We have the steel and belief to go all the way
WAYNE BENNETT is convinced Luke Gale and Gareth Widdop are ready to take the world by storm.
Scrum-half and stand-off have often been problem positions for England. But head coach Bennett believes the duo he will unleash on Australia in Friday’s opening World Cup game are two of the best in the business.
Gale was crowned Super League’s Man of Steel, while Widdop was named stand-off of the year in the NRL.
Bennett said: “Luke is really good and Gareth is really confident and that confidence rubs off on other people.
“Luke won Man of Steel over there and I can see how much more confident he is this year.
“They get the team round great so I’m more than happy with what I’ve got, they’ve just got to play well on the night.”
The pair will need to be on fire to end England’s dire run of 11 straight defeats against the Aussies, stretching back to the 1995 World Cup.
The closest they came was a 16-12 defeat in Melbourne three years ago, when Ryan Hall was controversially denied a lastgasp winning try. Widdop played in that Four Nations loss in the city where he played his club rugby for four years.
The 28-year-old from Halifax, who left Melbourne Storm for St George Illawarra in 2014, is pleased to be back.
But he is hoping for better luck with England this time and insists the squad go into the tournament with high hopes.
“You have to be confident as you’re coming up against the best players in the world,” he said. “We have a great squad now and we need to believe in each other. If we can do that, we will give it everything we have got and who knows what can happen.”
England’s Super League players have had six training camps since last year’s disappointing Four Nations tournament.
Widdop was not involved, along with the other six NRL- based players, but says he has noticed a difference in his teammates. He said: “The more the players can catch up, the better. That continuity certainly helps.”
England go into the tournament without full-back Zak Hardaker, who was axed after testing positive for cocaine.
Bennett admits it caused disruption and said: “He’s a very good player but that’s life, it happens. We had to move on.”
Jonny Lomax takes over at full-back from Stefan Ratchford after missing last Friday’s warmup match against a Combined Affiliated States with a slight hamstring strain. Lomax’s St Helens team-mate Alex Walmsley is set to win his first cap from the bench despite missing yesterday’s training session due to illness.
The team list issued by the World Cup organisers, who announced all 14 squads for the opening round of matches, suggests Wigan second-rower John Bateman will again line up in the centres.
It also reveals Ben Currie will probably have to wait to win his first cap after failing to make the first 17, along with Kevin Brown, Mark Percival and Scott Taylor.
Bennett concedes his team will not be at their best on Friday but is confident they are making progress as they aim to not only reach their first final for 22 years, but win the World Cup for the first time since 1972.
“I’m really pleased with the preparations,” he said. “They have been with me 12 months now so we all know each other.
“There is much better understanding and acceptance of what we need to do.
“We won’t be at our best on Friday night, they won’t be at their best either, it’s where we’re at in six weeks’ time. We want to be in that final, that’s what we’re aiming for.”