England and New Zealand face each other twice this weekend as both codes of rugby contest international fixtures – but is it union or league that has the better chance of beating the rugby kings?
Stuart Lancaster’s England rugby union side take on the All Blacks at Twickenham in the first of their Autumn International tests as they prepare for a World Cup that’s less than a year away.
The rugby league team are also in action, in New Zealand, and need a 10-point win to keep their Four Nations dream alive after last weekend’s heartbreaking defeat by Australia.
The thirteen-a-side code kick off at 7am UK time, the team will be hoping to exact revenge on the Kiwis, who won by two points to dump England out of the 2013 rugby league World Cup.
Wigan forward Joel Tomkins, who returned to league from union this year, spoke about his determination to beat the Kiwis and make the final of the Four Nations.
Tomkins said: “We’ve got a bit of experience playing the Kiwis so we’ll go into the Test with some confidence and hopefully get the job done.
“I was approached to return to league and the timing was perfect. I feel I am a better league player than union player. That is the bottom line.”
New Zealand sit atop the group after two games, with the top two teams progressing to the final. The Kiwis are ranked second in the world and are current Four Nations holders.
England were the better side in defeat to Australia last week and will need to raise their game again if they are to make the final. They have to beat the Kiwis by 10 or hope that Samoa can limit the Aussie’s scoring in their match.
Coach Steve McNamara’s players have the skill to put points past the home team in Dunedin, but it’s a matter of staying focused in defence and overcoming their inferiority complex against the antipodean nations.
Across the rugby divide and on the other side of the world England rugby union will be attempting to stop the union World Cup holders as they face New Zealand at 2:30pm on Saturday.
Home advantage may offer little solace to Lancaster’s men as they try to stop the team that whitewashed them 3-0 during a summer southern hemisphere tour.
With less than a year before the UK host the World Cup, England will need to lay down a marker against the big teams in their upcoming tests with fixtures against South Africa, Samoa and Australia to follow.
Suffering similar problems to their league counterparts, the fifteen-a-side team look good in attack but risk conceding points by fielding uncapped players against some of the most powerful outside backs in the sport.
The New Zealanders boast 1,023 caps in their squad compared with England’s 437, however head coach Lancaster backed his team, drawing inspiration from previous victories.
He said: “We are at home against a very high-quality team but we’ve got belief in our team as well. They are strong across the board, very experienced and with world-class players in a lot of positions.
“It’s not dissimilar to the side we played in the summer, the side we played this time last year or two years ago and, on each occasion, we either won or pushed them close.”
England will have to deal with the return of the All Black’s dual-code international explosive inside-centre Sonny Bill Williams after his first appearance in union for two years saw him get man of the match against the USA.
With both England teams desperate for a win, for very different reasons, Saturday’s action is set to be compelling viewing.
Expect pride, power and passion as we witness the haka twice as two of the strongest rugby nations in the world collide.
Image courtesy of Adam Sweeney via YouTube, with thanks.
