Shropshire Star

England head coach Wayne Bennett coy on New Zealand link

The Australian’s two-year contract is up at the end of the World Cup

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England head coach Wayne Bennett has not ruled out returning to give New Zealand a helping hand following their World Cup nightmare.

The veteran Brisbane Broncos boss, a former Kangaroos head coach, has fond memories of his time as right-hand to Stephen Kearney at the 2008 World Cup, where he played a key role in the Kiwis’ shock triumph over Australia.

After a traumatic 12 months in which they were held to a draw by Scotland and missed out on the World Cup semi-finals thanks to home defeats by Tonga and Fiji, New Zealand are expected to ring the changes, with Kearney’s successor David Kidwell unlikely to be in place for next year’s tour to England.

Bennett has guided England to within 80 minutes of the 2017 final but his two-year contract is up at the end of the tournament and, asked if he would be prepared to assist the Kiwis again, Bennett replied: “Yeah, who knows?

“Right now I’m working with England and I’m happy to be there.

“But I enjoyed my time with the Kiwis. We had a great result in that tournament and it’s what brought me back this time, to want be apart of it again, with another country of course. It was a great experience.”

Bennett says New Zealand will recover from their current plight and mounted a strong defence of captain Adam Blair, the former Brisbane forward who shrugged off the quarter-final defeat to Fiji in the immediate aftermath of his side’s 4-2 loss.

“It’s when we’re at our most vulnerable,” Bennett told reporters at the end of England’s open training session at Auckland’s North Harbour Stadium.

New Zealand’s Adam Blair received criticism after the shock loss to Fiji
New Zealand’s Adam Blair received criticism after the shock loss to Fiji (Martin Rickett/PA)

“He had just played his heart out for his country because that’s what Adam does. It’s terribly unfair the amount of pressure they have to come under so quickly.”

Bennett admits he expected to be facing the Kiwis at Mount Smart Stadium on Saturday but has been impressed by Tonga and also believes Fiji can give Australia a game in Friday’s first semi-final in Brisbane.

“Of course they can,” he said. “They’ve got quality players and they beat New Zealand so you wouldn’t want to under-estimate them. They have a bit of momentum, a bit like Tonga, they’re playing with a lot of spirit.”

Meanwhile, Sam Burgess and Kevin Brown missed England’s first field session in Auckland on Wednesday Bennett insists they will be fit for Saturday.

Burgess turned an ankle in last Sunday’s 36-6 quarter-final win over Papua New Guinea while Brown suffered mild concussion in that game and was withdrawn at half-time.

“Kev’s got to do a series of tests,” Bennett said. “He’s not allowed to train with the team in the early part of the week but he’s doing other stuff so he’s on track, it’s all good.

“If he’s going to be declared to play, he’ll be able to train fully on Friday. I’m extremely confident. We’ll bring another player in if we have to but I’m not planning on that.

“Sam hurt his ankle but that’s not going to be an issue either. They’ll all train on Friday.”

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