In a first round Four Nations clash to savour, two newly appointed national coaches go head-to-head in Huddersfield.
However, the coaches couldn’t be any more different. England’s coach, Wayne Bennett, is one of Rugby League’s super coaches. A veteran of State of Origin, NRL and Super League, the Hall of Famer has won more NRL titles than any other coach (7). And while he’s only recently started working with England, he has more Rugby League IP than any one else on the planet. The transition should be seamless.
On the other hand, new Kiwis coach David Kidwell, hasn’t yet coached a club side in a head coaching capacity. While he’s worked as an assistant with the Storm and the Tigers in the NRL, his pedigree doesn’t reach anywhere near the heights of Bennet’s.
Kidwell will therefore need a huge effort from his captain Jesse Bromwich and the rest of the leadership group to overcome a series loss to England the last time the two sides met. Especially considering the form England bring into the match after they destroyed France 40-6 in last week’s warm up.
Here’s how the teams shape up for the Round 1 match up, and our prediction as to what to expect:
New Zealand: Jordan Kahu; Jason Nightingale, Solomone Kata, Shaun Kenny- Dowall, Jordan Rapana; Thomas Leuluai, Shaun Johnson; Jesse Bromwich (capt), Issac Luke, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Kevin Proctor, Tohu Harris, Jason Taumalolo. Bench: Lewis Brown, Martin Taupau, Manu Ma’u, Adam Blair.
England: John Bateman, George Burgess, Sam Burgess, Tom Burgess, Daryl Clark, Mike Cooper, Liam Farrell, Luke Gale, James Graham, Ryan Hall, Chris Hill, Josh Hodgson, Jonny Lomax, Jermaine McGillvary, Dan Sarginson, Kallum Watkins, Elliott Whitehead, Gareth Widdop, George Williams.
New Zealand: No changes from the team that lost to Australia in Perth, as Kidwell keeps the faith. He’ll be looking for more out of his big forward pack at both ends of the field. He obviously needs them to make metres, but he also needs them to protect Shaun Johnson on defence -Johnson made 34 tackles against the Kangaroos, that’s too many for your chief playmaker. It will be interesting to see how Waerea-Hargreaves goes. He’s under a huge amount of pressure to keep his place after a disappointing stint last time out.
England: Bennett has made a number of changes to the side he used against France, notably, significantly shuffling the look of his interchange. He is no longer carrying three backs on the bench in order to accommodate more forward firepower. Luke Gale has been given the start in the number 7 number and will partner Widdop. Gale’s been rewarded for stellar club form that has seen him win the Albert Goldthorpe Medal for the last two years playing for Castleford. Utility Dan Sarginson makes his return after a two year hiatus.
New Zealand: L, L, L, W, L, W (all against either Australia or England)
England: W, W, L, W, W, L (all against either New Zealand or France)
New Zealand: $1.80 at Luxbet and Betfair
England: $2.23 at Unibet
Having earlier predicted an Australia / England Four Nations final, it would be counter-intuitive to predict anything other than an England win here. Games played in the Northern Hemisphere are usually close encounters and we’re not expecting anything different. With the home crowd support squeaking England home, the $6.50 offered by Sportsbet for an England win by 6-10 looks like great money.
Betfair:
Bet on Henrik Stenson to become the BMW PGA Championship Winner.
Paddypower:
Back Australia to take the Ashes home with them.
Betway:
Back Rafael Nadal to become the Mens French Open Winner.
Coral:
Back One For Arthur to win the Grand National.
Bet365:
Back Mexico to win the Confederations Cup.
