England Out of Rugby League World Cup at Group Stage as RFL Plans Overhaul
England's men are out of the Rugby League World Cup at the group stage. The exit was confirmed on Sunday morning, when Tonga beat Samoa 20-18, and England's hopes had depended on that result.
England had already beaten Papua New Guinea in their final pool game, but it was not enough to reach the knockout rounds. Brian McDermott is head coach of the men's side. The BBC reported that the Rugby Football League (RFL), the governing body for the sport in England, moved quickly. Within minutes of the men's exit being confirmed, it announced a plan to map out the future of the English game.
The scheme is called One Game, One England, and work on it began earlier this year. Its aim is to build a system that develops players from grassroots and academy level, the youth set-ups attached to clubs, all the way to the international stage. Paul Sculthorpe, Jodie Cunningham and Adrian Morley will help put the plan together. The RFL has promised more names for the review panel in the coming days.
Ian Nolan, the RFL's new chief executive, spoke about the result. He said travel itineraries and the competition format were mitigating reasons for failing to reach the knockout stage. He was clear, though, that they could not be used as excuses.
The women's team also went out at the group stage. They lost to Samoa along the way. Stuart Barrow took a very young squad, with an average age of 21, and 11 of the players came through the Diploma in Sporting Excellence, or DiSE. The programme is designed to bring through girls in Years 12 and 13, the last two years of school in England, who have the potential to play at elite level.
The gap between the two sides is part of the story. England's women play in the Women's Super League, which is effectively amateur. At the World Cup they faced professionals from Australia's NRL Women's Premiership.
For England fans, the next few months will be about the review. Whether One Game, One England can turn grassroots promise into World Cup results will take years to show, and it will be watched closely.
