England boss Steve McNamara has paid tribute to Stanley Gene following his close friend's appointment as Papua New Guinea's new coach.
England coach praises appointment of 'legendary' Gene
England boss Steve McNamara has paid tribute to Stanley Gene following his close friend's appointment as Papua New Guinea's new coach.
Gene was chosen to take over his national squad for the Four Nations Series following the surprise departure of Adrian Lam.
Former Wigan scrum-half Lam resigned on Wednesday saying he wanted to concentrate on his club commitments with St George Illawarra.
McNamara said on Sunday he was delighted at the appointment of the 37-year-old former Hull KR favourite, who played for the Kumuls in the last three World Cups in 1995, 2000 and 2008.
"I'm really pleased for him," said McNamara, who will go up against his old Huddersfield team-mate when England face PNG in Auckland on November 6.
"Obviously he had an outstanding career in the English competition but his status in Papua New Guinea is legendary and I'm sure his input into the national team will be very positive."
Respect
Gene whose Super League career included stints with Hull, Huddersfield and Bradford plus two with Hull KR, played this year with Championship club Halifax.
He had been due to take up his appointment as the new coach of French club Villeneuve later this month but will now head up his national team.
Gene has just five weeks to prepare his side for their opening Four Nations clash with Australia in Sydney, despite having almost no coaching experience.
But McNamara, who coached Gene at Bradford and still lives close to him in Hull, believes his appointment is a good one.
"It came out of the blue, this close to the competition, and he only has a short period of time to get everything ready but that happens," he said.
"He's only just finishing his playing career but he's been under some top coaches in his time and he will have the respect of the players."
On his appointment Gene said: "I've spent 20 years playing league and this has been one of my dreams to coach my country. It couldn't have come any sooner.
"I want PNG to play with more structure and to be more disciplined in their approach and with my experience and the help of others we can do that."
