Kiwis In England - Hype For The Decider
Preparing for a Test series in Cancun isn't recommended for the average joker, only Roger can do it
So far in the Test series between England and the Kiwis, we have seen England blow the Kiwis off the park in game one and a gritty defence-dominated encounter in game two. Surely game three in Wigan will serve up a slick display from the Kiwis, surely!?
That would be nice and it would ensure that my confidence surrounding rugby league in Aotearoa is justified, yet I'm not overly concerned how the Kiwis grab the win. All that has been lacking from this series has been efficiency in attack from the Kiwis, which is to be expected when young halves are trying to run the show and while we'd all rather see the Kiwis dominate, the discombobulated nature of their performances has added some funk to this series.
I've come to view this series as a challenge for a young Kiwis team, a tough tour to the Motherland in which trials and tribulations are the only certainty. Looking at this series or decider as a battle between the best rugby league team in the world and the promising English doesn't truly reflect the fact that a slew of the world's best players are chilling/slogging away in pre-season torture sessions.
England have played their part in this being a tough slog for an inexperienced Kiwis team. The Kiwis won the second Test by matching the workman-like efforts of England's forwards, which was absent in the first Test. The toil of England's forwards has been great, it's just that their attack and the way that players like halfback George Williams and Kallum Watkins have either been missing in action or haven't been given enough ball has hindered their attacking threat.
The Kiwis matched England's forwards in London last Sunday and worked their way up the field with ease thanks to Jesse Bromwich and his comrades. After being shown the adequate levels of desire, effort and attitude in the first Test, the Kiwis responded as such and you'd have to assume that this will be repeated in the decider. It has to be.
Issac Luke's kicking game, which played an integral role in the Kiwis' victory came off the back of go-forward, quick play the balls and in turn more time and space. England's forward pack has been impressive with Tom Burgess blazing his own path while the likes of Chris Hill and Brett Ferres have emerged as quality international forwards, which sets up an intense contest through the middle. England will know that if they can keep the Kiwis' forwards on the back foot and make them work excessively hard of defence - see if the Kiwis can repeat last week's effort - then the Kiwis could be parked down their own end. The Kiwis will know that their halves will be passengers without a dominant display from their forwards.
Unfortunately for Tuimoala Lolohea, I would be rocking with Kodi Nikorima and Peta Hiku again in the halves. I don't think that Nikorima is a better half than Lolohea and Hiku's improved performance was expected after battling through game one. I also don't think that the Lolohea vs Nikorima decision will win or lose this game as they're similar, especially when running the footy.
The forwards hold the key to victory, not only because of their work carting the ball forward but also because they are arguably more skillful than their counterparts and this is a staple of the current Kiwis group. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck has been kept relatively quiet, thanks to coach Steve McNamara's inside knowledge and there's no better time for Tuivasa-Sheck to break the shackles than now, which will come as he sniffs around Bromwich, Ben Matulino and Adam Blair for an off-load. England will counter this by getting numbers around the ball and wrapping the ball-carrier up so it will be interesting to see who gets the upper hand here.
Tuivasa-Sheck has also been closely marked out wider as well, where he gets the ball a few passes off the ruck and has options to work with. Jordan Kahu and Dean Whare have been two of the Kiwis' best players, yet they haven't received too much ball in their centre positions which is where Tuivasa-Sheck has to showcase his play-making ability. Tuivasa-Sheck needs to get Kahu and Whare one on one out wide and then run the ball, or vice versa. If England worry too much about Tuivasa-Sheck the hot-stepper, they'll miss his ever-improving ability as a distributor.
England pose a serious threat in this decider and just as I was a ball or nerves as James Graham crossed the line last week, I'm nervously anticipating the Sunday morning's game. This may not be the same Kiwis team that charged to the top spot in the rugby league world but the challenge facing this young Kiwis team is to maintain that top spot.