The two best sides in international rugby league meet in the second half of the Four Nations double header at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry on Saturday night as New Zealand and Australia do battle in what many expect will be a rehearsal of the final of the tournament two weeks from now.
Both sides won their opening match last weekend which means that the winners of this one will be through to the final with a match to spare while the losers will be drinking at the saloon of the last chance next week.
New Zealand
The defending champions head into this match off the back of a solid win over England last week. They weren’t anything special in that match and indeed they were nothing you wouldn’t have expected them to be but they were dangerous in sight of the opposition posts and when they had to defend their line they generally did it pretty well.
There is no hidden agendas in this side. They are an extremely hard working unit with plenty of power to be competitive up the middle and a game opener in Shaun Johnson at scrum half. Whether their backs can capitalise on his quality remains to be seen but this looks an efficient Kiwi side.
Australia
In many ways we didn’t find a lot out about Australia last week because Scotland were never truly going to test them but most judges were surprised they leaked a couple of tries. That may or may not be a bad thing for the Kiwis. It was largely a second string Australia side so those who needed the run out got it.
We know what to expect from Australia this week. They have plenty of go forward in their pack and then they will look to feast on the expert kicking game of Johnathan Thurston with their powerful backs looking to expose any weaknesses the opposition might have in that area. Australia will want to be more ruthless than they were last week too.
Team News
New Zealand have suffered a couple of blows with the losses of Jason Nightingale and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves to injury. That means Gerard Beale and Greg Eastwood step into the squad to replace them.
Australia have recalled the cavalry who were rested last week which means the likes of Greg Inglis, Darius Boyd, Johnathan Thurston, Matt Gillett and Matt Scott are all in the squad. Surprisingly there isn’t a place in the 19 for the half back Cooper Cronk.
Betting
Going into the tournament I always thought this would be an Australian victory and nothing has changed my mind. It was a massive advantage for Australia to play Scotland last week and to do it the night before New Zealand had a gruelling battle with England was even bigger for them.
It means the main Australian players are nicely rested heading into this game while New Zealand’s players might still be feeling some of the effects that clash with England had on them. Australia have beaten New Zealand twice this year already and while this one will be more competitive because it is actually in a competition I still expect Australia to win and cover a converted try.
Tips
Back Australia (-6) to beat New Zealand for a 4/10 stake at 1.80 with Ladbrokes
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