The Four Nations rugby league tournament is about to start, with Australia hot favourites to claim victory
Ahead of their Four Nations campaign England (7/1 Four Nations outright) have been less than convincing but head-coach Steve McNamara and his players do have the ability to cause teams problems.
England’s 32-18 victory over France last week was founded on performance that was full of errors, as players continue to struggle to gel after a relatively short time working together, following the Super League and NRL campaigns.
Once again a lack of competitive games for the national side has hindered their preparations for the Four Nations campaign, with only games against the Super League Exiles and France in the last four months.
With all the greatest respect to their first opponents Wales, who England will face at Leigh Sports Village on Saturday, this will act as another warm-up game ahead of the big tests against New Zealand and Australia next month.
The Welsh will prove a sterner test than the French, however McNamara has decided to select the same starting line-up for this weekend’s game.
Castleford Tigers star Rangi Chase has been retained in the half-back role alongside Leeds Rhinos skipper Kevin Sinfield.
The New Zealand born playmaker failed to make the most of his debut against France last week, but like a number of the players in the England squad, is still settling into the national set-up.
On paper England certainly have the players to challenge in the Four Nations this time around, with the likes of Sam Tomkins, James Graham, James Roby and Gareth Ellis in the their ranks.
However Australia (4/11 Four Nations outright)are really the team to beat and as the State of Origin series proved, the game Down Under is thriving in their superior playing conditions.
The pace and physicality of the games between Queensland and New South Wales were a sight to behold, as well as the high skill level that players in the NRL poses.
Offloading out of the tackle and the ability to utilise space puts the Kangaroos in different league compared to most teams, and it’s up to the likes of England and New Zealand to try and stop them.
The Kiwis are capable of causing upsets as they have proved against their larger neighbours in the past and could take inspiration from their comrades in the 15-man form of the game, with the All Blacks sealing the rugby union World Cup last weekend.
However the last meeting between these two teams ended with Australia winning comfortably and you would expect a similar scoreline when the two sides meet in the opening game of the competition on Friday night.
Before England can even think about taking on Australia and New Zealand (3/1 Four Nations outright), they must first win and win well against Wales and then take that momentum forward.
