McNamara confirmed as England boss

Ian Laybourn,Pa
Wednesday 21 April 2010 07:10 EDT
Comments
(GETTY IMAGES)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Steve McNamara was today named as the new England coach.

The 38-year-old former Great Britain forward was, as expected, named as the successor to Tony Smith at a news conference in Manchester after being his assistant for the last three years.

McNamara will initially combine the role with his current position as head coach of Bradford and will go full-time once his contract with the Bulls expires at the end of the season.

He will be joined on the England coaching team by Australian Brian Smith, who is head coach of Sydney Roosters and the older brother of Tony.

"I think it's everyone's dream as a young boy growing up to play for your country or maybe sometimes coach your country and I'm proud to get the privilege to do that," McNamara said.

Although, Richard Agar (Hull), Brian McDermott (Bradford) and Denis Betts (Gloucester) were also interviewed, McNamara was the first choice of the Rugby Football League, according to chief executive Nigel Wood.

"It has been a long and thorough process but throughout it all it was clear that Steve McNamara was the right man for the job," he said.

"Steve has shown an appetite to develop both personally and to help develop English coaching."

McNamara said he had sought the assistance of Brian Smith, who was his coach at both Hull and Bradford and will act as a mentor in the way that fellow Australian Wayne Bennett aided New Zealand's successful 2008 World Cup campaign.

Smith, who will only become hands-on during the end-of-season Four Nations series in Australia and New Zealand, said: "Working with England is not something I ever saw myself doing but I feel honoured to be involved.

"My first goal is to bring whatever Steve McNamara requires of me - if I have it - and help him with the day-to-day aspects of coaching.

"I'll also be updating Steve with the general trends in coaching Down Under and keeping him informed about the players in Australia and New Zealand."

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in