Australia wary of rivals

Kangaroos coach warns his side over Pool A opponents

By Richard Bailey   Last updated: 24th October 2008

Australia wary of rivals

Stuart: Thinks his side face their toughest test yet

I think the English are also showing signals of being confident and being happy with the preparation leading into the World Cup. It's been shown over the years that New Zealand and England have the ability to beat Australia on their day.

Ricky Stuart
Quotes of the week

Watch England v PNG on Saturday from 9.30am, live on Sky Sports 2 or log on to skysports.com for live, interactive text commentary


Related links

Teams

Also see

Australia coach Ricky Stuart has admitted that both New Zealand and England are good enough to beat his Kangaroos.

After an eight-year absence the 13th rugby league World Cup is set to kick-off on Saturday with all eyes on England's game against Papua New Guinea.

The organisers are hoping that the 18 matches scheduled to be played over a four-week period will put rugby league firmly in the spotlight.

The Australians have dominated the world stage for years and the World Cup trophy has been in their possession since 1975. Despite this, Kangaroos coach Stuart believes this tournament will be his side's toughest test yet.

Talent

"They (New Zealand) have certainly got the talent there to beat us," he said. "They have got some outstanding footballers and I know they are very, very confident.

"I think the English are also showing signals of being confident and being happy with the preparation leading into the World Cup.

"It's been shown over the years that New Zealand and England have the ability to beat Australia on their day."

Brian Noble famously led his Great Britain side to victory over the Aussies in Sydney in 2006 and although England have been progressing nicely under Tony Smith its true that his side have never really been tested.

Qualification

The first major test for Smith and his players will be a week on Sunday when they meet Australia in Pool A. Defeat in that game would not be the end of the world as three out of the four teams in the 'super pool' qualify for the semi-finals.

Despite this fact Ricky Stuart insists there will be no let-up from his side.

He said: "You have only got to have a look at the talent of the player, the professionalism that's surrounding the players now in regards to their preparation and their coaching.

"We can't afford to be off our game. We have to make sure that each game we play, every individual is prepared and we've got a team performance good enough to win that match."