McNamara leaves Bulls to Take over England
It has been announced that Bulls head coach Steve McNamara has been released by his club in order to coach England’s league side full time. McNamara was appointed England coach in April and was thought to be finishing his contract with the Bulls which was due to run out in October.
McNamara started his career in league rugby as a player. At age 17 he signed with Hull. McNamara would spend seven seasons with Hull before being moved to the Bradford Bulls in 1996.
He enjoyed a great deal of success with the Bulls playing for them for four seasons and kicking 319 goals. In 2000 McNamara was released from Bradford, and had short stints with Wakefield Trinity, and Huddersfield. McNamara made the decision to leave playing, and went back to Bradford to join the coaching staff in 2003.
McNamara began as the coach of the Academy at Bradford taking them to a grand final. For his success he was rewarded with the head coaching job of the Bulls, as fans had grown tired of former coach Brian Noble. McNamara took over a struggling Bulls side, but managed to take the team to the playoffs before they were knocked out by Hull. The following year McNamara was appointed assistant coach to team England.
His career at Bradford was not a good one unfortunately, besides the first season he has been unable to lead the club back into the playoffs and coached through the clubs worst losing streak ever. McNamara can now place his full attention on the England job as they head into the Four Nations Cup in October.
McNamara was originally slotted to take over full time as England head coach back in April, but was forced to wait as the Bulls thought it in their best interests to keep the coach for the remainder of the season. However with their recent poor play it seemed like the right move releasing the head coach. The Bulls recently dropped from fourth positions to 10th, caught in the middle of an embarrassing losing-streak. With McNamara now gone the Bulls assistant coach Lee St. Hilaire is set to take over the head coach duties for the remainder of the season.
McNamara spoke fondly of his time with the Bulls.
“I have some great memories of my time with the Bulls, both as a player and as a coach. A lot of good work has taken place over the last four years and I firmly believe that strong foundations are in place for the next coach to take the club forward.”
McNamara takes over a strong English side heading into the Four Nations Cup. Currently ranked third in the world and first in Europe the English, led by McNamara look to do some damage in this year in New Zealand and Australia. His first match with the squad was a 60-6 victory over the French, a win he will certainly be looking to build on.
McNamara said he'd been giving a tremendous opportunity and was looking forward to it.
“There’s a lot of work to do and I’m very excited that I now have the chance to channel all of my energies into England.”
The announcement of McNamara’s release will certainly be music to the ears of all England fans as he is now able to focus on the all important Four Nations match-ups. The release seems to suit the Bulls as well, who are looking towards the future, and may find it beneficial to have a coach who is only concerned with their play and not that of another international squad.
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