Wigan ace going for glory

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from JULIE STOTT in Melbourne to do. It is not the first time I have played there – I made my debut there for England.

“The more you do it, the better you are going to be at it. As the weeks go on I feel a lot more comfortable.”

Bateman scored his first international try in his ninth appearance in last week’s 36-6 group win over France.

It helped set up a potentially tricky quarter-final against Papua New Guinea in Melbourne tomorrow.

Bateman added: “We have watched them a couple of times and they have looked good, so it is going to be a good test for us. They hit hard and run hard, it’s as simple as that.

“There’s not much you can do about it apart from match their physicality.

“When we get the ball, we need to be a bit smarter and break them down in ways we know we can.

History

“It’s 80 minutes and anything can happen, but we’ll be putting our best foot forward to make sure we get the result we want to.”

If England win, they are expected to meet Tonga in the semis with Australia probably waiting in the final.

It is a prospect that Bateman, 24, has allowed himself to dream about, saying: “You’d be remembered for the rest of history.

“It’s a dream at the moment but I think we’re getting closer and closer to that dream.

“I think we’ve got the best chance possible of getting our hands on that cup. We just need to knock the games off.”

England failed to put in an 80-minute display in any of their group games, against Australia, Lebanon and France.

Bateman added: “People might say we’ve not been at our best, but when you look through the tournament, who has been at their best?

“If you end up winning a World Cup, nobody will look back and remember the early rounds.”