ENGLAND’S RUGBY League World Cup campaign has ended after a dismal showing in Australia.
Tony Smith’s side bowed out after a 32-22 defeat to New Zealand in the semi-finals, following on from the defeat to the Kiwi’s in the group stages the previous week.
A group of Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, with three teams progressing, gave England a golden ticket to the semi finals.
However, only a narrow and unimpressive win in their opening match to Papua New Guinea gave the English fans anything to smile about.
A demolition by Australia preceded the two defeats to New Zealand, indicating the sheer gulf in class between European rugby league and the sport down under.
Members of Grand Finalists St Helens and Leeds Rhinos were a shadow of the players who ripped through the Super League last season.
This is particularly apparent when compared to their Australian counterparts in the magnificent NRL competition. The most striking example comes in the form of the magnificent full-back Billy Slater, who has just been named Rugby League International Federation’s (RLIF) world player of the year.
The RLIF’s team of the year unsurprisingly contained just two Englishmen. One is James Graham, 2008 Man of Steel in Super League, and Gareth Ellis, who play in the NRL next year.
The only thing that English rugby league can take out of the World Cup is the knowledge that the sport in this country, on an international level, needs drastic improvement.
England do not have enough world class players in the squad to challenge either New Zealand or Australia. There are some members of the squad who travelled to Australia who can count themselves lucky to have even been on the plane.
Since England lost in the semis, cross-code rugby legend Jason Robinson has advised that more preparation is needed for a World Cup campaign if the international game is to succeed in England. Others have criticised the league format and the amount of foreign players in Super League.
However, the simple fact is that England lack the necessary quality to achieve international success, especially in face of the challenge presented by Australia and New Zealand.
