Coach talks up Kiwi Ferns’ preparation for final
Kiwi Ferns coach Ricky Henry would take his team’s buildup over that of Australia’s for this weekend’s World Cup final at Old Trafford.
The two biggest teams in international rugby league clash again tomorrow with New Zealand looking to reverse an earlier 10-8 loss to their trans-Tasman rivals.
They have had differing paths to the final. The Jillaroos have scored 248 points and not conceded any in their three games outside of playing the Kiwi Ferns, including a 82-0 drubbing of Papua New Guinea in the semifinals.
The Kiwi Ferns had a more testing semifinal, beating England 20-6 and Henry feels that will give his team an advantage for the final.
‘‘As a coach, you try to keep your players healthy and we’ve been able to do that, even though we’ve had tough encounters against Australia and England,’’ Henry said.
‘‘I don’t mind the path we’re on – it probably suits us better than anyone else. What I do know is that we’ll be match hardened and ready to play a gruelling encounter against an Australian team.
‘‘We want to put a lot of pressure on them and make it uncomfortable
for them. They scored 15 tries at the weekend. I’d rather score five and have a really good, tough game in preparation for this World Cup final.’’ The Jillaroos haven’t lost a test in six years and went into the
World Cup as the red-hot favourites. But having only just defeated the Kiwi Ferns in pool play, it is feasible to see New Zealand win the final, if they can improve in a couple of areas.
‘‘We took a lot of confidence out of the game just over a week ago, so the main things for us was our execution and a lot of our attack plays,’’ Henry said. ‘‘We created enough opportunities, but we weren’t able to get the polish on completing them.
‘‘From a defensive point of view, a lot of those early carries out of our own half, Australia pinned us in and made us work to get out of our own end.’’
The Kiwi Ferns had their captain’s run at Old Trafford yesterday to take in the Theatre of Dreams and enjoy of some Manchester’s traditional bad weather.
The in-goal areas are smaller than usual, so kickers will be tested and there is the risk of players crashing into the fences, but it is the perfect location for the World Cup final, given the popularity of league in northern England. ‘‘I don’t think we’ve ever been to a ground like it,’’ Henry said.