’s criticism in News Limited publications yesterday that the Kangaroos were piling bodies on top of one another in the tackle to suffocate opposition defences.
It included a range of still shots where the Kangaroos had used three men in a tackle to slam the brakes on the opposition’s ruck speed in attack.
But Meninga went a step further and went into his prematch press conference clutching what he cited were seven examples of England adopting similar tactics in their semifinal win over Tonga – and even a frame from Bennett’s training session at Ballymore on Wednesday.
‘‘There were nice little pictures in the paper,’’ Meninga quipped.
‘‘I might show you some pictures, here we go. This is England and Tonga last week. It’s the game of rugby league.
‘‘Here’s their training on Wednesday morning and they’re practising three in the tackle. It happens every week in the NRL.’’
It echoed comments from Australian skipper Cameron Smith only minutes earlier when he was asked about Bennett’s unprompted attack.
‘‘I’m not overly shocked by that,’’ Smith said. ‘‘I think every big game I’ve played in and Wayne’s been the opposition coach something has found its way into the media. I’m not overly surprised.
‘‘We haven’t put any special emphasis on our defence or tactics in defence. We’ve done what every other team has done in this competition and we won’t be changing [Saturday] night.’’
It will add some much needed theatre to the World Cup decider as organisers hope the Suncorp Stadium crowd creeps above 40,000, well below capacity at the rugby league cauldron.
Meninga claimed his relationship with Bennett is fine – the pair smoked a peace pipe during the Four Nations Tour last year – but they’ve butted heads over the policing of the ruck as England look to engineer one of the biggest boilovers in World Cup history.
‘‘We don’t want to make it about me and Wayne, it’s about the two teams,’’ Meninga said.
‘‘Wayne thinks the ruck is being refereed unfairly on our behalf, but I’ve showed you examples where it happens every game. That’s just the game of rugby league.
‘‘Wayne feels the need to add to [the banter and theatre] and I’m happy to return serve. It’s all fun.’’