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The Four Nations tournament is a game of three halves. Unfortunately for England, none of them are playing for the Poms.
From this point on, the outcome of the event is going to largely come down to what Johnathan Thurston and Cooper Cronk do for Australia and Shaun Johnson does for New Zealand.
It’s not going to matter much what the Pommy halves do for England, because the fact is they’re just not good enough to make the necessary difference.
England coach Wayne Bennett told a media conference this week that the suggestion players from Australia and New Zealand were simply better than English players was wrong.
“You’ve got to get away from all the hype of the kind of things you’re reading here,” Bennett said. “The boys here, there’s no difference between the skill level and the ability to pass and catch. The difference is between the intensity of the competition.”
I prefer former England international Garry Schofield’s version of why the Poms have so much trouble beating the Aussies.
Speaking two weeks ago, while he was out here to promote next year’s World Cup, Schofield said: “The Aussies have got the big four guys, in Greg Inglis, Cameron Smith, Johnathan Thurston and Cooper Cronk.
“We’ve got an NRL forward pack and our outside backs are pretty good, but the question is our creativity.
“We’ve had no halfbacks, to be honest with you, since the days of myself and Andy Gregory, which is going back a lot of years.”
Just over 20 years, in fact.
‘Schoey’ was also adamant the Poms would beat the Kiwis last weekend – “I think we’ll beat New Zealand, I don’t think we’ll have an issue with New Zealand from what I’ve seen of them” – so he’s not perfect.
But maybe he just overestimated England’s forwards. He certainly got it right about their halves.
Five-eighth Gareth Widdop plays for St George Illawarra in the NRL and was previously with Melbourne, so it may seem strange to some to knock him, but he simply doesn’t offer enough at international level.
It didn’t help Widdop that he had Luke Gale alongside him at halfback against the Kiwis, but you’ve got to play with the cards that you’re dealt.
New Zealand halfback Johnson would obviously be way better off if he had a fit and well Kieran Foran beside him at five-eighth rather than Thomas Leuluai, but that didn’t stop Johnson from being the difference against the Poms.
Had Johnson been playing for England, they would have won.
Australia coach Mal Meninga was able to rest five-eighth Thurston against Scotland last weekend and this week he is resting Cooper Cronk against New Zealand.
He said before the start of the tournament that he probably wouldn’t field his strongest side until week three, against England, and now it is clear he wasn’t joking.
It is a very interesting decision to rest Cronk, because there is still at least the possibility at this stage that Australia could miss the Four Nations final by losing to both the Kiwis and the Poms, but that is where the differences in the halves comes in.
Meninga can put Michael Morgan into the halves with Thurston. If Morgan happened to be injured, he could go with Matt Moylan or James Maloney. They are all current State of Origin players.
Widdop is a solid player, but he couldn’t hope to make either the NSW or Queensland sides.
Johnson is a genius at his best, but it’s pretty much a one-man show from him when it comes to generating most of the New Zealand attack.
If he’s having an off day, the Kiwis struggle, as they did when he didn’t aim up in the Test against Australia in Perth almost three weeks ago.
Leuluai is an honest player, but Morgan, Moylan and Maloney would all rank above him in the New Zealand pecking order if they were Kiwis.
The Poms don’t have any halves that are really good enough at this level, the Kiwis have one and the Aussies have enough to convince their coach he can give his main pair one game off each during the tournament and still make the final.
Of course, there is always the chance Meninga’s resting policy could blow up in his face, but that appears unlikely.
He looks to have the numbers.
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