Jeremy Hickmans Second Australian joins English Rugby League
Jeremy Hickmans is a name that England rugby league fans could be hearing a lot more of over the coming months, as he has become the second Australian to join the English rugby league set-up.
Hickmans joins the side as a physical performance analyst in an attempt to try and raise the level of English rugby league to heights, which match some of the best tams in the world.
The news has been met with mixed reaction within the rugby community. On the one hand there are the group who are pleased because it will see England playing attacking and exciting rugby.
On the other hand there is the group, which believes that a foreign coach in a national team will always be awkward and could damage the infrastructure of English rugby league for the foreseeable future.
The Positives
Hickmans is a well respect analyst and coach in his native country of Australia. He is widely respected as one of the best in his trade and although he has been put on a comfortable contract, it is clear that he has incentives to deliver for English rugby league.
His Australian attacking mentality will also fit with the other Australian in the current set-up, Steve McNamara. The coach would have played a big part in making sure England got their man and there should not be any problems in terms of communication between staff.
Hopefully the move will give England an added advantage in the area of physical performance. This means speed and fitness, which have not always been two of the things that an England rugby league side is good at.
This could lead to England scoring a lot more points in games they play, which will open up the potential markets for anyone who wants to have a bet on international rugby league events.
The Negatives
The news threatens to upset a few English rugby league fans. However, these are just a small group who have always wanted an English coach and a purely English mentality in every area of the team.
There are also questions over whether an international rugby league side actually needs a performance analyst. However, every other international side has a professional working in this role.
It would be very naïve of England to ignore the advice of their coach and ignore the advantages that someone in this particular role can offer the team. Hopefully it will take English rugby league forward.
Betting Advice
England are very hard to read as a rugby league team. For now the best option is to stick with match results and highest points scorers. Watch a few England games and get an idea of how they are playing before you decide to bet on specific winning margins.
England should beat France in their next international match so do not be afraid to shop around for some good odds and back the side. Also ignore the specials being offered by some bookmakers that Hickmans will be sacked within the next few months.
England have a very paced and organised team, which should be enough to over power the French. If you do want to go for a winning margin bet then stick with a narrow one because it is unlikely that the French will be poor, which would allow England to romp to a win.
This is nonsense as he needs to be given time to get to know the team and work his influence into the current set-up. You will be throwing money down the drain if you have a punt on this special.
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