Monday, November 25, 2024

England 34-16 Samoa: Shaun Wane glad to have inspirational Herbie Farnworth in ranks

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Head coach Shaun Wane says he “just glad” Herbie Farnworth is English after the Dolphins centre inspired his country to a 2-0 Test series win over Samoa.

Farnworth registered two tries and laid on another for Jack Welsby at Headingley on Saturday, having also starred and scored in the first encounter between the sides at Wigan last Sunday.

“He’s been outstanding in both games,” said Wane.

“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.

“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.”

Farnworth covered more metres – 204 – than any England player last Sunday and his exceptional footwork and ability to offload under pressure came to the fore again in Leeds.

The 24-year-old skipped away from two would-be tacklers and held off the dive of Samoa captain Jarome Luai to register his first try of the afternoon.

And his effort early in the second half, from another darting and powerful run. effectively put the game beyond the Pacific Islanders.

“Farnworth really dominated the game again,” said Samoa head coach Ben Gardiner.

“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.

“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.”

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