Samoa test ideal World Cup warm-up for England, insists Wayne Bennett

He will see his side take on Samoa in Sydney tomorrow in their only game before the tournament starts in October.

England have been in camp since Sunday and Bennett – whose club role is with Brisbane Broncos – said the time spent there has been crucial as they look to make the World Cup a far greater success than last year’s bitterly disappointing Four Nations failure.

“It’s been a really invaluable experience for all and essential to have all players here to prepare for what’s to come at the end of the year,” he said. “It’s vital that the group spend time together and that I spend time with all the players during World Cup year.

“Samoa are a very good team – there’s a lot of top NRL players in their squad. It’s not going to be easy for us; we weren’t looking for an easy game but we need to prove ourselves on Saturday.

“I’m really looking forward to it and I’m sure they are too because I know they’ve got a hard game in front of them.”

England, who have not played since last November’s 36-18 Four Nations defeat against Australia in London, cancelled a pre-season training camp in Dubai planned for January.

However, Bennett said the last few days had allowed them to complete much-needed work.

“Being over here bridges the gap between not playing for long periods as a national team and gives us opportunity to sort out little issues which will enable us to hit the ground running in October,” he said.

“Some tough decisions were made when picking this team but this eight-day camp has been fantastic. The commitment shown has been second to none.”