RUGBY LEAGUE: Shrewd moves equal success

England RFL have possibly pulled off a major coup.

As Steve McNamara was shown the door, Wayne Bennett passed him on his way in to take the reins at the head of English Rugby League, no doubt with a few daggers shot in one direction. McNamara may go out without saying too much against his former employers, but no doubt on the inside the waters shall not be so calm.

Like Manuel Pellegrini for Manchester City, McNamara’s reign as head coach of England has been successful but unspectacular. A win rate of 59% (16 wins from 27) doesn’t sound too bad, especially whenever they had just a 25% win rate (3 from 12) against Australia and New Zealand, meaning McNamara’s men had a 87% win rate (13 from 15) against all other opponents.

But a 25% win rate against Australia and New Zealand makes you realise that McNamara’s men were still a long way off the top two, and in the end McNamara leaves without a trophy to his name as an international coach. For all the positives you can roll off the tongue about McNamara’s tenure and how much England improved, sports tends to be a results business, and at crucial moments the former Bradford Bulls coach did not deliver.

He probably hasn’t been as poorly treated as Pellegrini at City, but McNamara will not be throwing out glowing reviews of the English RFL any time soon.

Within hours of McNamara’s departure, the announcement broke that his successor would be Wayne Bennett, Australia’s most successful rugby coach. A veteran of the game, Bennett, 66, led the Brisbane Broncos to seven Grand Final victories in 22 seasons with the club and will now arrive to coach England through the 2016 Four Nations and the 2017 World Cup.

Bennett is a clever and astute appointment by the RFL. If you want to be the best, you need the best people behind you and Bennett is most certainly that – his track record proves that and he will get the best out of his players. Then perhaps we will finally see England competing with Australia and New Zealand on a regular basis.

Spare some sympathy for Steve McNamara, he did the best he could and ultimately came up short. But international rugby is a cut-throat business and if the players aren’t producing then the only person who can be given the boot is the coach. The fact of the matter though, is that McNamara saw his side streets ahead of the teams below them but streets behind the two above them, and ultimately that does come down to him.

He can have no complaints.

As for England now, they will have high hopes that the arrival of Bennett will signal a new era for the RFL. Certainly if he can translate his Broncos form to the international stage then England will at the very least close the gap between themselves and the southern hemisphere giants. Perhaps the Four Nations is too much of a dream so early into his tenure, but the World Cup may be a realistic target for the ambitious Australian.

The world’s best are waiting, and Bennett has to deliver.