For Rugby League supporters, Tony Smith was a surprise choice to succeed Brian Noble as Great Britain coach. The early favourite was Shaun McRae -- a free agent after leaving South Sydney -- but he was ruled out a day before the announcement, when Sky Sport commentator Eddie Hemmings let slip he’d been on the phone to "Bomber" earlier in the day and confirmed as much.
 
Along with Smith and McRae, the other man thought to have been short-listed for the position was John Lang. Of the three, Lang arguably has the greatest reputation in Australia. He forged Cronulla Sharks into a solid outfit in the 90s, leading them to the Super League Grand Final in 1997, thus giving him the opportunity to coach the Australian Test team - the Super League Kangaroos - although the long-term validity of those matches played during the Super League War are disputed.

Lang’s most recent, and greatest, achievement was in turning around the fortunes of Penrith Panthers, from perennial strugglers and wooden spoonists in 2001 to NRL premiers in 2003. A big contributor to this success was Lang, wiping the slate clean and blooding a number of talented youngsters, similar to what the Great Britain brief requires. Like McRae, Lang was free and available to take up the newly assigned full-time role.

A short-list of three Australians for the national coaching job; it was bound to create some disention. Step forward the usual suspects -- Alex Murphy and Garry Schofield -- Rugby League’s rent-a-quoters.

Murphy, a nailed-on subscriber to keeping the Great Britain role for nationals only, kept his response brief; “Disgraceful”.  Schofield, who applied for the Great Britain job, went further and publicly criticised the appointment of Smith. “We've tried it before and it's been a total failure,” he told BBC Radio listeners. He was  referring to David Waite, the Antipodean who coached the national team from 2001 to 2003. Instead, Schofield sang the praises of the game’s leading British coaches, whilst taking a verbal sideswipe at Smith. “I don't think Tony Smith would have been offered the opportunity to coach the [Leeds] Rhinos after this season anyway. I think [the RFL] has got it wrong," he said.

So what of the British contenders, and why were they not considered? There are enough good candidates out there; head coaches Karl Harrison (Salford City Reds), John Kear (Wakefield Trinity Wildcats) and Paul Cullen (Warrington Wolves) among them. The enigmatic Ellery Hanley, a previous incumbent of the Great Britain job, was also lauded, particularly by current Test international Adrian Morley. Yet none of them comes close to the outgoing Noble for recent excellence at club level.

The problem is that all of the aforementioned Brits are already in full-time roles that are at the pinnacle of their profession: none are likely to give them up voluntarily. Noble would still be Great Britain coach if it were up to him; the fact is that the RFL have combined the head coach and technical director roles once more and insist that the job is once again a full-time concern.

The RFL did speak with Shaun Edwards, supported by both Murphy and Schofield, but the former Wiganer  decided against applying, insisting that he had settled in London. In addition, being recently ensconced in a Union environment and their coaching set-up, it’s a wonder whether the ex-Great Britain international thought the RFL’s role was a thankless task.

Not all the vocal critics have been against Smith’s appointment. Morley, although disappointed that the national role has gone to an outsider, was pragmatic in his weekly column for the Manchester Evening News: “If Smith was the best man for the job then so be it; he is certainly a top choice with a good reputation.”

Now that Smith has been handed that assignment, is he up to it? Well, he has good pedigree, having handed Leeds Rhinos their first championship for over 30 years in 2004. He also has a good record of bringing on promising youngsters among good professionals, some of whom have gone on to earn representative honours. The RFL’s chief executive, Richard Lewis, stipulated that this was a key part of the Great Britain role.

Smith’s main brief is to make Great Britain (or England) the number one international team within  two-and-a-half years. Yet there are many other factors to consider; whether he has the right credentials could be irrelevant. British players play more games than their Australian compatriots and NRL-based New Zealanders. The pool of talent in Australia also weighs heavily in their favour.

However, probably the most glaring disparity, in comparison with other sports in this country, is our game’s attitude to international Rugby League. Ex-Great Britain international and RFL employee Phil Clarke was most vocal last autumn in criticising the passion and commitment of both players and administrators towards internationals. Until this changes, Smith will have an incredibly tough task. At least by admitting that the national role needs a full-time commitment, the RFL is taking a step in the right direction.

This is where I would be critical of the RFL. Smith will remain as coach of Leeds Rhinos until the end of the current season whilst doing his Great Britain job on a part-time basis. This surely hampers preparation for the autumn Test series against New Zealand.

Is Tony Smith the right man for the job? We want to hear your views at Sportingo.