He had been the frontrunner to land the vacant England position.
Willie Peters has pulled out of the race to be England’s next head coach ahead of the Rugby League World Cup.
Willie Peters says he could not give the England job the time it deserves after confirming his withdrawal from the race to be the next head coach.
The all-conquering Hull KR boss had been the frontrunner to succeed Shaun Wane ahead of this year’s Rugby League World Cup Down Under, having expressed his interest in the role following the departure of Wane at the start of this year.
However, having been named the inaugural head coach of the PNG Chiefs and set to end a remarkable period in charge of Hull KR at the end of 2026, Peters has confirmed his decision to step away from any possible position.
“I want to give that job the respect it deserves. I would have loved to have coached England if I was picked, but that needs a lot of time and you need to invest in it properly,” Peters said.
“I would have loved that, but now the most important thing for me is Hull KR and investing all my time into Hull KR. Then naturally, towards the end of the year, with PNG Chiefs because there’s a lot of work to do there.”
England are set to compete in the 10-team Rugby League World Cup later this year, taking on Tonga, France, and Papua New Guinea in the group stages, kicking off their campaign in Perth on October 17 – two weeks after the Super League Grand Final.
“If I had been selected to be the coach, do a World Cup and pull out next year and disrespect that job – that’s not the right thing to do,” said Peters, who has been tasked to build PNG Chiefs from the ground up ahead of their first NRL season in 2028.
“What England needs is a coach that has a vision – for the World Cup, but also after that and making sure the team is in a strong position. There’s some really good candidates, who I’m sure will definitely do a great job.”
With Peters now out of the running, the coaching race remains wide open.
Paul Rowley has recently reaffirmed his ambitions of landing the role, while he currently prepares for his first Rivals Round derby as St Helens’ head coach on Good Friday. Brad Arthur, Sam Burgess and former Leeds boss Brian McDermott – now an assistant at Gold Coast Titans – also remain in the mix.