Pressure situations needed for England to prosper

England’s Four Nations performance has polarised opinion with many simply reverting to the norm and bemoaning the national side’s constant inability to conquer those irritating Australians.

Indeed, the final result was soberingly familiar, plenty of quiet pre-match optimism swiftly erased in a ruthless last quarter destruction of England’s tiring troops.

And it would be easy to agree that competing for an hour only to fall away when it matters most has become as traditional against the Kangaroos as belting out God Save The Queen beforehand.

However, while there has been some blind faith in some quarters, there are also enough positives to suggest England are making improvements under Steve McNamara.

It is undeniable Australia are a far superior rugby league-playing nation with a vast amount of talent to call upon which dwarfs what this country can ever look to. It is no real surprise they have dominated England for so long but, looking ahead to the World Cup in 2013, inevitably, the chance to end that abysmal run of more than 40 years will effectively come down to just 80 minutes again.

The key for McNamara, in a game which, if he gets England there, will define his whole four-year period in charge, is to have 17 players all featuring to their optimum level.

The most annoying aspect of Saturday’s Elland Road defeat was the fact so many who had reached the heights in dissecting an admittedly poor New Zealand side failed to replicate that.

It comes to the old problem of consistency. Backing up one good performance with another and not wilting when tension mounts.

For all the talk of England being outplayed against the Kangaroos in Leeds, their erring opponents only completed 65 per cent of their sets, an unusually low count caused by nine handling errors; the tourists were far from perfect and a chance was there for England – who completed at 74 per cent – to capitalise.

They failed to take it for a combination of reasons, principally, showing little invention with the ball they did have, while seeing their own errors mercilessly exposed by Darren Lockyer’s men.

For England to improve, they have to learn to handle pressure better and strike with more composure.

It is an old argument but the truth rings loudly when mentioning the impact the intense State of Origin series has on augmenting the Australians for any rocky periods they face in international football.

In that respect, the RFL must continue with the Exiles concept here. It will not bear fruition in time for the 2013 World Cup but, over many years, and once it has grown into a three-match series like Origin, it is the best chance England’s internationals will have of finding anything similar.

They have to be exposed to consistent amounts of huge pressure, something which Super League just does not produce, and learn how to thrive not shrivel in it.

In that respect, the more players who do follow Sam Burgess, Gareth Ellis and James Graham to the NRL, the better. They will only return more readied for international football.

But the current players do have the potential to beat Australia on any given Sunday which has not always been the case. The pack, even with Adrian Morley and Jamie Peacock perhaps not around for 2013, will still be strong enough with the return from injuries of Burgess and Sean O’Loughlin, while the basis of a decent three-quarter line is finally there in Jack Reed, Ryan Hall and Tom Briscoe with Sam Tomkins at full-back. What a shame only Reed showed his true colours on Saturday. Spot the one who plays in the NRL.

What McNamara must do now is decide what his intentions are at half-back and place faith in whoever he decides for the foreseeable future, 2013 and beyond.

Lockyer and Jonathan Thurston are naturally gifted players but their partnership has flourished because of the sheer number of times they have played together whether that be in Queensland or Australian colours and an English pairing needs the same kind of nurturing.

Kevin Sinfield as a No 6 may not be the answer for 2013 so perhaps it is time to revert to a traditional pairing, putting Rangi Chase in charge in his favoured role of stand-off with Danny Brough – the best kicker in Super League – Richard Myler or the added dynamism of Rob Burrow alongside at scrum-half.

If New Zealand, who England so emphatically defeated in this tournament, can raise their game to overcome Australia in one-off games as they did so memorably in the 2008 World Cup final, there is no reason why England cannot do likewise in two years.

But every player has to be at their best in order to achieve that.

Improving their mentality will aid that chance but it will only come with more big-match occasions.

The Grand Final alone is not enough. More pressure will produce more success.