Knights head coach Anderson was impressed by what he saw from the Knights as they recorded a comfortable win over the Reggae Warriors. “It’s exciting for the future of our game,” he said
Last Updated: 15/10/21 10:53pm
Paul Anderson was impressed by what he saw from the Knights against Jamaica
Paul Anderson was delighted with his young England Knights side after they provided an exciting glimpse of the potential in the national set-up with a 56-4 rout of Jamaica at Castleford.
Anderson used the fixture to take a look at the players who might well feature at the 2025 Rugby League World Cup, fielding a team with an average age of 21, and he was greatly encouraged by their 10-try victory.
However, the former Great Britain international believes senior team head coach Shaun Wane, who was among the spectators at the Mend-A-Hose Jungle, will have seen several players capable of making an impact in next year’s postponed 2021 World Cup as well.
“I’m really pleased,” Anderson said. “It’s exciting for the future of our game.
“Shaun was here with the senior squad and I’m sure he’s picked a lot of things out of this – there are some people who may well force his hand next year.”
Among those to impress was stand-off Will Pryce, the 18-year-old son of former Great Britain international Leon Pryce, who scored 18 points with a try and seven goals from eight attempts to win the man-of-the-match award.
“It’s something you dream about, scoring a try for England,” Huddersfield Giants teenager Pryce said. “I was buzzing.
“Everyone dug really deep and played for each other. We talked about working really hard and off the back of that enjoying ourselves. In the second half we started to throw the ball about and really enjoy ourselves.”
Former Leeds Rhinos winger Ben Jones-Bishop scored Jamaica’s only try and lead coach Jermaine Coleman conceded it was not the performance he was looking for in the build-up to their maiden World Cup appearance
“I’m a little bit disappointed, to be honest,” Coleman said. “It’s probably the first time I’m going to say this about the group, I thought we gave in a little bit, we lacked a bit of effort in the second half.
“It’s a harsh lesson to learn but something we needed to learn as we prepare for the World Cup next year. The intensity is going to go up another level and it’s important our boys are exposed to that.”
Jermaine Coleman felt Jamaica were taught a harsh lesson against the Knights
Coleman hopes full-back James Woodburn-Hall will be fit for Jamaica’s next match, against Scotland at Featherstone a week on Sunday, after going off with a head knock in the first half and he also expects to have Toulouse hooker Lloyd White and Sheffield half-back Izaac Farrell available.
While Jamaica have only a week to wait for the next match, Anderson must wait to discover when his side’s next fixture will be.
“That’s us for the year,” Anderson said. “They’ve had a taste and hopefully we can get more regular football for these young players.”
