The rugby league World Cup is upon us and skysports.com has teamed up with England star Rob Burrow to bring you closer to the action.

The tournament kicks off on Saturday October 25 and Sky Sports will, as ever, be at the heart of the action, bringing you every game LIVE right through to the final at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.

Rhinos: A Grand Finale

Leeds Rhinos scrum-half Burrow will be blogging for us throughout, letting you know just what it is like to be part of Team England.

In his first instalment he looks back on a successful season with his club ahead of departing for Australia with the rest of the national squad...

I'm excited about going to the World Cup and feel that I have still got plenty of energy to give. It's been a long time coming but now it's all about getting there and getting on with it.

It's been a great domestic season but the fact that we had the return of the World Cup at the end of it added that little bit more excitement.

It's something that most players wanted to be involved in and for myself I'm chuffed to bits to be going.

Of course it does come off the back of a tough year. The amount of games that you play does mean you do get the wear and tear on your body but surprisingly I feel quite good, as do most of the rest of the lads from the Leeds Rhinos.

It all started back in January when Leeds went to the United States in pre-season. It's been a long year since then, but on the flip side of that it doesn't seem like two minutes since we were in Jacksonville.

In some ways it feels like the season is over before it's really started, yet the body lets you know that it has been a gruelling time.

It's been demanding but we've been coached at Leeds to look after ourselves and listen to our bodies - meaning in some sessions we didn't push it quite so hard because of the way we're feeling.

We're also involved with Maximuscle, and the supplements they give us help the body recover.

Celebrations

After helping Leeds to Grand Final glory the squad had a few days where we let our hair down, but with the cup to focus on you certainly didn't want to knock yourself up in a way that when you came to it, you couldn't perform when it mattered.

We had a good time but stayed smart. We only had a couple of days before we were back in training with England so it was always in the back of our minds.

However, you can't deny that it was such an exciting few days for the Rhinos, something I will never forget.

Now, though, the domestic season is over and done with I have been able to focus on Team England. My year with the Rhinos finished on a high and now it's about taking that momentum into the World Cup.

I think we've got a point to prove as a country. We are always seen to be not quite good enough against the Aussies and the Kiwis, so it'd be nice to do well in their own back yard.

There's no doubting we've got the talent - last Friday's warm-up win over Wales showed what quality we have, even when the Leeds and Saints players weren't playing.

A lot of that squad have been training right from day one with England and their performance was outstanding - the score speaks for itself really.

The international action gives me the chance to work again with Tony Smith, my former boss at Leeds. Tony's a fantastic coach and a man who has done so much for my career, so it's always nice to join back up with him.

It's nothing new to me and the other guys who worked under him at Leeds, who know what he's all about, but it's still great to be back working with him.

Weather

People have commented on the weather being a factor, but the lads are confident we can do a job out there. It'd be nice to show them what a team we are.

I've been there a few times at this stage of the year so for me personally I know what the weather is all about. We've done specific training in a heat chamber, something quite a lot of athletes use prior to the Olympics.

I feel we are prepared for the heat, we're not being thrown in at the deep end and with our games being at night they won't be at the peak of the temperatures. However, it will still be warm enough!

Most importantly it's about playing well, and I'm happy with my performances. I've learnt a lot of new skills under the guidance of (Leeds coach) Brian McClennan over the course of the year.

I'm full of confidence going into the World Cup and although previous form counts for nothing at kick-off, it is always nice to go in to the event off the back of a Grand Final win. It does nothing but good for the confidence.

Now hopefully I can do my part in another successful campaign...

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