By JOHN DAVIDSON
MARC SNEYD says he loved every minute of his England debut against France but knows they must improve if they are to lift the World Cup.
England notched their second tournament victory with a 42-18 result over the French in Bolton.
“I loved every minute of it,” Sneyd said.
“It was just incredible to be out there and get the job done, get the win. Obviously, the performance weren’t as good as last week, but again you’re in a tournament and a win’s a win. You’re one step closer to that next level.”
Sneyd partnered George Williams in the halves and gave a solid and calm performance, setting up several tries with his kicking game.
“That’s just the way I am,” he said.
“That’s part of my game, being a level-headed player around the pitch and let the maverick-style players do their bit. I thought my first stint was alright.
“Shaun (Wane) said just be me, play me. It’s no secret that a big part of my game is my kicking and probably the organising and being that talking person on the field. Just do my best to stick to what I do best.”
The Salford halfback admitted to finding international Rugby League much quicker than in Super League.
“It was pretty quick out there,” he said.
“The hardest thing is trying to connect with brand-new players so quickly. That’s probably the thing that I found most difficult, but obviously with the more game-time I get, the more training with them the better I’ll get.
“We clicked more as the game went on, when it just got naturally slower. It was never going to be 100 miles an hour for 80 minutes.
“The slower the game the calmer everyone else was on the field. That second half was a way lot better than the first.”
Sneyd revealed coached Shaun Wane gave the team a dressing down at half-time.
“He wasn’t too happy,” said Sneyd.
“But he had every right to be upset. We probably knew it was going to happen. If Shaun hadn’t done it, then I think some of the more experienced players would have done it.
“We probably needed it because that first half, although we were in front, it was probably a tale of two halves. The first was perfection in every little thing we did and then the second 20 minutes of the first half were way off.
“We got comfortable too early. So it’s something to work on.”
Sneyd believes there is more improvement to come from England, who face Greece next.
“We know we’re a lot better than that. But we’ve just put 42 points on a decent France side, so we can’t be too upset. An now we move on to Greece.
“Greece will be out there to give us a dig. They’ll be full of enthusiasm and they’ll try and upset the party.
“They’re obviously the underdogs going into the game, so sometimes being the underdog can help teams be more enthusiastic. We just have to not allow that to happen.”
