NEW ZEALAND coach Stephen Kearney believes opponents England are “building nicely” for their decisive Gillette Four Nations clash with the Kiwis in Huddersfield.
The group games end on Saturday, with Australia overwhelming favourites to beat France in Paris to book their place in the final and leave England and New Zealand to battle it out at the Galpharm Stadium for the other spot.
“I’ve always been under the impression, even before we came here, that this game was going to be the determining game in terms of who goes further into the competition – and it’s basically gone along with how I thought it would,” said Kearney.
“The English side have got better as they’ve gone along, so I’m expecting a real tough contest.”
While the Kiwis overwhelmed France 62-12 in Toulouse, England paid the price for a first-half horror show when they went down 26-16 to the Kangaroos in Wigan.
Kearney has started to look through the tape of England’s second-half fightback, and was impressed with the contribution of 20-year-old half-back Sam Tomkins and the impact from the bench of bulky forwards Sam Burgess and Eorl Crabtree.
“They made a few changes to their side for the second half, and it looks like it made a difference,” he said.
“Whether or not Australia put the cue in the rack, you’ve still got to turn up to do your job - and they did well to score that many points against an Australian team.
“Young Sam Burgess played well – so did young Sam Tomkins – and I think Crabtree really made a difference.
“They’ll get a lot of confidence out of that performance. On the back of their second-half performance against France, it’s building nicely for them.”
The England players will set up camp in Leeds and hold their first training session today as coach Tony Smith contemplates whether to make changes for Saturday’s do-or-die clash.
Kearney is resigned to losing centre Steve Matai with an eye injury but is confident that second rower Bronson Harrison and prop Jeff Lima, who both missed the French game with calf injuries, will increase his selection options.
“Steve was the major concern – and he’s going for a scan today,” said Kearney.
“His eye has opened up a lot more, but it looks fairly unlikely that he’ll be ready for this weekend.
“I’ll have a good look at the video and see what is best for the English match. There is a possibility of getting a couple of guys back from injury.
“Jeff Lima and Bronson Harrison both ran this morning, which is pleasing.”
Parramatta utility back Kris Inu is an option for Matai’s centre spot, but Kearney is also considering switching the St Helens-bound Iosia Soliola from the back row.
“We’re looking through our options,” he said. “Soliola slipped into that position the other night and did a wonderful job. But we haven’t thought through that far yet.
