SURE ENGLAND PASS LAST TEST

took a bit of pressure off us but it will feel even better if we whitewash them.

“We don’t want to pick the trophy up off the back of a loss. there is nothing worse than doing that.”

England had a record of losing tight games when Wayne Bennett took over two years ago and the Aussie made it his target to turn that around. He has demanded the players be mentally tougher and has discovered he’s got a poster boy for just that in Tommy Makinson.

The St Helens winger was the hat-trick star of last week’s 20-14 win at Anfield and won the International Golden Boot on Wednesday.

His heroics, which started with an England debut in the mid-season Test against the Kiwis, are in sharp contrast to the 18 months he had out with ankle and knee injuries.

He said: “When you grow up and want to be a professional player and that dream is slowly being snatched away from you, you think things couldn’t be worse.

“Physically, that’s never been a problem for me really as I’ve always trained well and come back from injuries well, but it was emotionally, what it was doing to me. But you get through it with good people around you.”

Meanwhile, Paul Rowley last night left his role as Toronto Wolfpack coach.

England v New Zealand Today, 3.15pm, BBC2