shaun mcrae??? Hanley???

Not a bad call. Has had international experience as conditioner to both the Aussies and Kiwis.

Has Shaun Edwards ever coached rugby league?

His name is been banded about but whats he ever proven in RL in a coaching capacity? (to some extent i question what he's achieved in RU too)

I dont think he has ever coached an RL team. Captained a few very good ones.

That was my point really. Why should he be given the opportunity to coach England RL and what has he done that makes people think he'd be good at it? Or is it simply desperation because we have no other options?

Not really Dave. Kearney had only spent a year as a coaching assistant before becoming a national coach. With some players you just know they have what it takes to make that step and I reckon Edwards ticks most boxes.

Kearney has a real presence though doesnt he and has coached in an informal capacity through his playing career.

The arguement is probably irrelevant anyway as we couldnt afford to lure Edwards from Union.

It probably is irrelevant but a person of this ilk surrounded by quality personnel has to be the way forward.

Its similar to Mal Meninga and his role of head coach of Queensland. No real coaching experience but a legend in the game surrounded by fellow Queensland legends. Always seems to work for them!!!

Joe Lydon for me, proven ability , a true gentleman , great motivator and knows RL inside out. and we need him back in RL
However as he is not employed right now I would suggest that the glaring choice for 99% of us would be Hanley ..... already proven at most levels

Its not down to SOO or the coaches its simply that the Oz lads have a larger pool of class players to pull from as their junior areas upwards make ours look thrid world never mind third class.
Non of this crap about overseas players diluting the game here as the NRL is half full of samoans , kiwis etc its simply that their development from 8s and up is world class and ours does not exist!!

and lets be fair RL is almost the Oz national sport so they are bound to have a bigger pool to choose from .
we are not that far behind but we do struggle outside our first choice 20 or so dont we

I would like McRae to do it. I think he should of got the job last time when he was interviewed.

However, I think we have a far more deep-rooted problem then who coaches the national side. The main concern for me is the quality of material that we give the guy to work with. At the minute we just dont produce the players to give anyone the chance to coach a good side. Physically we seem to be catching up a bit but skill wise and athletically we are light-years away. I really think they should work from the ground up this time, get the youth development right.

Bet Justine's putting his c.v. together at this very moment.

Wouldnt let McRae any where near it either...talks a good game but delivers sod all.

Ideal candidate IMO. Media-friendly, good at getting the most out of what resources he has, a fresh approach, no expectations (as we've been rubbish for decades) and a nice salary top-up. Plus during the SL season not much more work than what he already does for the BBC/Sky.

Plus he gets himself on the tv even more,what more could a media whore want.

Welsh isnt he?

Quote ="Big Dave T"Welsh isnt he? '" Morgan and Kear the frontrunners according to the Telegraph: www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyl ... coach.html The Australian-born coach's decision to step down has led to Hull Kingston Rovers counterpart Justin Morgan and Wakefield's John Kear being linked with the position, which the RFL will seek to fill on a full-time basis following Smith's part-time tenure.

Quote ="Big Dave T"Welsh isnt he? '" Morgan and Kear the frontrunners according to the Telegraph: www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyl ... coach.html The Australian-born coach's decision to step down has led to Hull Kingston Rovers counterpart Justin Morgan and Wakefield's John Kear being linked with the position, which the RFL will seek to fill on a full-time basis following Smith's part-time tenure.

Quote ="Mrs Barista"Morgan and Kear the frontrunners according to the Telegraph: www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyl ... coach.html The Australian-born coach's decision to step down has led to Hull Kingston Rovers counterpart Justin Morgan and Wakefield's John Kear being linked with the position, which the RFL will seek to fill on a full-time basis following Smith's part-time tenure. '" So the welsh/aussie Morgan is a favourite to take over from the British/Aussie Tony Smith. Serious issues with coaching in the british game i think.

Quote ="Mrs Barista"Morgan and Kear the frontrunners according to the Telegraph: www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyl ... coach.html The Australian-born coach's decision to step down has led to Hull Kingston Rovers counterpart Justin Morgan and Wakefield's John Kear being linked with the position, which the RFL will seek to fill on a full-time basis following Smith's part-time tenure. '" So the welsh/aussie Morgan is a favourite to take over from the British/Aussie Tony Smith. Serious issues with coaching in the british game i think.

Bet he wishes he'd not bothered with that British citizenship ceremony now.

Picture this....Justine steps down from the Dobbs after Chrimbo....FC make a shocking start to the season and Moore takes over....That leave the way clear for Agar to cross the river and take charge.......

I hate to admit it but we could do a lot worse than Justine. Not sure how Hudg would take to losing their only asset and the one man who has taken them from has beens to contenders. It would take a great deal to prise him away, but when times are hard.....

A very good post throughout imo particularly the part about the popularity of the sport. In Australia they like physical contact sports - Rugby, Aussie Rules and League are all big whereas soccer is still developing. Here, all other games play second fiddle to soccer.

Yes and yes, the two main reasons and appointing a new coach wont change this i'm afraid.

Throw money at the right coaches at junior level, teach them the skills early and teach them to Win and be Winners from 6 upwards (within reason) Stop this "taking part rubbish".

The key is at your local club but will we ever unlock it, we have johny's dad coaching them and freds dad assistant coach and water bottle man, great guys doing there best but is it good enough ?????

Start from the bottom and work up, and that means taking a step back but its the only way.

as a youth coach i gotta disagree - development does exist, just on a much smaller scale. there are clubs that have kids as young as 5 learning the game, and lots of dedicated coaches prepared to teach them. the problem lies that RL in this country is a minority sport and the majority of kids want to play soccer or RU. hardly any schools teach rugby until secondary, and then its mainly RU. you can bet that aussie kids get RL as soon as they start school. Everybody wants us to compete with and beat the best but what are people prepared to do about it other than bleat on these boards that we are no nearer to the aussies. get your boots out and get out in the community and do something about it.