Whitehead at the double as England topple Kiws at last
ENGLAND 20 NEW ZEALAND 14
ENGLAND coach Steve McNamara was last night finally celebrating a series win over the southern hemisphere after an ‘incredible’ victory.
McNamara has suffered a number of near misses in his five years in charge of the national team but his side held their nerve to secure a 2-1 success against the Four Nations champions.
‘It’s an incredible feeling,’ said McNamara after England ended an eight-year wait for a series triumph over either New Zealand or Australia. ‘The players completely deserve it after working tirelessly. Success hasn’t, until this point, come for the team but thankfully they’ve finally got what they deserve.
‘New Zealand are the No 1 team in the world and have dominated international rugby league in a physical sense. We’ve been able to match that in three consecutive games.
‘I don’t think I’ve seen three games with as much attrition as these three. At times the games lacked a little bit of quality in terms of finesse but the conditions have really dictated that.
‘We’ve got quality and experience to add to our group. We’ve got a good, young bunch that is ready to play for a number of years so the signs are pretty strong for us moving forward, particularly now we’ve got across the line.’
The Kiwis edged to a 9-2 victory at the Olympic Stadium last weekend and points were at a premium again in the first half at Wigan, with England going into the break 8-6 ahead after Gareth Widdop slotted over an early penalty and Elliott Whitehead and Jason Nightingale exchanged tries.
England had to withstand incessant New Zealand pressure early in the second period but Whitehead crossed for his second try to give the hosts a cushion and captain Sean O’Loughlin crossed to put his side out of sight.
New Zealand kept going and scored twice in the last five minutes through Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Jordan Kahu but England closed out a nervy win to the delight of McNamara.
O’Loughlin, who was named man of the series, added: ‘Captaining my country to a series win is massive. It gives a lot of the boys, especially the youngsters in the side, confidence that they can beat the Australians and Kiwis.
‘There are a lot of boys who have come up short on a number of occasions so the confidence we can take from this is massive.’
New Zealand arrived in England last month without a host of key players and head coach Stephen Kearney admitted his inexperienced side were not quite good enough to head home with a series victory.
‘I’m more disappointed than frustrated,’ he said. ‘Today’s contest was a bit like the whole tournament — a real see-saw affair.’