2016 Four Nations - Round 3

2016 Four Nations - Round 3

In the week where the free world gained a new leader it seems that nothing has really changed in the world of rugby league.  Last weekend saw what many traditionalists were dreading ... an almost half empty stadium outside the main heartlands witness a frustrating, and at times boring, pair of fixtures which probably didn’t entice many new fans to jump on the RFL bandwagon and start following our beloved sport.

Yes, it was good to see a well-supported Scotland side put England to the sword in the first half hour or so before the hosts pulled their finger out and got a more desirable result than at first seemed possible, and yes, Australia and New Zealand are by far the best two sides on the planet.

A lot has been said this week of Mr Bennett’s unorthodox relationship with the media and their questions, but at least he was honest about the performance and what his thoughts were after the game.  Personally, I’m worried that the hype around our rugby league team is heading in the same direction as what used to be the pre-tournament hype around the England national football team.  Are the media “bigging up” their highly unrealistic chances of actually breaking the mould and winning a major tournament?

Maybe that’s just my pessimistic way of looking at the facts.  I do sincerely hope that it is not the case and Wayne Bennett, Sam Burgess and James Graham et al can finally put together a fantastic performance that the fans can be proud of and get the desired result.

Before that game though is the small matter of New Zealand’s clash with Scotland up in Cumbria.  Most England fans will be hoping for a huge upset but realistically if the Kiwis can win by more than 30 points that should all but put them in the Final next weekend.

NEW ZEALAND vs SCOTLAND

(Friday, 11 November, Derwent Park, Workington, 8pm)

New Zealand

It’s a simple equation for the Kiwis this weekend.  Win the game and they have one foot in their first ever Four Nations Final held in the Northern Hemisphere.  Win the game by a healthy score line and they virtually have both feet in next week’s Final.

David Kidwell’s side are currently third in the group, level on points with second placed England, but have a worse points difference.  They are only 30 points behind England which is a very achievable difference against a Scotland side that may well have played their best game against England in Coventry.

That’s not to say Scotland won’t put in a decent performance on Friday night but the quality that New Zealand possess will be far too strong.  Shaun Johnson was bar far the best player against Australia albeit much quieter than he was against England a week earlier and he will be key once again for the Kiwis.

Adam Blair said this week that he won’t expect any of his team mates to be rested for this game so if that’s true then I wouldn’t bet against the Kiwis’ racking up a big score line against the Scots.

Scotland

Steve McCormack’s men will have been mightily proud of the way they performed on Saturday and will no doubt be aiming to cause New Zealand similar problems on Friday night.  From an England point of view let’s hope they do!

They really did shake England to the core in that first quarter of the game and if they had been a bit more disciplined and fitter they would certainly have been able to keep the score line down.

It was unfortunate that Danny Brough ended up being sent to the sin bin as he was by far Scotland’s best player on the night and if he had been able to stay on the pitch I don’t think England would have scored as many points as they did whilst he was off it.

I was also disappointed that he couldn’t keep his head as he is an important player for the Scots and he should have had the experience and knowledge to be able to control himself and his side so that their penalty count didn’t rise so high throughout the game.

Scotland will have no doubt learned a lot from that game but I think their ambition of winning at least once in the competition has unfortunately passed them by as New Zealand will again be far too strong for them this weekend.

MY PREDICTION – New Zealand to win by 36+ points

ENGLAND vs AUSTRALIA

(Sunday, 13 November, The Olympic Stadium, London, 2pm)

England

It goes without saying that this game is the biggest game of the tournament and England’s big chance of showing their supporters what they can do under new coach Wayne Bennett.

Once kick off arrives, England will know exactly what they need to do in order to progress to next weekend’s final as New Zealand should have beaten Scotland and amassed a decent points difference which will set the benchmark that England need to overcome against the much fancied Aussies.

Bennett will need to play his strongest possible team for this game in order to match up to Australia’s strengths so I’m hopeful we’ll see the return of the players that were rested for the Scotland match and, personally, I would like to see him play as many of his NRL based players as possible.  This should give England the strength needed to match up to Australia and sneak the desired result.

The lads will need to start strong in this match and keep it up for the full 80 minutes otherwise they will come under some strong scrutiny from the press and supporters.  Also, if Australia are on their game, it could lead to some very uncomfortable viewing.

There’s already some calls within the media that England are no better with Wayne Bennett as coach than they have been previously so what better way of proving the doubters wrong than securing a memorable victory?

Australia

There have been no such worries for Mal Meninga’s side who have breezed through their opening two games without having to really get into top gear, cruising past Scotland two weeks ago before only really being threatened by the Kiwis late in the second half last week.

Meninga did rest a couple of players in their match at Coventry ahead of their final group game against England which sounds very ominous.  I fully expect Jonathan Thurston, Greg Inglis and Cameron Smith to retain their places in the side (injury permitting) and Cooper Cronk should be back in action after being one of those rested against the New Zealanders.

There is a very real possibility that Australia won’t qualify for next weekend’s final.  If New Zealand beat Scotland by 42 points and England manage to beat the Aussies by 12 points they would finish third in the group and be out of the competition!  Unthinkable at the time of writing and probably won’t happen but it’s interesting to know.

I fully expect Australia to breeze on to Anfield as expected and then reclaim the Four Nations trophy from New Zealand without really breaking into a sweat.

MY PREDICTION – I hope I’m wrong but Australia to win by 10+ points