International Wrap #4 - Pressure rises for Kiwis and Lions

This Saturday’s match between Britain and New Zealand is encounter between two sides with quite a bit to prove.

That statement applies more to New Zealand than Britain. It is not an exaggeration to say that New Zealand have had a disastrous two years. In 2017, they lost to a “tier 2” nation in Tonga in the group stages of the World Cup before being humbled in their home country by Fiji, suffering a chastening exit at the quarter final stage of the World Cup.

That result saw the departure of David Kidwell and Michael McGuire brought in, a coach with a no-nonsense reputation. McGuire rebuilt a winning culture in his time at Wigan and enjoyed a good spell at South Sydney. However, his time at New Zealand has not borne fruit yet.

New Zealand lost 3 of 4 meetings against England in 2018, losing the test series at the earliest opportunity and only securing a consolation victory in the final test.

2019, they hoped presents a new opportunity. Perhaps they thought a new dawn was breaking when they comfortably beat Tonga in June. The contrary argument would be that this victory was a flash in the pan. An argument which had credence added to it, when Australia comfortably disposed of them last weekend.

We will only be able to judge New Zealand at the end of the international season, especially after the next two tests against Britain have taken place. New Zealand have an excellent home record against Britain and England, so the pressure will be on them to maintain that.

If they struggle in the next two weeks, then Tonga will have belief that they can overtake New Zealand as the second ranked nation in the southern hemisphere. Something that was unthinkable even three years ago.

As for Britain, they also suffered last weekend with a surprise defeat at the hands of Tonga. There was much fanfare surrounding the return of Britain and the result was a disappointment. Britain do need to win the match on Saturday to prevent the focus for the rest of the tour switching from hoping for success to a salvage mission.

Britain are hampered by the loss of their only specialist centre Oliver Gildart. It is expected that Jake Connor and Zak Hardaker will fill the centre spots, neither of whom are specialist centres. With Kallum Watkins and Mark Percival both injured too, it is true that Wayne Bennett doesn’t have too many options to turn to. Although others will question why a back-up specialist centre, such as Reece Lyne (who made his England debut in 2018) wasn’t included again.

Super League’s best prop in 2019 Luke Thompson misses out with a rib injury too, presenting an opportunity for Joe Philbin. Whilst not the finished product yet, his hard work for Warrington in 2019 has rightly earned him a shot at national honours.

Bennett has made some tactical changes too. Out goes Coote, to be replaced by Lomax at full back. This is not without risk, as Lomax hasn’t been a regular at full back for over two years, although when asked to fill in at full back for club or country in the interim he has excelled.

Coote works brilliantly at St Helens where the half backs strengths lie in their running game. He looked less effective in the Britain side where Widdop and Hastings offer greater control and kicking games, responsibilities which usually fall on the shoulders of Coote at St Helens. It makes sense, in the interests of balance, to have a runner in one of the pivot positions.

This change also allow Daryl Clark to earn a bench spot to rotate with Josh Hodgson, who was ineffectual last week. Britain should benefit from having a fast dummy runner like Clark entering the field mid-match. This in turn may benefit Hodgson too.

There’s always a lot on the line in a test match, but last weeks poor results for New Zealand and Britain just add that bit more pressure!

In other news

Scotland face Greece on Friday night at New River Stadium in London. A win will see the Scots qualify for the 2021 World Cup. Meanwhile, Italy take on Spain in the other World Cup qualification group. Although Ireland will remain favourites to top that group.

In the southern hemisphere, the Oceania Cup continues, with Samoa facing Fiji in the early hours of the morning. Australia will also face Tonga in a much anticipated game. These games will be played either side of the New Zealand vs Great Britain match.