Tony Smith's men will temporarily steal the limelight from hosts Australia when they meet Papua New Guinea in the first of 18 matches in a four-week period that organisers hope will showcase the best of rugby league.

England ought to start off with a comfortable victory over the Kumuls, who are the fourth-ranked nation in the world but have been placed in the 'pool of death' with the big three.

Australia begin their defence of the trophy they have held since 1975 with a pool match against New Zealand at the Sydney Football Stadium tomorrow and have been made overwhelming favourites to retain their crown.

But Kangaroos coach Ricky Stuart has been making encouraging noises in the build-up by suggesting his side's rivals will pose the biggest threat in 33 years to their world dominance.

"They (New Zealand) have certainly got the talent there to beat us," said Stuart.

"They have got some outstanding footballers and I know they are very, very confident.

"I think the English are also showing signals of being confident and being happy with the preparation leading into the World Cup.

"It's been shown over the years that New Zealand and England have the ability to beat Australia on their day.

"You have only got to have a look at the talent of the players, the professionalism that's surrounding the players now in regards to their preparation and their coaching.

"We can't afford to be off our game. We have to make sure that each game we play, every individual is prepared and we've got a team performance good enough to win that match."

Brian Noble's Great Britain toppled the Aussies on their last visit to Sydney in 2006 and, under Smith, England have been making steady progress, albeit without being seriously tested.

The first big challenge will come in Melbourne on Sunday week when they take on Australia, but, with three of the four teams in Pool A going through to the semi-finals, defeat would not be catastrophic.

England's chances of success could depend on their ability to keep their front-line players fit.

The team selected by Smith for today's opening game is undoubtedly good enough to trouble both the Kiwis and the Kangaroos, but there are question marks over their depth of talent.

Both Australia and New Zealand have managed to plug gaps caused by injuries and defections, but England would be in serious difficulty if they were to lose any of their first-choice men before the knock-out stages.

The competition format – deliberately contrived to avoid the mismatches of previous tournaments – has gradually won acceptance and the fight for the fourth semi-final place looks especially intriguing.

France, dominated by the Catalans Dragons players who took Super League by storm this year, will fancy their chances of winning Pool B, under John Monie's guidance, at the expense of Scotland and Fiji.

And Ireland look certain to be squeezed out of Pool C by the imposing twin South Sea Island threat of Tonga and Samoa, who have taken full advantage of the decision to scrap the domestic quota rule to fill their squads with NRL talent.

The Irish and Scots reluctantly followed suit and they have a smattering of NRL experience in their ranks, but they will also have to rely on part-timers from the National League and that looks a daunting task.

The Tonga-Samoa meeting in Penrith next Friday has been whetting the appetite of the connoisseur, with the winners set to face a semi-final eliminator for the right to take on Australia in the last four in Sydney.

Organisers have promised a full house for the November 22 final in Brisbane and it is unthinkable that Australia will not feature in it.

The only remaining question is whether England or New Zealand will provide the opposition and the odds are narrowly in favour of Smith's men.