By STEVE MASCORD
BRIAN McDermott was introduced to the media last week as England coach – and we were all reminded of what a fascinating character he is.
He certainly hasn’t mellowed, giving a couple of answers that were a good deal shorter than the inquisitor had hoped.
No, he wasn’t going to spend the entire media opportunity saying how honoured he felt to get the job – because that’s irrelevant.
Of course he had become a better coach in the last five years – he was five years older.
And no, there’s 20 journos on this call. He hasn’t got time to answer that one thoroughly.
But what makes McDermott so interesting is that for every dead bat, there’s a six. Like comparing England to boxer Frank Bruno and Australia to Wladimir Klischko.
You wouldn’t say McDermott is simultaneously intimidating and vulnerable. He’s a former Royal Marine, after all. But he’s alternately intimidating and relatable, which is a difficult combination to pull off.
Here’s what we learned from his media opp.
JAKE CONNOR IS BACK: “Yeah he is, absolutely.I think the rhetoric and the narrative around Jake was tremendously unfair. I understand where Jake Connor comes from in that he’s liked by some and disliked by others, OK? That comes with the nature of the game. We could sit round a table and debate whether he’s a nice person or not. I just don’t think that’s a fair narrative to be made public.What nobody can argue is that he’s a tremendous player. He’s a fantastic player. He’s a game breaker.”
MORE FOREIGN-BORN PLAYERS WILL BE PICKED: “It’s not for us to debate whether we’re happy or not – international rules suggest they can play for their country. Who are we to say to Ben Talty – I don’t know his heritage, maybe it’s his grandmother who’s English – from a moral point ‘you shouldn’t really be playing for England’? He might want to fight for his heritage. He might be extremely proud of his heritage. He may love the ground his grandmother walks on and think ‘that’s who I want to represent’. Who are we to say that’s not the right thing? “It’s not Super League against the NRL. Just because Ben Talty hasn’t played in Super League … it’s England as a nation. Blayke Brailey and Jayden Brailey’s mother is English and if they decide they want to represent their nation, it’s their nation as much as it’s ours. It’s not for anybody else to make a judgement on that. If the rules internationally suggest they can play, they can play legally.”
ENGLAND WILL PLAY DIFFERENTLY TO THE OTHER CONTENDERS – BUT NOT MORE EXPANSIVELY: “(You) certainly can’t copy what the other nations are doing. It won’t look the same and it can’t look the same if we intend to go deep into the tournament. Tyson Fury beat Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 and Tyson Fury admitted – and he was unapologetic in his admission – that he didn’t have as strong a right hand as Wladimir Klitschko had. So he openly admitted he wasn’t going to stand in front of Wladimir and trade punches. He had to do something different. And he employed a game plan, Tyson Fury, which Wladimir wasn’t used to – and got the job done. So take out of that what you will. I don’t think England should copy and paste the way (other countries) are playing.If you’re gonna stand in front of Wladimir Klitschko and lie to yourself that your right hand is as strong as his right hand … we can absolutely win but we have to do some things differently.What I’ve got in my head, I think it’s going to work – and it makes me get out of bed really early. You can’t play expansive football at international level.”
GEORGE WILLIAMS IS REMAINING CAPTAIN: But injury means the Warrington skipper is racing the clock to be fit for the World Cup. He joins the Dolphins next year.,
ENGLAND’S STAFF WILL PROBABLY FEATURE AUSTRALIANS: McDermott said he had a longer appointment, he might do things differently. But the tournament is in Australia, he’s in Australia and he needs to move quickly.
