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Australia and England will restore their age-old rivalry when the two nations open the Rugby League World Cup in Melbourne.
The match shapes as a potential preview for the final to be held in Brisbane with both nations widely tipped to compete for the Paul Barrière Trophy.
Australia go into the tournament as overwhelming favourites with Mal Meninga’s side attempting to become the first Kangaroos outfit to win a major tournament on home soil since the 2006 Tri-Nations.
The tournament opener will mark the first time Billy Slater has pulled on an Aussie jersey since 2014, the fullback sparking an inspired comeback in the 2017 season, culminating in a Clive Churchill Medal for his performance in the Storm’s premiership victory.
Slater forms part of the Kangaroos spine that also features Michael Morgan, Cooper Cronk and skipper Cameron Smith. The quartet all featured in the NRL Grand Final with Morgan in particular finding late season form to steer the Cowboys to the big dance after finishing eighth.
He replaces Johnathan Thurston in the No.6 jumper, one of a series of notable absences with Darius Boyd, Greg Inglis and Matthew Scott also on the sidelines. The loss of key players won’t help Australia, especially in the backline where Mal Meninga has no specialist wingers with Valentine Holmes and Dane Gagai have been forced to move from fullback.
It will mark Gagai’s debut, earning his first Test cap alongside Sharks utility Wade Graham and Storm enforcer Jordan McLean.
Gagai will face a tough battle against England winger Ryan Hall, who is proving himself to be one of the best wingers in the world with great speed, power and finishing skills. Hall has developed a knack for try scoring, with 32 tries from as many appearances for the national team.
Hall dazzled during England’s 74-12 demolition of the Combined Affiliated States in Perth. The match showed that the wall of white were prepared to tackle the Australians head-on with Wayne Bennett experimenting with the team by shifting second rowers Ben Currie and John Bateman into the centres.
Bateman will suit up in the No.4 jumper after a strong performance, with the warm-up fixture proving England’s new-found structure and discipline.
They have finally settled on their halves pairing of Gareth Widdop and Luke Gale, the pair both coming off stellar seasons. Widdop was named the Dally M Five-Eighth of the year after discovering creativity and composure with the Dragons while Luke Gale won the Man of Steel award after a strong campaign from Castleford, despite finishing runners-up.
(AP Photo/NZPA, Ross Setford)
The structure Bennett has helped develop was shown in their win over Samoa earlier in the year, trumping the Pacific powerhouse 30-10. Their forward pack have proved especially dominant led by Sam Burgess and James Graham, meaning the battle in the middle of the park will be crucial.
If England can maintain their discipline against the Australians, they could come a long way to announcing themselves as contenders for the title of world champions.
Prediction
Both sides will put in strong performances but in the end the Kangaroos will be too good for the Poms, eclipsing the old enemy in a tight affair.
Australia by six.
Australia Kangaroos: 1. Billy Slater, 2. Dane Gagai, 3. William Chambers, 4. Josh Dugan, 5. Valentine Holmes, 6. Michael Morgan, 7. Cooper Cronk, 8. Aaron Woods, 9. Cameron Smith (c), 10. David Klemmer, 11. Boyd Cordner, 12. Matt Gillett, 13. Jake Trbojevic
Interchange: 14. Wade Graham, 15. Jordan McLean, 16. Josh McGuire, 17. Tyson Frizell
England: 1. Jonny Lomax, 2. Jermaine McGillvary, 3. Kallum Watkins, 4. John Bateman, 5. Ryan Hall, 6. Gareth Widdop, 7. Luke Gale, 8. Chris Hill, 9. Josh Hodgson, 10. James Graham, 11. Sam Burgess, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Sean O’Loughlin (c)
Interchange: 14. Alex Walmsley, 15. Chris Heighington, 16. Thomas Burgess, 17. James Roby
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