England’s nearly men from 1995 Rugby League World Cup hoping for more | Aaron Bower

When England take to the field in Brisbane on Saturday for their first Rugby League World Cup final in 22 years, there will be a group of men 12,000 miles away willing them to take the step they could not manage in 1995. This weekend it will be Sam Burgess, Sean O’Loughlin and co vying for the first British World Cup win since 1972; then, it was names such as Jason Robinson and Martin Offiah who fell at the final hurdle of the same mission.

As in 1995, the Australians are the opposition in England’s first venture to the final since that day, but the backdrop and circumstances are mightily different. “It was a hugely exciting time for rugby league,” recalls Karl Harrison, the prop who started for Phil Larder’s side at Wembley that day.

The game in Britain was on the dawn of an exciting new era, with the sport entering its final few months of winter rugby before the birth of a new competition, Super League, in spring 1996. But the winds of change were even more prevalent in Australia, leaving many suspecting that, for the first time in a generation, there was a chink in the armour of the Kangaroos.

The so-called Super League war had driven a wedge through the rugby league landscape in Australia. With no resolution by the time the World Cup began, the Australian Rugby League took a gamble and headed for the United Kingdom without players aligned to the Australian Super League. There were no Brisbane, Parramatta or Canterbury stars – which meant greats such as Steve Walters, Ricky Stuart and Laurie Daley stayed home – in Bob Fulton’s squad.

There are other differences between the class of 2017 and their predecessors, too. While England ran the Kangaroos mightily close in Melbourne five weeks ago in the World Cup, England actually won their corresponding first-round game against the Aussies in 1995. That remains the last time England defeated Australia – a record that seems in dire need of correcting.

Phil Clarke, who played in the second row, says: “It’s difficult to pin down specifics of the game itself but at the time you did get the feeling it was a huge thing for English rugby league.” There was not just a buzz on the field in that first-round match for England – who subsequently cantered through to the final, conceding just 10 points in their remaining group games and semi‑final – but off it, too.

“I remember the opening game well – not least because Diana Ross had turned up to have a singalong!” Harrison says with a laugh. The organisers went all‑out for the Wembley entertainment, too – but it was lost on some people. “Status Quo were singing but I’m not much of a fan so it didn’t turn my head,” says the prop Mick Cassidy, who began the 1995 final on the bench. “Nah, not for me either, I was in the zone,” Harrison says with a smile.

The specifics of the game itself are a microcosm of England’s recent history with the Aussies. There were near-misses, close calls – not least a highly contentious disallowed Paul Newlove try – before the Aussies broke English hearts late on via Tim Brasher’s try to win 16-8.

Cassidy says: “Having not won it for so long it would be awesome to reset the clock and do one or two things differently – hopefully these lads aren’t saying that after Saturday.”

Clarke agrees: “The World Cup final is an awful place to lose and the hurt remains with you to this day.”

But what are this group’s chances on Saturday? Given England’s wretched record against the Australians and the fact this is their first final for 22 years, some believe they have no chance. The class of 1995, however, can see a way the unthinkable can be achieved in Brisbane.

Clarke says: “What I remember from 1995 is that in the final 10 minutes, we played with an attacking freedom because we were eight points behind. What we need to do is play with that freedom from the start to trouble them.”

His team-mates agree. Harrison says: “I think we’ve a chance and I agree with Phil. We need to play a British‑style game against them. When we’ve been successful against them, we’ve tried things differently. Think Garry Schofield, Ellery Hanley, the magic they brought. Something a little bit different seems to be the key.”

Clarke also pinpoints the influence of one man as crucial. “In 1995 Brad Fittler was brilliant,” he says. “They’ve always had one standout player but Sean O’Loughlin’s ours. He’s our Fittler, he’s our Darren Lockyer.” Injury permitting, O’Loughlin becomes the first man to captain England in a final since Denis Betts, who as an assistant to Wayne Bennett is in the camp alongside O’Loughlin.

“It’ll be awesome for Lockers to have Denis there,” adds Cassidy, who works with Betts in the latter’s regular job as Widnes coach. “Sean is everything a captain is all about and when he’s out there, the team clicks.” Furthermore, there is the much-anticipated opportunity to perhaps break English rugby league into the mainstream by becoming world champions.

Harrison says: “Look at the esteem the rugby union lads are held in for 2003, and our footballers for 1966 – these guys have got one hell of an opportunity to become legends this weekend.”

Cassidy adds: “If I had the chance again, I’d take it all in a bit more. They’re within 80 minutes of becoming national heroes.”

Nobody, you suspect, appreciates what awaits this weekend more than the men who came so close 22 years ago.