Chance meeting between Mal Meninga and Wayne Bennett ends simmering feud

MAL Meninga hasn’t been shy in airing his opinion of England coach Wayne Bennett recently but a chance meeting saw the two legends smoke the peace pipe.

Mal Meninga and Wayne Bennett are back on good terms. Picture: Jono Searle

IT was the chance meeting which ending the simmering feud between Mal Meninga and Wayne Bennett.

The two icons cleared the air ahead of the first showdown between their respective teams on Monday morning (Australian time). Both men were greeted by surprise when they ran into each other as guests at a leadership conference at the home of English Premier League powerhouse Arsenal last week.

Meninga said his relationship with Bennett was now back on track.

“I was pretty happy and comfortable with the way we parted ways after the summit there,” Meninga said. “We’ve had our little tiff. As men we’ve chatted it out and we move on now.”

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Mal Meninga and Wayne Bennett are back on good terms. Picture: Jono Searle

Meninga has taken aim at Bennett multiple times during the Four Nations tournament, declaring the English coach had “undermined” Meninga. Meninga also made the point Bennett wanted the Kangaroos job after the veteran mentor was overlooked for the role, in favour of Meninga.

Meninga said last week’s meeting was the first time the duo had crossed paths to clear the air.

“We’ve always been friends,” Meninga said. “We’ve just had a disagreement this year over what’s happened around the appointment. It was good to catch up to be honest with you and have a bit of a yarn about it all and get everything off our chest as frustrating as it has been. And be men about it.

“We will continue to be mates. We are coaching two different teams. We both want to be winners, both competitive and we’ll be judged with our team go.”

A gloomy Four Nations press conference.

Bennett backed Meninga’s view earlier this week, declaring he respected Meninga and considered him a friend.

While Bennett was assistant coach for New Zealand during their 2008 world cup success, Monday morning marks the first time he has taken on Australia as head coach of England.

“It’s not about me and Wayne, it’s about the team’s,” Meninga said. “We are both competitive individuals. It adds a bit of spice to it all I guess with what has happened but at the end of the day we will be judged on what happens on the field.”

Meanwhile, Bennett has rushed back Bulldogs skipper James Graham from injury for his side’s clash. St George Illawarra five-eighth Gareth Widdop has also been recalled into England’s 19-man squad.