Jackson Hastings admits he looked at Great Britain coach Wayne Bennett in awe
JACKSON Hastings is living a teenage dream playing under Great Britain boss Wayne Bennett.
And the Wigan-bound scrum-half believes the Lions proved things are coming good after playing more like stars do for their clubs.
Hastings, who qualifies through an English grandmother, has not hit the heights he reached for Salford as they reached Super League’s Grand Final and he was named Steve Prescott Man of Steel.
However, the last 10 minutes of the 12-8 loss to New Zealand showed Britain can down the Kiwis in today’s second Test as the shackles were thrown off.
Hastings, though, believes there are reasons to be cheerful – and the man he looked in awe at as a teenager can bring the best out of Britain.
He also revealed Bennett’s line is open to his players away from the international arena, despite his aura of being stand-offish to the point of being grumpy.
Hastings said: “Wayne’s not as angry as he seems but he’s a pretty straight shooter.
“He tells you in no uncertain terms of you stuff up but also lets you know if you do something well.
“I’ve definitely had him tell me where I’ve gone wrong. Nobody’s perfect and we all make mistakes and sometimes you need those moments. Luckily for me, though, I’ve had more positives.
“He doesn’t waste words but when he speaks, you listen. Sometimes what he says is minimal but it has a huge impact.
“When I was coming through at St George-Illawarra as a 15 or 16-year-old, Wayne was head coach.
“Everyone tells you how good he is as a coach and a man manager so to experience this for myself is a huge honour. To be able to listen to him and get advice from him – someone who’s been there, seen it and done it – is huge.
“It’s been amazing to get to know him and I’m sure post-camp I’ll be able to ring him and have a five minute chat like other players can.”
Hastings gets his third crack alongside Gareth Widdop in the halves as Great Britain look to get off the mark.
But while the results have not been great, there is more to prove England – who provide all bar one of the team - can succeed, even though New Zealand’s Roger Tuivasa-Sheck last them chasing shadows in the last game.
Hastings added: “We’ve fallen short in both games but we reviewed the first against the Kiwis and there’s plenty to be positive about.
“We created more chances than them but if you don’t execute, you run the risk. They had two real opportunities and took them, we had four or five, particularly in the second half, and didn’t – that’s the way rugby league works sometimes.
“We took the shackles off, played the way we did for our clubs and proved that with ball in hand we can cause them problems. It was a massive step in the right direction.”
Great Britain’s first result of the tour was put into perspective when Tonga defeated the mighty Australia 16-12 in Auckland.
And Hastings, 23, believes the marker has been laid down ahead of the next World Cup in England.
He said: “I know come 2021 everyone will be looking over their shoulders at Tonga.”
Meanwhile, Warrington half-back Blake Austin has been named on the wing after Zak Hardaker pulled out through injury while Luke Thompson will defy the pain of a rib problem to place off the bench in place of Joe Philbin.
GREAT BRITAIN TEAM TO FACE NEW ZEALAND
Lomax; McGillvary, Hughes, Connor, Austin; Widdop, Hastings; Hill, Hodgson, Burgess, Bateman, Whitehead, Graham. Interchange: Jones, Thompson, Clark, Walmsley.
