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The stage is set for a cracking contest at Wembley as England does battle with New Zealand for the right to participate in the Rugby League World Cup final. Join us for live scores and commentary from 12.00am AEDT.
England is one game away from hosting an historic World Cup final at Old Trafford after accounting for France in the quarter-finals.
New Zealand however will present itself as a far more imposing obstacle in a semi-final that should go down to the wire.
A record international rugby league crowd is expected to turn up to Wembley to cheer on an English outfit that will need all the support it can get against the Kiwis.
Despite being the reigning world champions, New Zealand’s current squad is said to be its best ever, even beating out the squad that won the World Cup on Australian soil five years ago.
For the first time in many moons, New Zealand possess firepower and stability in all positions, particularly upfront.
With Sonny Bill Williams, Frank Paul Nuuausala, Jared Waerea Hargreaves, Frank Pritchard, Sam Moa and Issac Luke leading the line-upfront, the Kiwis will take a power of stopping tonight.
The Burgess brothers Sam, Luke and George will all have to play at their best if England hopes to outmuscle a Kiwi pack that possesses plenty of skill and grunt.
The key to victory for New Zealand tonight will be the performance from Warriors half Shaun Johnson.
While his halves partner Kieran Foran is a big game player, Johnson can go missing at times on the big stage and it will be interesting to see if he can play the percentages well against an England side that will target him heavily when in possession.
If Johnson plays well, New Zealand will go a long way to securing their place in the final.
At the moment, the Kiwis just possess that extra bit of flair and creativity in their line-up to post the points needed to beat the English.
However, New Zealand can ill-afford to start like they did against Scotland last week.
In the opening 12 minutes of play, the Kiwis were on the back foot against Scotland in the quarter final and would be wise to keep their discipline and error rate in check against England.
England love a good arm wrestle and will fancy their chances of beating New Zealand if the men in black decide to play pretty football without having first laid a platform upfront.
Overall, both teams are evenly matched, given that England possess important home ground advantage.
New Zealand however possess the players most likely to produce the winning play needed to secure passage to the Rugby League World Cup final.
New Zealand by eight.