Former Giants coach steps down from England job after Four Nations
The League may decide to advertise the job to test interest in Australia but, if they look within Super League for a successor, John Kear (Wakefield), Steve McNamara (Bradford) and Justin Morgan (Hull KR) are the obvious candidates, although they all have club commitments.
McNamara has been Smith’s assistant for the last three years while Kear, at 55 the oldest coach in Super League, was in charge of England for the 2000 World Cup when they lost heavily to New Zealand in the semi-finals.
As well as running the national team, the new coach will oversee the England Under 20s and work with the elite squad to develop a four-year plan to produce 30 world-class players for the next World Cup.
Smith enjoyed 10 wins in his 16 games in charge, the highlight of which was a 3-0 Test series whitewash of New Zealand in 2007, but he lost the ones that mattered most – last November’s World Cup semi-final to the Kiwis and the Four Nations final.
However, he believes he leaves a legacy, pointing to the presence in Saturday’s final of 20-year-olds Sam Burgess, Sam Tomkins and Kyle Eastmond, as well as teenagers Tom Briscoe and Richie Myler earlier in the tournament, as evidence that progress is being made towards the 2013 World Cup.
"I gave it a shot of trying to get us further up the ladder in terms of the world rankings," he said.
"I think we are making some major inroads behind the scenes.
"We’ve brought on some young players who gained experience against a world-class team."
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