TEN minutes may not seem a long time in the grand scheme of things, but when it comes to a Rugby League match it really can make all the difference.
And that is a difference England coach Stuart Barrow will have to navigate after confirmation that Sunday’s Test match against Australia will follow the NRLW rules and be played over 70 minutes, rather than the 80 minutes that most of his squad are used to in Super League.
The team fly out to Nevada tomorrow (Tuesday) to face the world champions for the first time since the 2017 World Cup, and Barrow admits that the shorter game time has been at the forefront of his mind during much of their recent preparations.
“That ten minutes does make a difference to the game and how I have to approach it,” Barrow told League Express.
“A 70-minute game has always been a consideration for us as a coaching group and we have spoken a lot about it.
“It will affect how we use players off the bench and that had an impact on the squad because we had to look at the balance we needed for those rotations. We have also had to look at what we want to be doing at certain periods of the game and that has affected our preparations.
“We all know that the NRLW is a fast competition and some of that is down to them only playing for 70 minutes, so we have to match that intensity.
“We should be able to as we’re so used to playing for 80 minutes. Losing ten minutes is probably easier than trying to gain ten minutes and I am hoping that the girls know that they can go out there and play quicker and faster than they are used to.
“They all ready for it and I have to thank the Super League clubs for their cooperation.”
Cutting his initial 31-player training group down to the 20 that will be on the plane was a tough task for Barrow, but it’s one that he expects to be even tougher at the end of the year, when more Ashes Tests and the 2026 World Cup are looming on the horizon.
“We had 31 great players training but that could have been 40 ahead of this game, and getting that down to 20 was really tough,” added Barrow.
“In previous years the 20 would’ve probably selected themselves but now it’s a real challenge for me and it’s only going to get harder going forward.
“With what is coming up in the next couple of years there will be more players emerging that want to be a part of it.
“In my previous role as head of pathways, that was always the aim, and that is what’s happening now, which is making my role as the national head coach harder and harder.”