England boss Shaun Wane beams over ‘brilliant’ Leeds Rhinos star: ‘I rate him highly’
Harry Newman in action for England - Alamy
Shaun Wane has shared big praise for Harry Newman, saying the Leeds Rhinos star has been ‘so enjoyable to coach’ whilst in the England camp.
Newman made his international debut for England this autumn, and has played in both of their wins over Tonga in the three-match test series so far.
The 23-year-old, who has scored 26 tries in 76 appearances for the Rhinos, has come under heavy praise from his England coach Wane ahead of their third and final test match against Tonga at the AMT Headingley Rugby on Saturday.
“He’s been brilliant,” Wane said of Newman in his pre-match press conference at Headingley on Tuesday.
“He’s been fantastic and so enjoyable to coach.
“He’ll be in for a tough time tonight when we go through his video but he did a lot of good things and I rate him highly.
“The way he’s changed, and behaving the way I wanted him to, credit to the Rhinos but they’re getting a player back who’ll be a lot more accomplished.
“He’ll be a lot more steady and knows what his job is, and all the staff have done a great job with him.”
A long England career ahead for Harry Newman?
Given the absence of injured Brisbane Broncos star Herbie Farnworth, Newman took his England opportunity with both hands this autumn and hasn’t looked out of place against Tonga, who boast a squad full of NRL players.
Asked if he could have a long England career ahead, Wane replied: “Yeah – I hope so. He’s really enjoyable to coach, he listens to me and the other staff.
“He’s a great character to have around the training ground and around the hotel, and he’s played well.
“But there’s massive improvements in him yet which he’ll know about later tonight. We’ll have a good chat and you’ll see an even better player on Saturday.”
Series whitewash would be ‘fantastic’ for English rugby league, says Shaun Wane
England are aiming for a 3-0 series whitewash this weekend, having beaten Tonga 22-18 and 14-4 respectively in the first two games in St Helens and Huddersfield respectively.
“It’d be fantastic for our game,” Wane said asked about 3-0 being a statement.
“They’re fifth in the rankings, they’ve got a lot of great athletes who play in the NRL.
“I watch the NRL, I know what they’ve got in the team, but the way my lads have stood up to that physicality, we’ve shown a lot of English spirit and that’s what I’m most proud of.
“I imagine they’re motivated in the Tonga camp too so it’ll be a physical game that, too.”