Wane enlists ex-Warriors colleague for England role

Shaun Wane has added ex-Wigan director of performance Mark Bitcon – as well as former Great Britain winger Ade Gardner – to his England backroom team ahead of an anticipated mid-season clash with the Exiles.
Mark Bitcon (centre) celebrates winning the 2018 Grand Final with Kris Radlinski and Tony ClubbMark Bitcon (centre) celebrates winning the 2018 Grand Final with Kris Radlinski and Tony Clubb
Mark Bitcon (centre) celebrates winning the 2018 Grand Final with Kris Radlinski and Tony Clubb

Gardner, 37, who scored 173 tries in 289 appearances for St Helens from 2002-14 and played 10 times for his country, joined Saints’ backroom staff on his retirement as physiotherapist and is currently head of performance at Warrington.

At a virtual press conference on Thursday, Wane also confirmed the addition of Warrington’s strength and conditioning coach Chris Baron as well as Bitcon.

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Wane, who welcomed the move of his assistant coach Andy Last to a full-time role with Wakefield, expects to take charge of England for the first time on the weekend of June 26, the date set aside for mid-season internationals.

The fixture has yet to be confirmed by the RFL but Wane is looking forward to putting his team up against a re-formed Exiles team made up of Super League’s elite overseas players.

“There is talk about the season being put back but that doesn’t alter that weekend,” he said.

“As far as I’m concerned the Exiles game is still on. That game is very important to me and my preparation for the World Cup.

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“I want the Exiles team to be as strong as possible. I need that game to be like a Test match.”

Wane’s preparations for the World Cup, which is due to kick off with England-Samoa at St James’ Park on October 23, were hit by the cancellation of the Ashes Series last autumn but he hopes to arrange another warm-up game 10 days before the opener.

“There’s a chance with Fiji but nothing has been set in stone yet,” he said.

Although organisers are hopeful of getting crowds back to rugby league before the start of the World Cup, they have a contingency plan to push the tournament back to 2022, which would not sit well with Wane.

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“If it gets put back to next year I’ll need a job coaching, because I need to get back on a field coaching with players and working out ways to win games,” he said.

“I’m missing it so much, even now. Frustrating isn’t the word, it’s something deeper than that. I live and breathe coaching rugby league players.

“I need to be on the field coaching players. Making the best of it is what I do, that’s over Zoom at the minute but I can’t wait to get back and coach players again.

“I’m driven for having 40,000 or 50,000 for England v Samoa and having crowds there. I don’t dwell on negative things. Until March, when there’s a meeting, I will think the World Cup is on and crowds are here.”

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Meanwhile, Wane is hoping the the RFL’s laws committee stick with the “six again” rule at their meeting next Wednesday and would not mind if scrums remain banned in 2021.

“The speed of the game having no scrums has been fantastic,” he said. “I enjoyed it and I loved the six-again rule.

“You look at the Wigan-Saints Grand Final and there’s not a sport in the world where you can have 26 players going at it for 25 minutes like that with no penalties and no errors.”

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