Leeds Rhinos' James Bentley can be rugby league World Cup star says Ireland teammate Richie Myler

The Rhinos pair will line up together for the Wolfhounds against Jamaica at Headingley on Sunday.

Bentley joined Rhinos from St Helens a year ago and had a difficult start to his Leeds career, being sent-off on debut and picking up three bans during the first half of the campaign.

But he went on to produce a series of impressive performances in the back-row as Rhinos reached the Betfred Super League Grand Final and Myler reckons he will be a major threat to New Zealand and Lebanon, as well as Sunday’s opponents.

“He is a competitor,” Myler said of his club colleague. “He treads a fine line sometimes, but you don’t want to wrap it up too much because his aggression is good.

“At the back end of the year I thought he was brilliant with the way he controlled his aggression. He was massive for us, a big, big enforcer and hopefully he can bring that into this team.”

Sunday will be Myler’s first World Cup appearance and Ireland debut. He was capped eight times by England, the most recent being against New Zealand in 2018, but qualifies for the Wolfhounds through an Irish-born grandfather.

“I’m really excited,” he insisted. “I think we have had a good camp so far, getting to know the boys.

“Everyone’s on the same page and it has been good to get to know everyone. We’re looking forward to the first match, Headingley is a great ground to play at and a great viewing experience.

“Hopefully there’s a decent crowd there and we can kick off with a good performance. We’re all chomping at the bit to get playing now and get the tournament started.

“It was cancelled last year, which was a bit of a disappointment, so it has been a long time coming, but I am looking forward to it.”

Myler is likely to be at full-back this weekend, with Halifax’s Joe Keyes partnering three-time NRL Grand Final winner Luke Keary, of Sydney Roosters, in the halves.

“Keyesy has really come into his own,” Myler said. “He is a good player, he takes the line on, but I have been really impressed with the whole squad. We are all ripping in and we’re excited to get a game under our belt now and play.”

New Zealand are hot favourites to top group C, with Ireland and Lebanon tipped to fight it out for the second quarter-final spot.

Jamaica, who have been given a 38-point start on the bookies’ handicap for Sunday, are expected to struggle to compete against their rivals’ Super League and NRL quality, but Myler stressed there’s no complacency in Ireland’s camp.

“It’s a good opportunity for them,” he said of Jamaica, whose squad is mainly drawn from the English lower divisions.

“They are a talented bunch of players and they are very passionate for their country. It is going to be a very passionate game, I’d imagine.

“They have got a fair bit of Super League experience in there and they’ll be looking to hit the ground running with a good performance against us.”