It doesn't matter who the best team is in a game of sport. The only thing that matters is who wins and this week in the Four Nations we saw two prime examples of that with the Kiwis fumbling their way to a win over Samoa and the Kangaroos doing what they and Queensland have done well for a while - close games out.

We'll start in Whangarei where the Kiwis looked pretty average. That's two weeks in a row where they haven't quite looked near their best, last week they couldn't quite execute their back line moves clinically and it was the same against Samoa. Only against Samoa, the Kiwis dropped more ball and missed more tackles. We still haven't seen the best of this back line for the Kiwis, something looks a little bit off especially when Peta Hiku enters the line. I'm not sure what it is, but you'd have to think that another week on the training ground will only help with their timing and execution. The Samoans got up in the Kiwi's faces which definitely worked, for mine Kieran Foran and Shaun Johnson just need to execute a bit better. A swift blow with a sharp knife instead of hacking with a dull one.

Samoa were good, they defended strongly and offered plenty in attack. Josh McQuire aye, starting off in dummy half which gave the Samoans that extra big body in the middle which was important as these games tend to start with big body contact. Pita Godinet came on and looked dangerous as he always does but they just couldn't finish it off. Having an average halves pairing will do that to ya and they kept giving the Kiwis the ball back, presenting them opportunities to score which the Kiwis took with glee. Besides them, I loved the work of Leeson Ah Mau on the right edge, he's super mobile and has great footwork.

The Kiwis will hope that Greg Eastwood is all good, he was missed against Samoa and they'll definitely need to sharpen up their attack. Manu Vatuvei makes a huge difference, his hit ups are priceless from a winger and he was always in the action. There's something in this Kiwis side that makes me happy - they piss you off. Adam Blair made Mose Masoe get a bit silly with his solid hit on Ben Roberts, while Manu was in the grill of Joey Leilua, Kieran Foran was tapping blokes on the head and Isaac Luke was chirping away.

Despite a great win against the Kangaroos, we haven't seen the Kiwis at their best. Which is good and bad. They're 2 from 2 so they've got that winning buzz despite not being as sharp as we'd like, but if they aren't quite at their best against the English they could be in for a rude awakening.

England were good and much like Samoa, they could have, should have, would have won. Instead, the Kangaroos kicked to the corners while the English put up bombs. That kick and chase from Cooper Cronk was beautiful and summed up the weekend for me - when the game is in the balance, that's how you win.

The Aussies again looked to lack much oomph. Their forward pack all do a similar job and were out played for most of the match by an English pack who punch holes, put on a bit of footwork and get and off load out. However, the Kangaroos simply knew what needed to be done to win and bringing on Ben Hunt for a forward changed the game. That's another play maker, more variety, more confusing set ups for the defence to line up against. We saw that while the Kangaroos may lack pizzazz and excitement, they still have Cameron Smith and Cooper Cronk.

Tim Sheens will be hoping that his young lads like Dylan Walker pull their heads in. Sione Mata'utia wasn't amazing, but he did pull of a screamer of a catch to give the Kangaroos the ball late in the match. The Kangaroos need everyone sharp and having Walker push silly off loads coming out of his own end isn't Kangaroo footy.

That's the thing, both the Kiwis and the Kangaroos weren't where they want to be. You can talk all day about how they escaped from defeat, but that's all that matters. They suffered many mishaps that both Sheens and Stephen Kearney wouldn't want to see again, but they did the business. Both the Samoans and England will be kicking themselves for how they closed their games out and they showed that they're able to stay in the grind, mix it up with the big boys and offer a threat out wide, but that little bit of class was missing.

If you see the English or Samoans out and about just ask them "Where's ya clutch cuzzie?"