Optimistic England intent on revenge over Kiwis

England captain Sean O’Loughlin is confident the tourists can quickly recover from their shattering defeat by Australia as they look to take out their frustrations on New Zealand.
NOT GUILTY: Australias Greg Bird was cited for this tackle on Sean OLoughlin in Melbourne but avoided suspension. Picture: Photosport/SWPixNOT GUILTY: Australias Greg Bird was cited for this tackle on Sean OLoughlin in Melbourne but avoided suspension. Picture: Photosport/SWPix
NOT GUILTY: Australias Greg Bird was cited for this tackle on Sean OLoughlin in Melbourne but avoided suspension. Picture: Photosport/SWPix

The England squad arrived in Dunedin last night to begin their preparations for their crunch encounter with Stephen Kearney’s men at the Forsyth Barr Stadium on Saturday, when a victory by 10 points would secure a place in the final a week later.

O’Loughlin, who returned from a quad muscle strain to lead England for the first time in their 16-12 defeat by the Kangaroos in Melbourne on Sunday, has been cleared, along with his Wigan team-mate Liam Farrell, to play against the Kiwis after both men were put on report in the early stages of the game at AAMI Park.

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This Saturday’s match against the Kiwis would have been a dress rehearsal for the Wellington final had England winger Ryan Hall not been controversially denied a last-minute try by video referee Bernard Sutton, and O’Loughlin admits his side are still coming to terms with the heartbreak.

“It was a very disappointed dressing room,” said O’Loughlin. “We felt we had done enough to get the win.

“I only saw it on the big screen but, for me, Ryan looked like he touched it and most of the boys felt it was a try.

“But it wasn’t all about that final play, there were probably other parts of the game that cost us.

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“I thought we put in a real strong performance. It was a tough arm-wrestle of a game but I felt we dominated areas of the game, it was just some small per cents here and there burnt us a little bit.

“They’ve got some real class individuals and I thought we did a good job on them for probably 90 per cent of the game.

“We let in a couple of tries in the second half which was disappointing but I thought we had scraped it in the end, we just didn’t get the result.

“It was a great opportunity to get a win but we have to crack on from this.

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“To not get the win is tough but we know we’ve got another game and we can put it right here.

“We’ve got our travelling done early and we’ll soon be back out on the pitch.”

Saturday’s meeting with the Kiwis will be the first since England’s even more heartbreaking 20-18 defeat in the World Cup semi-final at Wembley last November, when Shaun Johnson scored a try with 20 seconds left on the clock and then kicked the conversion to put his side into the final.

England have a good record against the Kiwis at home but it is 22 years since Great Britain last won in New Zealand and Steve McNamara’s men suffered a 
24-10 defeat on their last visit to the Shaky Isles in the 2010 Four Nations Series.

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“If we want to be involved in the final, that’s the way we’re going to have to do it,” said O’Loughlin, who was in the team that lost at Wellington’s Westpac Stadium four years ago.

“They are a strong side and they turned the Aussies over.”

“There is no-one in there that doesn’t believe we can’t do the job,” added centre Dan Sarginson, whose surprise call-up for Sunday’s round-two fixture breathed fresh air into the England team.

Sarginson’s sublime pass got Hall over for a try that added to Kallum Watkins’s earlier effort and enabled the tourists to open an eight-point lead. But Australia’s latest newcomer, Ben Hunt, also made an impressive mark on debut, touching down Cameron Smith’s grubber kick before becoming involved in the build-up for Greg Inglis’s ultimately crucial score.

McNamara will name his team this morning and O’Loughlin and Farrell are sure to be included after avoiding suspension.

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The captain, who reported no ill-effects from his comeback from injury, was put on report for an alleged trip on Australian hooker Cameron Smith, while Farrell was reported for a possible “chicken wing” tackle on full-back Greg Inglis that incensed Kangaroos coach Tim Sheens.

Australia forward Greg Bird was also put on report for an alleged “spear” tackle on O’Loughlin but he, too, avoided any punishment after an NRL spokesman confirmed that no charges were brought from the two matches over the weekend.

However, Bird’s second-row partner, Beau Scott, will miss Australia’s final round-robin game against Samoa in Wollongong on Sunday after suffering a low-grade hamstring tear in the opening stages of the game in Melbourne.

Scott, who had scans in Melbourne yesterday, will remain in camp with the squad ahead of a potential return if Australia clinch their place in the final.

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The Kangaroos will not underestimate Samoa on Sunday after the Pacific Islanders pushed the Kiwis all the way in Whangarei and by kick-off time in Wollongong they will know exactly what they need to do to reach the final.

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