Wayne’s world GB squad facing brutal training , scary stats... and a lot of fun
RUGBY LEAGUE My Knights must arise to occasion
WAYNE BENNETT will lead Great Britain over the next month with a permanent scowl and uttering only gruff comments.
The legendary coach wears the air of a hostage who has a gun to his head whenever he speaks to the media.
But talk to any of his players, past or present, and Bennett comes across as a far more likeable character.
This is a man who loves banter with the lads, but who can almost drive them to the point of collapse.
It’s an almost Jekyll and Hyde personality and here Kev Brown delves into the secret mind of one of the game’s all-time super coaches.
Humiliation
The half-back – part of Bennett’s run with England to the World Cup final two years ago – revealed how:
Bennett has psychological profiles on all his players and tailors his treatment of each one specifically
Some training sessions are so brutal that players fear they will break physically and mentally
Post-match assessments are so scary that players lift their game to avoid humiliation
Despite all this, Bennett’s camps are the happiest and most unified that Brown has ever experienced
The new Salford signing, who has retired from internationals, said: “He’s unbelievable. I’ve never heard a player say a bad word about him.
“Normally, at some stage, players get sick of a coach, but that’s not the case with Wayne because he cares about every single one of his players.
“There have been times when I wasn’t picked, but I can’t speak highly enough of him because he treats you all with brutal honesty.”
The most feared honesty comes the day after a game when players have to rate their performance out of 10 in front of the squad.
Brown said: “Wayne will then give his rating and, if you are a point off, he will sever your legs and tell you straight.
“You always want to play well for your country, but the biggest reason I wanted to play well was because I knew I had to rate myself.
“There are some big characters in the squad, but nobody ever spoke back. Wayne is always the biggest superstar.”
Bennett will lead the Lions into four Tests – New Zealand (twice), Tonga and Papua New Guinea.
Brown added: “He used a psychologist to find out whether players were leaders, thinkers or mosses – the ones who are all over the place.
“Clubs sometimes do these things, but they never get touched again – but Wayne gears all his training around them.
“His man- management is what sets him apart from every other coach I’ve had.
“His t raining can be unbelievably intense, but he knows it’s also important to have fun at the right times. I’m envious of the lads on this tour.”
Brown will pay particular attention to the Lions halves, where competition for places is incredibly tough.
He said: “Half-back is the hardest position to get in because we’re spoilt for choice with Blake Austin, Gareth Widdop, J onny Lomax, George Williams, Jackson Hastings and Jake Trueman.
“Whoever gets the shirt will have to do really well.” PAUL ANDERSON wants his England starlets to get themselves on Wayne Bennett’s radar.
England Knights play Jamaica at Headingley today (2.30pm).
And coach Anderson (above) says it’s a chance for them to prove they can ‘hack it’ like last year’s crop of Knights did on a tour of Papua New Guinea. Some are now in the GB Lions squad playing Down Under for coach Bennett.
Anderson said: “Jack Hughes and Joe Philbin really benefited from that tour. In my squad 12 of the 19 will be hoping to win their first Knights cap.”