Former England international James Graham has thrown his support behind Brian McDermott to succeed Shaun Wane as head coach of the national side, while admitting he doesn\u2019t have enough \u2018runs on the board\u2019 to take up a post in the wider coaching group.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His comments come after ex-head coach Wayne Bennett tipped a partnership of Sam Burgess and Graham<\/a> to take the reins of the Test side, with Burgess serving as head coach and Graham as an assistant.<\/p>\n \u201cSam is one of the best players I\u2019ve worked with, and James Graham was outstanding during my time with him as England coach,\u201d Bennett told the Sydney Morning Herald<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cTheir passion was unbelievable, and they brought the English team a long way from where they had been. They were committed guys, great footballers, and through their leadership on and off the field, they made my job so much easier.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re young, they\u2019ve got an eye for the game, and I know what they\u2019re made of. Sam is coaching at the moment, so James could be an assistant.<\/p>\n \u201cYou just want them involved because they care and they have the respect of everybody who played during their era.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018My first instinct would be no\u2019<\/p>\n But despite being touted to make a difference within the England group come the World Cup, Graham has yet again downplayed any talk of him joining the coaching staff, admitting he feels it would be an injustice.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an interesting one, what makes a good representative coach, because you\u2019re not having to coach in its purist form, you\u2019re setting up an environment,\u201d he said on the Bye Round Podcast<\/a>. \u201cMy experience of representative football is setting up an environment and picking the right team.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve not been approached by anyone, and my first instinct would be no. I don\u2019t feel I\u2019ve got the runs on the board to take on such a serious job in such a serious tournament. Part of me feels like I would be doing an injustice, and that\u2019s the initial, genuine response. I care about England\u2019s<\/a> chances of winning, and me being in camp, is that a bit selfish?\u201d<\/p>\n However, he jokingly admitted to daydreaming about the prospect of working alongside Burgess.<\/p>\n \u201cWe all daydream about what we do and don\u2019t do, and I\u2019ve been half daydreaming about me and Sam (Burgess) just getting after each other.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018He would be my choice\u2019<\/p>\n While we will likely not see Graham take up a post within the coaching staff come the World Cup later this year, he has tipped McDermott to step in and fill the \u2018void\u2019 created by the departure of Wane earlier this month.<\/p>\n \u201cInitially, I was shocked he (Wane) stepped down. I thought what Shaun Wane was building there was enough.<\/p>\n \u201cAshes series, results-wise, not good; but was the expectation of England rugby league too high? Maybe yes. The performances, thinking back, there\u2019s not much about England\u2019s performances, with the players that are available, I don\u2019t know what more could be done.<\/p>\n \u201cWould he have liked more attacking football and troubled the Australian defence? Yes. Were there some players left out of the team that could have affected that in a more positive way? Potentially yes. But still, this has left a void with only nine or 10 months before the World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPersonally, I think Brian McDermott should get the job. He would be my choice.\u201d<\/p>\n TUESDAY\u2019S READS ON LRL<\/p>\n Jason Demetriou lays out new-look London Broncos\u2019 growth aims following bumper first crowd<\/a><\/p>\n Castleford Tigers coach offers pre-season insight as Ryan Carr impact hailed<\/a><\/p>\n Ranking the 7 best wingers in Super League ahead of 2026: Hull KR star tops billing<\/a><\/p>\n