Brian McDermott believes England can win the World Cup this autumn – but only if they stop trying to beat the Southern Hemisphere nations at their own game.

WITH four Grand Final wins, a World Club Challenge crown, two Challenge Cup trophies and a League Leaders’ Shield under his belt, it’s hard to disagree that Brian McDermott is one of the most successful coaches of the modern era.

Add to that the three Super League titles and League Leaders’ Shields, two Challenge Cups and another World Club Challenge victory as a player with Bradford Bulls, and it’s clear that McDermott knows how to win when it really matters.

But one thing has so far eluded him – success on an international level.

Having already coached the USA and been part of Fiji’s coaching staff at previous World Cup tournaments, the former Leeds Rhinos coach is about to embark on perhaps his toughest challenge to date.

McDermott, who is currently assistant coach to Josh Hannay at Gold Coast Titans, has been named as Shaun Wane’s successor to lead England in this Autumn’s World Cup.

Wane left his role soon after last Autumn’s 3-0 Ashes series defeat to Australia, where, despite the whitewash, England showed, in glimpses, that they could compete with the best nation in world rugby league.

Those performances have given McDermott hope that England can prove themselves a leading light in the international game – but he also knows that can only happen if they take a different approach into the tournament than other countries.

“With the strength of some of the emerging nations like Tonga and Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and the Cook Islands, the international game is certainly growing, and it is getting better,” said McDermott, who emphasised his plans using a decade-old boxing tale.

“England is an integral part of the international scene, and we’d like to be as strong as we can.

“Some of that is to do with how we play on the field, and some of that is about what the organisation supporting the team looks like, as well as how much investment goes into it.

“The gap between England and Australia is certainly bridgeable, but you’ve got to have a plan in place that is specific to the UK players and the level of preparation that they are going to have based on the competition that they’re playing in.

“Tyson Fury beat Wladimir Klitschko in 2015, and Fury was unapologetic in his admission that he didn’t have as strong a right hand as Klitschko did. So he openly admitted he wasn’t going to stand in front of Wladimir and trade punches.

“Fury knew he had to do something differently, so he employed a game plan that Wladimir wasn’t used to, and he got the job done.

“I’ve got a tremendous amount of respect for Australia, New Zealand and the emerging nations that are becoming stronger – they’re all quality teams – but I just don’t think England should copy and paste the way they are playing.

“I truly believe that the World Cup is winnable, but not if we’re going to stand in front of Wladimir Klitschko and lie to ourselves and say that our right hand is as strong as his.

“We can absolutely win, but we have to do some things differently.

“We pushed Australia all the way in the Ashes and had them rattled in parts of games; we just didn’t do it for long enough.

“Historically, the international team, be it England or Great Britain, has got to the point in games where we’ve been trading punches with teams like Australia, before they then break away.

“I don’t want to talk up the NRL too much, but now I’m over here, my admiration and my respect for British players has gone through the roof because I can see what advantages the NRL-based players have got over them.

“The fact that our international team gets close in games is just astonishing, and it makes me immensely proud.

“With a little bit of smart thinking, a little bit of concentration when the game gets tired, and with a specific game plan, I’m more than confident we can get the job done.”

Getting the job done will certainly come with a fair amount of challenges though – not least the limited preparation time the squad will have together ahead of the opening game against Tonga in Perth on Saturday, 17th October.

That is something of unknown territory for former Harlequins coach McDermott, who, after eight hugely successful seasons with Leeds Rhinos, went on to lead Toronto Wolfpack to promotion to Super League before a season with Featherstone Rovers in 2022.

Added to this, the fact that McDermott is now based in Australia, having initially joined Newcastle Knights ahead of the 2023 season, means that England’s preparations are far from ideal – but for McDermott, who has only been handed the job on a part-time basis for the upcoming tournament and not yet beyond, those challenges are simply part of the job – a job he feels honoured to take on.

“I don’t feel like it’s really a job, it’s just a huge privilege,” added McDermott, who as a player was one quarter of the ‘Awesome Foursome’ of forwards when the Bulls were at their Super League peak.

“I get to work with the best athletes and players in the UK and a good bunch of blokes as well.

“I could go on about how proud I am, and what it means to me personally to take this job on, but I’ll just say I feel immensely privileged. Anything is irrelevant because I have got a job to do.

“It’s not an ideal preparation for a World Cup, but I don’t think any other team is getting any extended period of time together either.

“Yes, the job comes with challenges, and you’ve got to have a plan which is accurate to the UK, accurate to British-based players and accurate to a team that largely comes from a competition which is very different to the NRL.

“Not being based in the UK will have its challenges as well, but in the world of the internet nowadays I can still watch games, see the clips I need to see and see the vision that I need to see.

“Even without being the England coach, I was watching enough Super League from over here anyway to know what’s happening.

“I’m not coming in as a director of football or somebody that stands back while the assistants coach – I’m here to coach.

“We have to play to a specific plan, and it’s a plan that I really do believe is going to work. That needs coaching into the players in as much time we’ve got together, or haven’t got together, so I’ve got to be pretty efficient with that.

“The bonds that I had with players at clubs were generated over two and three seasons together. You go through a range of experiences together, whether you win big or lose big; the players realise the coach is there for the long haul, keeps backing them and keeps consistent with his messages – that’s how you get those bonds.

“That’s harder to get over a short period of time, but that’s not to say that we can’t generate those bonds and we’ve just got to do it really quickly. Again, it’ll come down to the coaching.

“If we’re going to go deep into the tournament, we have to have a really good bond with each other. It can’t just be grabbing hold of the badge and shouting aggressively so that the optics look good.

“We’re talking about true connections and a true bond with each other. I can’t tell you what that is right now because I need to speak to the players, but I do know through dialogue throughout the year, we’ll get closer to it.”

So now we know who is taking charge for the trip down under in October, thoughts will turn to who will be on the plane alongside McDermott once the 2026 domestic season comes to a close.

Wane came in for much criticism after not selecting Man of Steel Jake Connor to face Australia last year, but McDermott could prove to be the Leeds star’s international saviour, stating: “The rhetoric and the narrative around Jake last year was tremendously unfair.

“He’s a tremendous player, he’s a game-breaker, and he is absolutely in my thoughts for the World Cup.”

As well as Connor, another player that could come into contention is Brisbane Broncos front-rower Ben Talty, who qualifies for England through his grandparents and is keen to follow in the likes of Victor Radley and AJ Brimson in representing his heritage rather than his birthplace.

While some people may not like the heritage rule in the game, it is something McDermott is happy to explore if it is going to make his squad stronger and more competitive in the sport’s toughest tournament.

“If international rules say that heritage players can play for England, then they can play for England,” he added.

“Ben might be extremely proud of his heritage; he may love the ground that his grandparents walk on and want to represent that, so who are we to say that’s not the right thing?

“When Maurie Fa’asavalu played for England years ago, I made the mistake of thinking games were Super League against the NRL, but it’s not.

“We’re representing England as a nation, against other nations, and if someone wants to represent that nation because of their heritage, it’s not for anybody else to make a judgement on that.”

First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 521 (June 2026)