Coach Wane Expresses Delight Over Herbie Farnworth’s English Nationality

England secured a series whitewash against Samoa, with head coach Shaun Wane expressing his sentiment that he was “just glad” Herbie Farnworth is English. The Dolphins centre was a key figure in his country’s 2-0 Test series triumph over Samoa. Farnworth contributed two tries and an assist for Jack Welsby during Saturday’s match at Headingley. His strong performance followed an earlier starring role and try in the initial game between the teams at Wigan last Sunday. Wane commented on Farnworth’s performance, stating, “He’s been outstanding in both games.” The coach further added, “He has been the standout player in the series and he’s a really good person and professional. He is a credit to Dolphins and NRL I am just glad he is English.” Wane also noted Farnworth’s dedication, saying, “He’s trained well. He had a bit of a personal problem this week and missed a session. To come back and perform like that, he’s a credit and is very easy to coach.” Last Sunday, Farnworth surpassed all other England players by covering 204 metres. His remarkable footwork and capacity to offload while under pressure were once again evident in Leeds. The 24-year-old secured his initial try of the afternoon by eluding two potential tacklers and resisting the tackle attempt from Samoa captain Jarome Luai. His subsequent try early in the second half, resulting from another swift and powerful run, effectively secured the game against the Pacific Islanders. Samoa head coach Ben Gardiner acknowledged Farnworth’s impact, stating, “Farnworth really dominated the game again.” Gardiner elaborated, “When he carries the ball, sometimes he goes to the line and sometimes he steps away so he is hard to reach and he has a brilliant offload as well and you are not sure if he is going to the outside or inside.” He continued, “Normally you have to commit three or four players to a tackle to deal with him, which means your defensive line is all over the shop. He is a very, very good player, who has played brilliantly over two weeks.” While Gardiner affirmed that England were deserving winners overall, he also regretfully highlighted a crucial moment in the match when Junior Pauga received a sin-binning for a high tackle on second row John Bateman. With the Sydney Roosters centre off the field for a 10-minute period, the home team scored two consecutive tries, extending their lead from a narrow 8-6 advantage. Gardiner further commented, “I think in any game whether it is the Super League, NRL or and international, a sin-binning is going to have an impact.” He added, “On average in the NRL, it is generally two tries against. He was told he’d been sin-binned for a high tackle in which he made contact with his hip and not his arm.” Gardiner expressed his view, stating, “I understand we are trying to take care of players and remove head contact but accidental contact that has no malice in it… I have not seen that sin-binned before.” He concluded, “With a freak incident like that, I think that Junior should have been given the benefit of the doubt. You could understand it more if the opposition player had to go off the pitch but he got up and played on.”