Tough to know where you draw the line though. I sense Wane isn’t really behind the idea of non British born players turning out for us but he sidestepped the issue quite nicely in the press conference.

At the end of the day I have total trust in Wane picking only players for England who’ll give it absolutely everything. If he suspects a heritage player won’t do that, even for a second, he won’t pick them.

From what non British players I have seened selected so far, none have hardly been outstanding!

Agreed. But I don't believe we should ban them as a matter of 'principle'.Because our competitors don't. The Aussies and Kiwis select Tongans and so on. There are international rules laid down, we should abide by them. England select non-English players in RU and cricket. Let's not dress jingoism up as a principle. The objective should be to select English players if possible, but a blanket ban on others is just shooting ourselves in the foot. But I'm sure we all want to see the days of Blake Austin playing on the wing over for good. And I'm sure under Shane Wane they will be.

Very happy with the appointment, good luck to him.

I’ve been pleasantly surprised with the reaction to his appointment across the whole game. It’s shown that he’s earned peoples respect after the years of ‘some’ people describing him as a thug, a thick ape etc etc.

He’ll still be open to criticism if he picks too many players with connections to Wigan but it’s been a better reaction than I expected.

I'm chuffed to bits for him.
He knew when it was the right time to leave Wigan and will now come back to RL refreshed and raring to go.
Wouldn't it be great if he could win the Ashes series then bring on the World Cup.
I wish him every success.
Well done Shaun!

Either would be an unbelievable feeling as a supporter. There’s generations of league fans who’ve never seen us beat Australia in a series or to a trophy (me included) and I’d love to think Wane could end that.

I also thought there was a slightly mealy-mouthed response to it on the Super League Show the other night.

Like you, I suspect it was because Sir Kev's departure appears to have been part of the same deal (I mean come on, the guy's off-field role has been a meteoric success so far).

No need for a Sinfield type job with a UK based coach. I wouldn't have a problem with Watson staying on but I suppose it'll be Wane's decision if he wants an assistant.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Wane gives Sam Burgess some sort of role. He’s been a big influence on a lot of that squad, he’s involved in various roles at Souths now and he could be Wanes man over in Australia.

He maybe won’t be his main assistant but I could see him involved in some capacity.

Quite clear that Phil Clark is not a fan.

Just made an astonishing comment that went something like: "Shaun Wane only won those Grand Finals because Wigan had spent the most money."

???????

Fans of other clubs will have missed that part

Does that mean Toronto will win the Grand Final as they have spent a million more than everyone else this year?

What's cash got to do with the England job ?
He can pick a team that smashes the salary cap.

Clarke just likes to make noise to try and hang on to a job. If he believes that then I guess he’s letting a bit of the green eyed monster cloud his judgement.

I remember many years ago speaking to an old boss of mine about Wane and how he’d just got appointed as u19’s coach (or whatever his first job was in coaching). The guy knew him really well and mixed in the same circles. He couldn’t believe he’d got a coaching job, even at that level and laughed the appointment off, as though he thought he’d last a few months and get binned off. It’s safe to say he didn’t expect that one day Shaun Wane would be sat in the England coaches seat, having won 3 Grand finals, 1 Challenge cup and 1 World Club Challenge as head coach of Wigan’s first team.

Great journey and I’m chuffed that a working class lad like Shaun Wane has been able to make people eat their words.

I listened that podcast that was pointed to on another thread (?) the other day, of Wane talking. Actually the first ever podcast I ever listened to, I think! It only served to increase my respect for him, and I wish him every success, secure in the knowledge that it won't be for lack of trying.

And yeah, Gareth Widdop didn't sound too thrilled on TSLS, but then again, he is a Bennett man. Like Sinfield.

Probably because he knows his place isn't as secure as it has been under Bennett.

Yes

None of those players under Bennett and Sinfield should consider their places secure. Let's face it, they were so poor on the last tour that they brought disgrace on their country (those of them who actually are British).

The fact that Bennett was unconcerned said a lot to me. That Sinfield seemingly was as well is harder to explain, except that without a ball in his hands he seems to be pretty dim.

It's a sad state of affairs though that so-called professional pundits like Phil Clarke have also bought into the myth that Shaun Wane was a poor coach who got lucky. There were times when I used to think he actually knew something about the game.

The problem with Phil Clark is that he only has two gears, being totally boring or saying something outrageous for the sake of controversy. Like a lot of pundits these days, especially on Sky, it's clickbait stuff without any content. He might as well be on here trolling.

What was the answer to Phil’s question though?

Who appointed Wane to the role?

The RFL?

I think he wanted to know which individual had made the decision following Sinfields exit.

Waney thanked Ralph Rimmer by name in his interview on Sky

On the day Wane was signed as a player, the then Director and former player Jack Hylton told me that he was one of the best young signings the club had ever made and would be a future International.

How true was his words.