Rugby League World Cup: Shaun Wane says his England side is the 'tightest' group he has ever coached

A semi-final tie with Samoa awaits his side at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday (K.O. 2.30pm), following their victory over Papua New Guinea at the DW Stadium.

Despite already comfortably beating this weekend’s opponents in the opening game of the tournament, Wane states there is no complacency in the England camp.

He said: “The spirit we have in the camp, and how close we are, is the tightest I’ve ever felt in a team, and I’ve had some good sides at Wigan.

“This family spirit we have is really good, and it’s something I genuinely mean. We use it every week to get better and tighter. Hopefully you’ll see that this weekend.

“We are looking very strong. The mood is very positive and very respectful to Samoa. We are all excited to travel down to London, our capital, and put a good display on.

“We’ve got a few people coming in to speak to us, and we’ll use that to bring us even closer.

“We’re not a complacent sort of group. We’ve never mentioned the first game because we know the team we’ll play on Saturday will be different.

“They’re talented and have a lot of good players from the NRL, but we are ready and are a good team.

“It’s got the makings of a really good hit out.

“We’re stronger from when we played Samoa in Newcastle, we are doing things better.

“I’m happy but I’ll never be satisfied with how we are playing. There are always ways of improving, and I still think we can get better from the performance of last week.

“I know what these players are capable of and I know that we will improve.

“I want us to be error-free, I want perfection, that is what we are practicing.

“Every single individual player is playing better for Samoa, and they were massively underdone in Newcastle.

“I knew they would improve massively, and that’s what has happened.

“They’ve not improved in a particular area, it’s just that every individual is playing better.”