Welcome to Wane's world of international diplomacy

During last year’s home series against Tonga, there was a lingering suspicion England coach Shaun Wane wasn’t just engaging in public banter with his opposite number, current Dolphins mentor Kristian Woolf.

In fact you could have been forgiven for thinking Wane held Woolf, who led St Helens to three years of dominance over the Wigan club with whom he is closely associated, in actual disdain.

Twelve months later, we got our answer. 

When Wane was asked on Tuesday at the launch of a series against Samoa - which kicks off in Wigan on Sunday - if we could expect similar outbursts over the next fortnight, he reached out and patted Samoa's Ben Gardiner in the middle of on the back.

“No, no,” the 60-year-old former Great Britain forward said, “I like Ben. That’s a start.”

As a two-match series with nothing to decide who will hold the new trophy if it’s a win apiece, narratives for the England-Samoa series are so far somewhat ephemeral.

The obvious one - Samoa having eliminated England from the 2022 World Cup with a tumultuous golden point field goal - is on all the billboards but it’s a line neither team was willing to whip up to any great extent at the launch.

“Samoa, they were the better team in the semi-final - there’s no doubt about that, I’ve never said anything different,” said Wane. 

“Good people and the way they handled themselves after that loss we had, total respect to them.

“The talent they have in their team is immense, no question. But I think we’ve improved from the time we’ve spent together in our sessions, our bond has improved. You can tell when the lads get together there’s immediate spirit in there.”

Eventually, Wane the motivator managed to subvert Wane the diplomat.

“They’ve got really really good players in a fantastic competition, the NRL. But I think we’ve got better and I think this two-match series will be an improvement on last year. I was really p[leased about that last year, beating them 3-0. I was obsessed about getting that to be a 3-0 victory.”

Penrith assistant Gardiner, who has steadily worked his way up the coaching ladder since leaving Yamba two decades ago and talks about the camps as being celebrations of Christian faith as much as athletic high performance, wasn’t about to engage in a pep rally.

“The World Cup final was a game of great excitement for both teams but we’re here to play this Test match series,” he said. 

“But we’re here to play this Test match series, two very different sides to what played in 2022.

"We’ve got a number of debutants, England’s got a few debutants.

“It’s a great opportunity for both groups to show where they’re at right now and that’s what we’re planning on doing.

“The outside backs, there’s some changes there from what we had in the past so that’s an interesting one for us. We’ve got a pretty good forward pack. Having Jeremiah (Nanai) come in for us, that’s a strong addition. Shawn Blore had a pretty strong season for Melbourne in the NRL.

“We’ve got two guys there that are in form. Other than that, we’re just working on our combinations."

Samoa captain Jarome Luai described England’s whitewash of Woolf’s Mate Ma’a as “no surprise".

“We know England are a powerhouse in international footy and I know it means a lot to them," he said.

“What it is for us is a great opportunity to test ourselves with our squad. We’ve got some new squad. We’ve got some young talent over there that has been lighting up the NRL stage.

“I’m pretty excited to put that blue jersey on with my brothers and give these boys a crack.”

Asked if the two would-be debutants in his squad - Liam Marshall and Junior Nsemba - were likely to make the final cut, Wane said: “I’m not sure to be honest … but they’ve got a good chance, both of them players."

Captain George Williams said of Wigan’s Nsemba: “Hopefully Samoa, not having seen too much of him… we can roll him out and he’ll do his stuff.”