BY JOHN DAVIDSON
Brian McDermott won’t be enlisting a sports psychologist to help with England’s 2026 Rugby League World Cup preparation, but admits the ingrained view of the English game compared to the NRL has to change if success is to be achieved.
Great Britain last won a World Cup in 1972, while England or the Lions have not won the Ashes since 1970, nor beaten the Kangaroos in a match since 2006.
Over the years, some have suggested that English players may have an inferiority complex, or a mental barrier, when facing the green and gold because of the weight of history.
Asked how, if there was a psychological barrier, and how he plans to counter it at next month’s World Cup, McDermott told rugbyleaguehub.com Long Reads: “I wouldn’t use that word psychological, but how they view it.
“We’re not getting someone in to come and talk to them about what happened to them when they were 10 years old, which means they can’t beat Australia.
“It’s not about that.
“If I’m digging deep, you don’t have to dig deep about what’s the psychological effect, but their view of where it’s at, the status, what England… where Super League is compared to the NRL.
“I think getting that right in your head, and coming in from the right angle, I do believe there’s something there that mentally we have to get right and be accurate with.”
McDermott is Super League’s most successful coach, after his long stint with Leeds Rhinos, and moved to Australia at the end of 2022 to join the Newcastle Knights.
The 56-year-old spent three years as an assistant coach with the Knights, before joining Gold Coast Titans as an assistant at the end of last year.
McDermott said he has learned “a ton of things” during his time in the NRL.
“It’s been enormous for me, coming out here,” he said.
“I’m hesitant to say I’ve relearned some things, but I have learned a chunk. The first bloke I met at Newcastle Knights was Rory Kostjasyn and the way he spoke about the game, the detail, the consistency in the NRL and the consistency of players that come through, and the consistency of always having a 6 and a 7 the majority of the time means you have a consistency of practice.
“And a consistency of performance. I don’t mean performance as in whether you’re good or you’re bad; I mean you’re actually going on the field with a genuine 6 or 7 and you’re not trying to makeshift players into different positions, which happens a ton in Super League.
“So therefore there’s a consistency of results and a consistency of outcomes. I don’t think the coaching’s better [in the NRL], but it’s certainly more informed and the coaching’s done on a bigger level.
“So the outcomes, you reach different outcomes over here, and that’s been a big thing for me to understand.
“It’s been a hugely beneficial process. I’ve enjoyed it enormously. It’s been challenging; it has been a big challenge, just getting used to the accents, them getting used to my accent.
“Nobody could understand what I said for the first two years. I’m still unsure whether they can understand me now, but I think culturally there are slight differences between the British bloke and the Aussie guy, but they have a massive effect if you follow it through.
“I know I’m a bit of an odd cat meself, so they need to get used to that as well. It’s been great, I’ve enjoyed it enormously and I’ve been very fortunate to work in an enormous competition.
“The NRL is extremely well-run, unbelievably resourced, and I’m astonished at some of the games that go on from rounds one to 27. There’s always a couple of games a weekend that I sit at home and go ‘wow, that was good’.
“Whether it’s the intensity of the competition or the unpredictable nature. It’s been great.”
