New England coach McDermott backs Connor and criticises Wane’s ‘unfair’ treatment

Brian McDermott, the new England head coach, has insisted that Super League’s reigning Man of Steel, Jake Connor, is central to his plans for this year’s World Cup, before appearing to attack the treatment of the Leeds Rhinos half-back by his predecessor Shaun Wane.

McDermott was unveiled on Thursday as England’s coach on a short-term deal for the tournament in Australia this autumn. The former Leeds and London coach is now working in the NRL as an assistant for Gold Coast Titans and saw off competition from Sam Burgess to be named as Wane’s successor.

The buildup to last year’s Ashes, which proved to be Wane’s final series in charge, was overshadowed by his decision to omit Connor despite him being crowned Super League’s best player in 2025. Wane insisted that selection was “not difficult” and insisted he paid no attention to accolades like the Man of Steel, with Connor consistently overlooked to the bemusement of many.

But McDermott has seemingly confirmed he will include Connor in his World Cup squad this year while also calling out the treatment the 31-year-old received. “Yeah, he is [in my plans] for sure,” McDermott said. “Absolutely. The rhetoric around Jake was tremendously unfair.

“I understand where he comes from in that he’s liked by some and disliked by others. That’s the nature of the game. We can sit around the table and debate whether he’s a nice person but that’s not a fair rhetoric to be made public. You can’t argue he’s a fantastic player, he’s a brilliant player – he’s a game-breaker.”

Brian McDermott says Jake Connor is ‘a fantastic player, a brilliant player’. Photograph: Richard Sellers/PA

Having been beaten 3-0 in the Ashes and with just three training sessions planned together before their opening game of the World Cup against Tonga in October, expectations are unsurprisingly low for England this autumn. But McDermott, Super League’s most successful coach, has a different view.

“The gap is bridgeable but you’ve got to have a plan specific to UK-based players, the level of preparation they’re going to have and our competition,” he said. “We can win it; absolutely we can win it – but we have to do some things differently.

“In the Ashes, we pushed them all the way and they were rattled in parts of games. We just didn’t do it for long enough. We’re going to have to be really well connected and have a bond together. It can’t just be grabbing hold of the badge and shouting aggressively so the optics look good. We’re talking about true connection and a true bond.”