Bennett closing in on final countdown
IT WAS 1972 when our national side last lifted the World Cup.
Back then, under the guise of Great Britain, a wonderful 80m try from captain Clive Sullivan and another from Mike ‘Stevo’ Stephenson, the inimitable former Sky Sports pundit, secured the trophy against Australia in France.
Not much has gone right since. True, there has been the odd Test series win against New Zealand and a memorable victory over Australia in Sydney during the 2006 TriNations. But even then, Great Britain lost all their other games and finished bottom of the pile.
Fast forward 45 years and England are aiming to reach their first World Cup final since 1995. Victory over Tonga in tomorrow’s semi-final would see them face Australia or Fiji in Brisbane next weekend.
Like the rugby union team, England are coached by a wily Australian with a proven track record of success. Unlike Eddie Jones, though, who has guided the Red Rose to five successive wins over Australia, Wayne Bennett’s stardust has yet to take effect since he succeeded Steve McNamara almost two years ago.
Bennett, who combines the England job with a full-time role as head coach of NRL outfit Brisbane Broncos, has often cut a grumpy, frustrated figure when speaking to the media. It has usually been with good reason.
During his first campaign in charge last year, England suffered a disastrous Four Nations and failed to reach the final after losing to New Zealand and Australia.
Now, on the biggest stage of all and with his contract due to expire, the man who has won a record seven NRL Grand Finals must prove how good he actually is.
That means reaching the World Cup final and perhaps even winning it.
Like McNamara, Bennett has leant heavily on NRLbased players and Sam and Tom Burgess, James Graham, Elliott Whitehead, Josh Hodgson and Gareth Widdop, all stars in Australia, will line up against a physically imposing Tonga outfit who beat Scotland, Samoa, New Zealand and Lebanon en route to the last four.
Bennett, who has named an unchanged side, knows his men must improve on the win over Papua New Guinea, when England committed far too many handling errors.
“There is definitely a mental toughness in the team,” said captain Sean O’Loughlin. “We have not hit 100 per cent but we have still played well and there are lots of positives.”
Win tomorrow and England really can start to dream.