Johnson: ‘Don’t write off Scotland’
Scrumhalf Shaun Johnson says ‘‘communication will be the key’’ to helping the Kiwis’ new faces settle in because he doesn’t want another Scottish setback.
Johnson hasn’t forgotten the Kiwis’ surprise 18-18 draw with Scotland during the 2016 Four Nations tournament in England and is keen to atone in Saturday’s Rugby League World Cup match in Christchurch.
Everyone is expecting the Kiwis - 38-8 victors over Samoa last week - to win comfortably at AMI Stadium after Tonga trounced the Scots 50-4 in Cairns on Saturday.
But Johnson - one of six Kiwis backing up from the 2016 tussle insists it will be ‘‘a big game for both teams’’.
‘‘Obviously what happened at the back end of last year was a massive achievement for their side. They really took it to us that day.
‘‘You can’t write them off or they will make you pay, like they did last year.’’
Johnson said the Kiwis had pored over the tape of the Samoa game and noted ‘‘things we did well and things where can add a little bit more’’.
‘‘We aren’t under any illusions. We don’t expect to go out there and play a perfect game of footy this weekend.
‘‘But if we can take a step in that direction and fix up those mistakes in the areas where we felt let ourselves down, then to us that’s the job done.’’
Johnson said the Scots - led by standoff half Danny Brough would be ‘‘hungry’’.
‘‘That’s what we want - we want a good challenge and we want to play some good Kiwi footy.’’
The Kiwis have made seven changes to the team that toppled Samoa and Johnson – who will take on more leadership responsibility with hooker Thomas Leuluai rested – is conscious he and halves partner Te Maire Martin have to be clear with their talk.
‘‘Communication will be key. It all starts with me and Te, and our hooker [Elijah Taylor] and our fullback [Roger Tuivasa-Sheck].
Johnson said they had to ‘‘make our expectations pretty clear’’ and make the transition easier for the players starting their first game of the tournament.
‘‘It’s about preparing the best we can; that’s been our theme from the start of this campaign.’’
The Kiwis aimed to ‘‘grow our game’’ from week to week, Johnson said, but he admitted: ‘‘You never lose focus on those areas that go a long ways to winning a footy game.
‘‘We want to play a brandy of footy that’s going to capture the New Zealand public.’’
Johnson said the Kiwis had had an ‘‘awesome’’ reception at their public training session at Christchurch’s Linfield Park and he was expecting a partisan home crowd, based on his one previous experience of playing in Christchurch with the Warriors against the Penrith Panthers in 2016.
‘‘Last week was a bit weird, playing in Auckland but being the second most loved team on the field that night.’’