England aim to shut out Aussie noise
YOU could be forgiven for thinking that this morning’s World Cup opener is a game nobody wants to win. Hot on the heels of England coach Wayne Bennett hinting he would be satisfied with an honourable defeat, Australia boss Mal Meninga declared that a loss for his side would be a ‘great start for the tournament’.
Take no notice of either of them. Meninga versus Bennett adds intrigue to the battle of the heavyweights in Melbourne and both will be desperate for victory.
The pair are arch rivals — with Meninga claiming his fellow Aussie was after his job last year.
And speaking ahead of today’s match, he acknowledged that Bennett would take huge satisfaction from pulling off a stunning upset on Australian soil. ‘It would be enormous for him,’ said Meninga, before adding: ‘It would be a great start for the tournament.’
The Australia coach did, however, warn that his much-fancied men will not be complacent. ‘England will probably think we are at our most vulnerable and we’re prepared for that,’ he said. ‘We’re tournament favourites and with that comes some added pressure. If we do get beaten, other teams will probably feel we’re vulnerable as well.’
Meninga’s mind games are unlikely to impact on England, and assistant coach Denis Betts says their previous failures can inspire success this year. ‘The World Cup has always been the goal,’ Betts said. ‘It’s why the coach is here, to get England into a World Cup final with a possibility of being the team that wins it. We wanted to win the Four Nations last year, but that experience is the strength of this group now.’
While Bennett’s priority is ensuring England are at their best in the knockout stage, Betts believes the aim is to beat Australia twice in a tournament — something a side from these shores have not done since Great Britain in 1970.
‘Nothing’s won or lost (today),’ he said. ‘We will get better as we go. We haven’t beaten Australia twice in a tournament for a long time and that’s the benchmark.’ Betts was the last man to lead England into a World Cup final, some 22 years ago when they lost to the Kangaroos after beating them in the group stage. ‘My worst day and my best day were both on the same day,’ he recalled. ‘I was captain of England in a World Cup final, walking out at Wembley. We were good enough to win, but I was disappointed in the team’s performance. It was a chance that went missing. We just didn’t perform and that lives with me.
‘Nobody thought we wouldn’t be in a World Cup final from that day to this. We might only get one chance and this might be it.’ ENGLAND: Lomax; McGillvary, Watkins, Bateman, Hall; Widdop, Gale; Hill, Hodgson, Graham, Whitehead, S Burgess, O’Loughlin (capt). Substitutes: Walmsley, Heighington,
T Burgess, Roby. AUSTRALIA: Slater; Gagai, Chambers,
Dugan, Holmes; Morgan, Cronk; Woods,
Smith (capt), Klemmer, Cordner, Gillett, Trbojevic. Substitutes: Graham, McLean, McGuire, Frizell.