Sam is so famous here that a pizza is named after him

To lose 18-4 against Australia in the first game of the tournament was obviously disappointing, but the scoreline last week did not reflect how well we performed against one of the best teams in the world in their own backyard.

And while the result was not what England wanted, it is important to remember that the World Cup is long tournament and this is just the start of the journey for us. Playing the holders in the opening game was the ultimate test, and we are only going to get better from here.

That World Cup journey has taken us from Melbourne to Sydney this week, but not before we had some time to switch off and relax on a trip to the races last Saturday. That was a lot of fun, as you would expect, but we did not have much luck on the track.

The next day we took the short flight to Sydney, where we are staying right in the heart of the city. We were straight back at work with a full day of intense training on Monday, which was hard going in the scorching heat.

We were covering ourselves in sunscreen and there were plenty of drinks breaks, but it still saps your energy more than usual. But we have got to get used to dealing with those conditions during matches. That said, it is tough. Especially for the bigger guys, who probably feel the strain more as they are a little heavier and they are the ones doing the hard graft in the middle of the pitch.

A day off, thankfully, followed after that, which allowed some of the lads to go off and play a round of golf in the morning. Some of the others wandered around the city, while a few of us, including myself, went down to soak up the atmosphere and have a kickabout on Bondi Beach.

We were in Sydney for a mid-season Test against Samoa in May, so I have seen Bondi before, but it really is an incredible place.

We are usually not recognised when we are out and about, apart from the guys who play in the NRL, which is obviously massive out here. Sam Burgess, who is of course a huge name in the NRL, was with us and he regularly gets

spotted, as do the likes of James Graham and Josh Hodgson.

Sam and his brother Tom both play for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, so they do not live too far from where we are staying – only around five or 10 minutes away. They therefore feel right at home. This is their environment, really, and it has been for many years. That is an enormous help to us because it means they can show us around the city and let us know where we can all eat out together.

As a team, we went to a restaurant called Bondi Pizza, where Sam has designed his own pizza: Sam’s Super Supreme. It’s a promotion he has been doing and we were all having a laugh with him over it but, to be fair, it was actually pretty good. It had pepperoni, a bit of feta cheese, some mozzarella and then a salad on top to round it off. There were no complaints. A couple of us also went down to a local junior club as part of the community work we are doing. It’s remarkable to see the amount of people out here working and volunteering for rugby league to make this World Cup a success, and it is good for us to show our faces and get involved in it.

This all comes second to preparations for the Lebanon game, though. They are a side who will be feeling confident that they can cause us a lot of problems, especially after defeating France last week.

It will be a party atmosphere, which is what the World Cup is all about. But it will also be a tough battle, and that’s what we want.

Kallum Watkins is speaking on behalf of Kingstone Press, the official cider of Rugby League.