Brian McDermott on ‘smartest decision’ as England boss so far - ‘They’ve got a lot of wisdom’
Sean O'Loughlin and Paul Wellens are assisting England boss Brian McDermott at the Rugby League World Cup
Brian McDermott believes appointing Sean O’Loughlin and Paul Wellens as his assistants for the Rugby League World Cup has been the ‘smartest decision’ he has made as England head coach so far.
McDermott will lead England for the first time when they face Tonga in their tournament opener in Perth on Saturday, having brought the former Wigan Warriors and St Helens captains onto his coaching staff earlier this year.
The trio have worked regularly together in preparation for the competition, which will take place across Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea this autumn.
And McDermott has been impressed by the experience and knowledge both men have brought to the England set-up so far.
“I’m going to give myself a bit of credit here because I reckon the smartest decision I’ve made is to get Paul Wellens and Sean O’Loughlin on board,” McDermott said.
“If you look over the last 20-odd years, the top five most consistent, best performing international players – they’d make the top five, those two.
“At club level, they’re multiple winners, both have played for elite clubs, multiple winners in their own competition and when they pulled the international shirt on and played representative stuff, they’re two of the guys that come out of any tournament with their heads held high.
“They’re the ultimate competitors, so I’ve been that impressed with them since they’ve been here. They’ve got a lot of wisdom between them both, so they’ve been a huge part of what we’ve done so far.”
O’Loughlin has been part of Wigan’s coaching staff since retiring at the end of 2020, having made 459 appearances for his hometown club and captained them to major honours, as well as earning 36 international caps.
Wellens, who played 495 games for St Helens and won 31 international caps during his playing career, joined the coaching staff at North Queensland Cowboys ahead of this season, following a three-year spell as head coach of boyhood club Saints.
England kick off their World Cup campaign against Kristian Woolf’s Tongan side in Perth on Saturday, 10:05am kick-off (BST). The game will be broadcast live on Premier Sports 1 and Premier Player.