ENGLAND are preparing to face New Zealand in the Physical Disability Rugby League World Cup Final tomorrow ¬– but it is being considered that the results are not the most important element of this inaugural tournament in Warrington.
The two nations are scheduled to meet in the decider at The Halliwell Jones Stadium on Sunday, kick-off 7pm, after the crunch men’s group game between France and Samoa.
This follows three rounds of qualifying matches staged at Victoria Park Stadium, concluding yesterday when unbeaten England defeated the Kiwis 50-2 and Wales overhauled TV personality Adam Hills’ Australian team 34-20 in front of a third successive packed crowd.
While England manager Shaun Briscoe, who is commercial account manager at Warrington Wolves, is proud of his players for their performances and achievements so far, he continues to pinch himself that the event is happening – and entirely on soil where the PDRL game was established as well.
“Regardless of results, the fact that this tournament is actually happening is fantastic, providing a chance for people to partake in a sport that they never thought they’d be able to and at an international level too,” said Briscoe, a former England international full-back who had an 11-year playing career with Wigan, Hull, Hull KR and Widnes Vikings.
“It’s fantastic too that it’s happening in Warrington because this is where the first ever game was played. The first exhibition game was played at The Halliwell Jones Stadium when Adam Hills came along.
“From the work that Neil Kelly and Craig Thomason put in with the Warrington Wolves Foundation at the start, it’s gained momentum and more teams are coming in. So to have this and the support of Hillsy as well, it has been brilliant and it’s a pleasure to be involved in.
“The results don’t really matter. Yes, it’s nice to win, but the most important thing is we’re providing an opportunity for people to play sport.”
He added: “The turnout has been brilliant for all the games. The main stand looked full again at Victoria Park on Friday and there was people all along the barriers.
“It’s great that people are getting to see this sport, and they can tell somebody else about it when they go home – about how much of a spectacle it is. Obviously, growing the attendances also makes more people aware and then we’ll get more participants playing the game.”
Briscoe continued: “Being head coach of England for this tournament is a privilege. There’s some amazing stories among the lads, and it’s the way that they’ve all come together as one despite what clubs they’re at and regardless of their disability. And it’s the same with the staff as well, they’ve all been fantastic.
“Everyone’s helped look after each other and made sure that everyone’s in the right spirit and mindset to push us forward to give them the best opportunity through preparation as we can.”
That togetherness and care for each other was on show among the England players in Friday’s win against New Zealand.
On at least two occasions players who made breaks and were set to score certain tries handed over possession to a teammate so that they could enjoy the thrill of touching down for their country in the world cup.
Warrington Wolves players Tony Seward and Adam Morris scored the first and last tries in England’s victory.
While the opportunity for players to showcase their skills and courage is the overriding factor of this PDRL World Cup, the event bringing nations together in this version of the sport for the first time has not been without its complications.
Injuries left New Zealand with only eight players able to continue in the second half of Friday’s clash, and following a long half-time break the match continued as eight-a-side instead of the usual 11-a-side.
And organisers stepped in to reverse the result of the round one game between Wales and New Zealand last Sunday for administrative reasons, meaning the Kiwis were declared the winners although they lost on the day 28-26.
That decision, along with the Kiwis going on to defeat Australia in Tuesday’s second round, leaves New Zealand facing England in tomorrow’s final.
Briscoe did not wish to discuss all of these details but he did say: “Asking anybody to play three games in six days is a welfare issue. It’s not something I want to talk too much about now but that is something that needs to be addressed and probably should have been addressed before the competition. But we don’t make the rules, we just get told what to play.
“You do learn as you go but I think there’s lessons that should have been learned from previous things.”
He added: “I don’t think it’s been publicised, but New Zealand’s result against Wales was reversed and New Zealand won – because of a classification issue with Wales. We were told that result was reversed, so our game against New Zealand on Friday was more or less a dead rubber. I’m assuming we’re preparing for New Zealand in the final.”
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