Brian Carney's Ashes reflections: Shaun Wane and the burden of his own benchmark for England

Shaun Wane's own words have come home to roost.

Wane in February 2020 said: "If I don't get to a World Cup final and win, it's a disaster. We haven't beaten Australia for a long time and I'm embarrassed by that. And if we don't beat them, it's on me."

In the end, Wane didn't just set the bar, he fashioned the trapdoor beneath it. Those were his words, not anyone else's.

• Wane: I know I am the right man for the job
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And by his own measure, the two most important campaigns of his six years in charge have been nothing short of catastrophic.

England's home World Cup, played in 2022 not 2021 because of Covid, was supposed to be the moment rugby league reconnected with a wider domestic audience. The draw was deliberately kind: no Australia, no New Zealand until the final. All roads led to Old Trafford.

Except, of course, England didn't make it there.

They were beaten in the semis by Samoa- a Samoan side England had blitzed in the tournament's opening game.

Many good judges feel it was a semi-final that was there for the taking. England went in as favourites and came unstuck in a big way.

By Wane's 2020 logic, not winning the final would have been a "disaster". What words would one use to describe not even making it?

Fast forward to 2025 and Australia return for the first Ashes series in years.

A golden chance again for the game on these shores to fire up the sporting public's imagination. Instead, the Kangaroos left with a clean sweep and England barely left clutching the usual consolation prize of "effort".

Three defeats, three below-par performances, just two tries in 240 minutes of rugby league. If Wane was embarrassed in 2020 about England not beating Australia in so long, he must be incandescent now.

I watched Reece Walsh sign autographs pitchside an hour after the final whistle on Saturday. The Australians, the team I'm told the English love to hate, had won the hearts and minds of supporters over here.

England's rugby league team is more than a collection of individuals sent out to win a game. They represent the sport.

For whatever reason they admirably welcomed cameras into camp for a behind-the-scenes documentary yet appeared to be kept from the cameras, microphones and adoring fans at other times. This is just my perception. No doubt a series review will determine if this was indeed the case.

The question now falls to the RFL: back him or sack him. Wane is contracted until the end of 2026, taking in next year's World Cup in Australia and Papua New Guinea. He hasn't coached a club side since 2018, an eternity in rugby league terms.

In November 2024 Wane expressed a desire to return to club coaching at some point in the future, admitting he missed preparing regularly for matches and hinting at excess capacity: "I feel like I'm under-selling myself".

The likes of Paul Rowley, Matt Peet, Willie Peters, Michael Maguire and Brian McDermott are all names likely to come to the fore in conversations about Wane's future.

Wane's prickly dismissal of the Man of Steel award did little to help his cause. Asked about Jake Connor, the 2025 winner, Wane waved it away: "I don't know who picks it and it never comes into my consideration."

You don't have to pick Jake Connor to respect the game's most prestigious individual award. But publicly diminishing it? That's poor politics.

How do the RFL market an honour their own England coach treats with contempt? There are more than enough knowledgeable rugby league fans here. I've met and spoken to them at Wembley, Headingley and in recent days at events in Hull, Keighley and Cumbria.

I'm echoing their sentiments. They demand more than a "credit in the bank" explanation when selecting players to represent them.

At times, Wane's passion seems to have curdled into obstinacy. He talks about "English grit" as if it were a secret weapon, but grit without craft is just friction.

His side looked rigid, predictable, and joyless. For a man who once demanded England "play without fear", his team look paralysed by it.

When asked recently about 2026, Wane said: "I don't believe I'm the right man to coach England at the World Cup - I know it."

He "knew" plenty of things, of course. He "knew" the out-of-form players he picked would deliver. They didn't. He "knew" his spine was right - until he changed three of those four positions after one game.

Now, it's the RFL who must "know".

Do they double down on loyalty, or acknowledge that the "disaster" Wane once warned of has already arrived and, by his own admission, it's on him?

Because in sport, as in politics, when your own words become your best critic, the argument is usually over.

There are of course much broader issues at play in the game over here. Including their focus on the international game the RFL must decide if more of the same will deliver different results and if they are happy with keeping their fingers crossed for that.

The alternative is to draw a line in the sand and make this period the cliff edge we refused to get pushed over. The next few months will be telling.

(c) Sky Sports 2025: Brian Carney's Ashes reflections: Shaun Wane and the burden of his own benchmark for England