Monday 3 February 2020 17:34, UK
Shaun Wane has been appointed head coach of the England men's rugby league team on a two-year contract - including this year's home Ashes series and culminating in the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.
Wane returns to rugby league after spending the last year working as high-performance coach for Scottish Rugby and takes over from Australian Wayne Bennett.
The 55-year-old was head coach of Wigan, his hometown club for whom he made 149 appearances as a player, from 2011-18 - a period in which the Warriors won three Super League titles, reached five Grand Finals at Old Trafford, won the Challenge Cup at Wembley in 2013, and were crowned World Club Champions in 2017.
Wane said: "I am honoured to be appointed head coach of my country's national team at such an exciting and important time for rugby league in England.
"Everyone who knows me knows that I've always loved the game of rugby league and been proud of British rugby league.
"I'm looking forward so much to starting work with the outstanding rugby league players we have in this country and also the guys who have enjoyed success in Australia in recent years, to do all we can to win the World Cup next year."
The decision to appoint Wane, and end Bennett's four years as head coach of England and Great Britain, followed a review into all aspects of last autumn's Great Britain tour - which had always been planned midway through the four-year World Cup cycle.
The RFL Board believed that "a full-time, UK-based Head Coach is the best outcome of that review for the two years leading to the World Cup, in which England's major matches will all be played at home".
Ralph Rimmer, the chief executive of the Rugby Football League, said: "We think this is an exciting appointment that will be welcomed by England rugby league supporters as we prepare for this year's Ashes series, and the 2021 Rugby League World Cup.
"Shaun is passionate about the game and his country, and also an outstanding coach, as shown by his record in eight seasons as Wigan's head coach, a major feature of which was the success he and the club had in developing so many homegrown players."
