England and New Zealand kick off a three match Test series in Hull on Saturday. These two sides competed in what had the feeling of an exhibition Test match halfway through the rugby league season out in Denver but the spoils are set to be much more fiercely contested here.
England go into the series looking to back up their fine run in the World Cup last year where they made the final and were not a million miles away from beating Australia. New Zealand had a tournament to forget there but did beat the world champions in a warm up for this series recently.
England
I wouldn’t say that England are in a transition period after the World Cup but they do miss some key members of that side for this series whether it be down to retirement, injury or just that their form over the Super League season hasn’t merited a call up. The experience that England do have in their ranks will be needed certainly in this opening match and potentially the series as a whole too.
The real reason for England’s success in the World Cup was their attacking play. Their wingers were too hot to handle for a number of sides and they got the job done after some excellent work from a powerful pack of forwards. On the flip side of that when they struggled it was down to conceding a number of penalties which tested a defence which was way below the level of Australia ultimately.
New Zealand
I think we can almost allow New Zealand their poor World Cup campaign last year. Admittedly it would have been easier to have let it pass had they lost to Australia in the semi-final as was predicted rather than Fiji a match prior to that but either way they had so many players defect to Tonga late on in the piece that it was always going to be tough to rebuild in time.
There are no excuses for this series though. They have the strongest squad they can have here, which they didn’t have when the two sides met in Denver earlier in the year, a squad which has a great blend of star talent and exciting youngsters. If they acclimatise to conditions from the start then they are entitled to be tough to beat with the confidence they will be carrying from beating Australia earlier in the month.
Team News
England will be without a number of star players for this match with Sam Burgess, Gareth Widdop, Ryan Hall and Kallum Watkins all missing. Kevin Brown has retired since the World Cup too so there will be some inexperience in key areas for Wayne Bennett’s men.
New Zealand coach Michael Maguire has already confirmed that the 17-man squad he sent into battle against Australia earlier in the month will be required to represent their country once again. That means we will see Shaun Johnson in the Kiwi shirt once again.
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Betting
If England were at full strength I would have made this a pick ‘em series with England maybe having the slight edge but with them missing their half-back and their most powerful and dangerous forward not to mention arguably the best winger in the game right now this clearly is not a full strength England side.
With that in mind the edge heads towards the New Zealand side at least in this opening match. They should be buzzing after taking care of Australia earlier in the month and with star talents like Shaun Johnson, Joseph Manu, Kodi Nikorima and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak among others on show they look very strong to me. I would have worried about the Kiwi pack were they going up against Sam Burgess. They’re not though so the away side can draw first blood in the series.
Tips
Back New Zealand to beat England for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Betfred
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