Shaun Wane admits England are motivated by ‘revenge’ ahead of the French clash

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The Super League season takes its second break in the month of June as eyes turn to the England national team. England take on France in a mid-season international next weekend, which will be held at the Stade Ernest-Wallon in Toulouse as part of France’s celebrations of 90 years of Rugby League.

Wane’s side were last seen in the series against Tonga at the end of the 2023 series. England were victorious, winning the series 3–0 in matches played in Wigan, Huddersfield and Leeds. The match also represented the first major series played since the 2021 Rugby League World Cup, where England exited a heartbreaking semi-final in the golden point against Samoa.

Samoa travels to England for a post-season tour later this year. Wane and his players will be keen to put in a strong performance to dispel some of the bad memories of the World Cup. They are also looking forward to a possible Ashes series in 2025 and a World Cup in 2026.

Now Wane has given his thoughts ahead of the series, with payback being the top priority.

Wane admits revenge is a motivation for England

Credit: Imago Images

Speaking to the sportsman, Wane admitted that payback is on his mind as they look ahead to the end-of-season Test series against Samoa. The match against France is England’s only competitive match ahead of the Samoa series as they look to ramp up preparations for a possible Ashes series in 2025.

When asked if revenge was a major motivating factor for his side, Wane said:

“Yes, a little, there’s no doubt about that. I don’t think I’ve ever felt as sad and hurt as I did at the end of that match. How it ended, they were the best team, we were poor.

“No excuses from us, but it took a lot of effort to get over it. I’m very bad, what now? And I don’t think about things, but I did think about that. It was hard to get over, and it still is because we just undersold ourselves, I wasn’t good enough, the players weren’t good enough in the most important game of my career.

“So there was a lot of soul searching, with looking at what I did being the first big thing we did. So to get them into this game there’s no denying there’s going to be an element of that team outside of us.

“They beat us fair and square. I don’t know if we gained a bit of confidence after the first game against them in the World Cup, but I knew they would come back. There were too many good players on that team, and that ultimately bit us.”