England tour tough trek for NZ
GETTY IMAGES KIWIS captain Jesse Bromwich needs little reminder about the difficulties of playing in England.
The Melbourne Storm prop was there last year when the tourists went down in the deciding test to lose the series 2-1.
He was also part of the 2013 World Cup squad that, despite a thrilling last-gasp victory over the hosts in the semi-final at Wembley, is more remembered for the embarrassing defeat to Australia in the final.
The Kiwis’ struggles in the UK stretch back well before then, though.
Since claiming a historic victory in the 2005 Tri-Nations final against Australia at Elland Road, the national side has had a wretched run in the motherland.
The Kiwis have missed the Four Nations final on two occasions (2009 and 2011). Then there was the ‘All Golds’ tour of 2007 in which a 3-0 whitewash to Great Britain was followed by a successful campaign by skipper Roy Asotasi and David Kidwell to oust coach Gary Kemble.
Kidwell now finds himself in the hot seat for the upcoming Four Nations and having to wade through the various factors that make playing in England so tough.
From player burnout as a result of a gruelling NRL campaign and homesickness to the wet and cold conditions and factors associated with travel, they are all obstacles the Kiwis have struggled to overcome.
But as he prepares for his first tour as skipper, Bromwich has made it clear that there is no room for excuses.
‘‘It’s definitely tough over there for us Kiwis,’’ Bromwich said before the Kiwis departed for the UK earlier this week.
‘‘You get a bit homesick when you’re away for long. With the younger boys, it’s their first time over there so they’ll be bouncing off the walls so hopefully that will help us out in that department.
‘‘But we’re all professionals now and that shouldn’t affect our performance out on the field or maybe someone else should be here.’’
Veteran Kiwis five-eighth Thomas Leuluai has even more experience playing in England having spent eight years plying his trade in the UK Super League.
He believes previous teams have been guilty of underestimating the talent in the Super League.
‘‘We definitely know now not to underestimate them and you know they’ve got a new coach Wayne Bennett who’s a decent coach so it’s going to be a really tough challenge,’’ Leuluai said.
‘‘Obviously the factors of travelling and the weather and all that stuff, but we’re all professionals so we should be able to deal with it.’’
The Kiwis kick off the defence of their Four Nations title against England next Sunday.