5
Head Coach Steve McNamara
and his support team have
sought to develop the best
possible preparation for his side
in their quest to win their first
international series since 2012.
After four years of Loughborough
University being home to the
elite of English Rugby League,
McNamara believes a move to
share St George’s Park – the
training centre for The Football
Association and base for the
national football team – will
help give his team the best
possible chance of victory
against Stephen Kearney’s Kiwis.
‘I can’t speak highly enough of
what Loughborough did for our
programme,’ McNamara said.
‘We speak about England having ‘It’s brand new. The standard of
the facilities is excellent and the
an identity and it was part of
fields we’ll be training on will be
creating that identity.
exceptional. It’s very close-knit, it
involves sharing best practice
‘We’ll be sharing
with some of our other national
teams, and it’s England branded.
best practice
with our other
national teams.’
‘We’ve done really well and
progressed a lot, but if we want
to win we need to find a little bit
more. It is our duty of care to
provide the very best
opportunities for the players to
stand a chance of winning, and
by moving to St George’s Park I
believe we’ve done that.
‘I’ve been looking at this for a
length of time; it wasn’t right 12
months ago but it’s right now. It’s
got a great feel about it.’
The squad will also get the
chance to train alongside Roy
Hodgson’s England side and
McNamara will encourage his
players to learn and develop
alongside their football
counterparts.