Rugby League World Cup: Ex-footballer Stuart Pearce inspires England before Greece match

Wane has been in charge of England since leaving Wigan Warriers in 2020

England head coach Shaun Wane has brought in former footballer Stuart Pearce to inspire the players before Saturday's match against Greece.

The hosts will be hoping to round off the group stage with a 100% record at Bramall Lane after wins over Samoa and France.

"Stuart is an impressive Englishman who is very passionate," Wane said.

"We've learned a lot off him. He presented to the group this morning and was really good. He spoke very highly about the camp and how we went about our session.

"We're going to have other people coming in - it's important players experience that. There are other ways of learning that will make us better at rugby league. Listening to legends like him was very important."

Pearce is well known for scoring a penalty against Spain at the European Championships in 1996, six years after missing from the spot in the semi-finals against Germany at the World Cup in Italy.

He was England Under-21s manager from 2007-2013, England caretaker manager in 2012 and also managed West Ham United and Nottingham Forest.

Wane's England are in a commanding position, appearing to have hit their stride with 102 points scored across both games, and the coach has also been in contact with England men's football manager Gareth Southgate.

"I spoke to Gareth this morning over text and invited him to the games, and we've got other people who are going to come in and present jerseys," he said.

Captain Tomkins set to be rested

Changes will be made to the side this weekend, with captain and full-back Sam Tomkins rested and stand-off George Williams taking the armband as he did in the warm-up clash with Fiji.

Canberra forward Elliott Whitehead will be replaced by St Helens second row Joe Batchelor, who is set for his debut, and Kai Pearce-Paul comes in for Kallum Watkins because of concussion protocol.

Wane wants to give every member of his squad game time as he searches for his best line-up before the latter stages of the competition.

"The team is going to be slightly different but the intent will be the same," he said. "We've got 24 people in the squad and I need to see everybody.

"I want everybody fit, ready and hungry. It's vital that everybody plays and I want to be fair. It's the right thing to do. I want them all to play.

"This game will go a long way to shaping my team. I want to make a choice from 24 players. I want the decision to get to 17 to be a very hard one to make."

Despite their tag as heavy favourites against Greece who have lost both matches heavily so far, Wane insists England will not take them lightly.

"We've done exactly the same previews on them that we did for Samoa and France," he said. "We're going to show them the respect they deserve."

• Who will make the final selection? Follow the sobering journey of the women battling to be in England's Rugby League World Cup squad
• Why was Emiliano Sala on that plane? Follow the investigation into the crash which killed the footballer and his pilot