Sam Burgess to help England’s RL aces in forthcoming Tonga Test series
SAM Burgess will add his own magic to England’s attempt to topple Tonga in the forthcoming Test series.
The dual-code star heads back to his homeland next month after being named as Warrington’s head coach from next season.
But he will first join Shaun Wane’s squad to pass on the benefits of an iconic playing career, as well as help out in training.
The national boss, who will also have Sam Tomkins involved, said: “Sam’s a very proud Englishman and a legend of a fella, so he’ll be coming in to meet the players and join in training.
“He’ll be coming in and having a chat, being in and around the squad and watching video.
“He’s trying to get into head coaching himself, so he’s an open mind who wants to improve and he thinks he can get better if he comes in camp with us.”
England face Tonga, now one of the world’s powerhouses, at St Helens, Huddersfield and Leeds as they look to bounce back from last year’s World Cup semi-final loss to Samoa.
And things will have changed, not least as former Warrington star Lee Briers, who looks like helping NRL side Brisbane to their Grand Final, will be on board as an assistant.
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Soul searching and hard self-assessment will also play a part as Wane added: “As soon as we lost that semi-final, I was thinking about the team and bench I picked. The changes I made during the game and how the week was set up – did we train too hard or not hard enough?
“We’ve really analysed within what we need to change and hopefully we’ve come up with the right answers and we’ll make those changes in this Test series.
“Winning the first match against Samoa so easily did some damage, no question. I know it’s nice to win the game but Samoa were always better than what they showed and they proved that.
“Lesson learned and hopefully we won’t see that again.”
SunSport understands six of England’s NRL-based players will be involved – including Elliott Whitehead, who thought the semi-final defeat was his final international appearance.
Dom Young, Herbie Farnworth, Tom Burgess, Victor Radley and John Bateman are also likely to be picked, while a couple of players Down Under have put themselves forward.
And Briers’ involvement may add a new dimension as Wane added: “He’s a very smart coach and a really good bloke. He’ll bring us a lot and he wants to be involved, he’s that one who pushed it.
“It doesn’t surprise me he’s doing so well in the NRL. He thinks simple, he doesn’t complicate things and Brisbane are seeing the benefits, no question.
“You can see from the way the Broncos play the influence he’s having.
“He’ll add attacking quality. He’s a smart coach, I know his attacking prowess and he’ll bring that to England and the lads will love him.”