8:39pm Sunday 15th November 2009
England are set to revert to a full-time head coach following the decision of Tony Smith to step down from the role and Bulls boss and current England No 2 Steve McNamara is one of the obvious candidates to replace him.
Smith quit in the wake of England’s defeat by Australia for family reasons and to concentrate on his club role with Warrington.
The 42-year-old Australian made the decision not to seek a new contract, which runs out this month, before the start of the tournament.
The search for a new coach to lead England into the 2013 World Cup began today when a four-man panel, chaired by RFL chief executive Nigel Wood, was set up to come up with a short-list of candidates for approval by the RFL board of directors.
It is likely an appointment will be made in the new year, well ahead of the mid-season international against France and in time to give the new man the chance to prepare for the 2010 Four Nations in the southern hemisphere in October.
Smith quit his job with Leeds to go full-time with the League in 2007 but reverted to a part-time role when he joined Warrington in March after missing the weekly hands-on coaching at club level.
RFL chairman Richard Lewis said: “We’ll almost definitely make it a full-time appointment. It’s difficult to be a club coach and an international coach.”
The League may decide to advertise the job to test interest in Australia but, if they look within Super League for a successor, McNamara, John Kear (Wakefield) and Justin Morgan (Hull KR) would be in the frame, although they all have club commitments.
McNamara has been Smith’s assistant for the last three years.
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk