McNamara predicts bright future for England
England coach Steve McNamara believes that the signs are strong for more success for his team in the near future.
England ended an eight-year drought with a 2-1 series win over New Zealand at Wigan on Saturday.
The Four Nations will be held on British soil next year with Australia, the Kiwis and Scotland all involved, alongside the English.
England will welcome back Sam Burgess, George Burgess and Sam Tomkins into the fold in 2016 and McNamara believes the future is bright for this current group of players.
“We’ve got quality and experience to add to our group,” he said.
“We’ve got a good, young bunch that is ready to play for a number of years so the signs are pretty strong for us moving forward, particularly now we’ve got across the line.”
McNamara, who is off contract at the end of the series but is expected to re-sign with England, said it is an “incredible feeling” to get the series victory.
“The players completely deserve it after working tirelessly,” the England coach said.
“Success hasn’t until this point come for the team but thankfully they’ve finally got what they deserve.
“New Zealand are the number one team in the world and have dominated international rugby league in a physical sense.
“We’ve been able to match that in three consecutive games. I don’t think I’ve seen three games with as much attrition in them as these three.
“At times the games lacked a little bit of quality in terms of finesse but the conditions have really dictated that.”
McNamara’s decision to bring in Matty Smith and Jermaine McGillvary added the spark that England needed.
Smith added organization and a fine kicking game, while McGillvary was undaunted and tremendous on debut, running strongly and catching a key kick over his own line.
New Zealand coach Stephen Kearney felt more disappointed than frustrated with the result.
“Today’s contest was a bit like the whole tournament – a real see-saw affair,” he said.
“We didn’t play our best game today but what I did like is they had some real resolve about the group.
“We just made life hard for ourselves but I don’t want to take anything away from England.
“They’ve been wonderful the whole tournament.”