Former England captain Jamie Peacock is urging the Rugby Football League to give Steve McNamara the opportunity to finish the job of turning England into world-beaters.
The first batch of England players began the journey home from New Zealand on Monday following the team’s failure to reach the final of the 2014 Four Nations Series.
Narrow back-to-back defeats at the hands of Australia and New Zealand, who will contest Saturday’s final in Wellington, resulted in an all-too familiar outcome for the national team, who lost in the last 20 seconds of the World Cup semi-final 12 months ago and have not won a major series since Great Britain thrashed a weakened Kiwis touring team in 2007.
Although McNamara remains under contract for another 12 months, his position has been undermined by a record of just one win in nine matches against the southern hemisphere heavyweights since he succeeded Tony Smith in 2010.
Another former national captain, Garry Schofield, has called for McNamara to stand down, with Castleford’s Daryl Powell his choice to take over, while Wigan’s Shaun Wane and Brian McDermott of Leeds, have been touted for the job.
However, Peacock, who won 30 caps for England and Great Britain before retiring from the international game in 2012, is convinced McNamara remains the right man for the job after laying the foundations for success and believes the visit of New Zealand for a three-match Test series next year can help him prove it.
“It’s an exciting time for that team when you look how many players are world class and how many are on the cusp of being world class,” Peacock told PA.
“That’s testimony to the environment that Steve McNamara and his coaching staff have created over the last five years to enable players to reach their potential.
“As a coach, you’ve got to get the performance right and I feel this team is as competitive with the southern hemisphere sides as any we’ve had over the last 15 years.
“I came back from the 2008 World Cup with a sense that we were a million miles away and also when I looked at the team in 2010 I thought England were some way away from beating New Zealand and Australia.
“Now that clearly isn’t the case any more.
“We were 20 seconds away from a World Cup final and a finger tip away from beating Australia. There’s a fine line, we’re not a million miles away.
“The squad will be a year older and a year wiser against New Zealand next year and I think that is a series Steve needs to win.
“This team is going to flourish. There is an opportunity, especially with Australia being in transition, for England to become a great side in the next five or six years.”
