Offiah backs England

England: Going for glory

If England win it would be a vindication of the direction rugby league in this country is going and underline the strength of the Super League.

Martin Offiah
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Rugby league legend Martin Offiah believes England's backs hold the key to Gillette Four Nations glory when they face Australia in Saturday's final.

Tony Smith's side head into the eagerly-anticipated showdown at Elland Road as clear underdogs but following an impressive 20-12 triumph against New Zealand last weekend they are targeting revenge against a Kangaroos side who won their group stage encounter 26-16.

England's forward pack earned most of the praise for both the stirring second-half revival against Australia and the victory over the Kiwis, which booked their place in the final, but Offiah insists the backs also deserve their share of the plaudits.

"England improved greatly from the defeat to Australia when they played New Zealand last weekend," said Offiah at the launch of his new book 'Fifty Of The Best'. "Kyle Eastmond and Sam Tomkins looked like they can be a superb half-back pairing for the future and I was really impressed with how all the backs performed.

"I thought the running of Ryan Hall and Peter Fox were instrumental in getting England on the front foot while Shaun Briscoe looked much sharper than he did against Australia.

"The key to success will be if our backs can stand up to Australia and I think we now have found the players to do that. Chris Bridge is also a quality player at that right centre position and I think he could have a really good future as well."

Winning formula

With an unchanged line-up named for Saturday, Tomkins and Eastmond get the chance to go up against Darren Lockyer and Johnathan Thurston while Kevin Sinfield plays once more at hooker to enable the four specialist props of James Graham, Adrian Morley, Jamie Peacock and Sam Burgess to start.

Offiah feels Smith has found a potential winning formula, saying: "England have always had a pretty good forward pack that could take on the southern hemisphere teams but it's tended to be the backs who have struggled.

"But now we have a decent squad of backs while I also think making Kevin Sinfield the number nine was a masterstroke which came off - he was definitely the missing link in that role.

"James Roby is a good player to come on from the bench but not to start at number nine and control the game. And with Scott Moore not really doing it either, I think Sinfield has cemented his place there.

"Sinfield is a very consistent performer - he was my player of the season in the Super League. He's the glue that holds so much together for Leeds and now he's found his position in the England set-up and he'll be key this weekend."

Offiah is confident England's backs have the defensive capabilities to cope with the likes of Billy Slater, Greg Inglis and Jarryd Hayne but insists the onus should be on attack if they're to keep the Kangaroos quiet.

He said: "A lot of people will look at Australia and rank it as one of the best Australian teams of all time and although the pack isn't that scary, their back line is absolutely awesome.

"So it's up to England's backs to ask questions of the Australian defence so they can't express themselves because if you let them loose there's danger.

"I really thought Hall and Fox helped out the forwards well against New Zealand and they'll have to do it again on Saturday."

Lessons learned

England's first-half performance against Australia at the DW Stadium saw them easily outclassed but Offiah believes they must take heart from the spirited fightback and prove they've learnt some valuable lessons on Saturday night.

He said: "It didn't look like we were playing our natural game in the first match against Australia. There seemed to be a strict game plan they were trying to stick to but in the second half the shackles came off and they actually then looked like a Super League team.

"They looked like a team who had played with each other all season, which is a difficult thing to achieve because Tony Smith doesn't actually have that much time to get these playing together. But I thought in the second half against Australia and the clash with New Zealand they really did gel and I think that's because they played a simpler brand of rugby.

"They kept hold of the ball, created a few nice little combinations - like Kyle Eastmond's try when he teamed up with Sam Burgess against the Kiwis - and it just looked so natural.

"And they've got to carry on like this on Saturday by playing their natural game, keep hold of the ball and keep it simple. It's a lot harder working out complex systems when the players haven't been together for enough time.

"When the pressure is on, like it will be on Saturday, you have to feel comfortable. If you're thinking too much in a pressure situation then it creates problems. You've got to feel comfortable and so do the players around you."

He added: "There's a lot of young players in there who haven't played much rugby at this level before and the standard is sure to go up another notch on Saturday.

"There will be a lot more pressure on them to delivery a strong performance and also a weight of expectation."

Bright future

Offiah claims a famous victory for England at Elland Road would highlight how well the Super League has done to produce the world-class talent representing the country.

However, he's also warned that Australia will be determined to right the wrongs of last year's World Cup when they were shocked by New Zealand in the final.

He said: "If England win it would be a vindication of the direction rugby league in this country is going and underline the strength of the Super League.

"Clubs are giving youth a chance and with more players coming through at an earlier age the amount of quality players who can represent the home nation countries is going to increase.

"Beating the World Cup holders was a great effort although before the tournament I would have said anything less than reaching the final for England would be deemed a failure.

"So they reached the final now, which was the very least, so now we've got to go out there and believe we can push Australia all the way. And I am confident we can do that, even though we're obviously not the favourites.

"This would be the worst run in Australian history having failed to win the World Cup if they then lose this subsequent Four Nations. They'll go back to Australia and feel under a lot of pressure but it would be great for the sport as a whole if England were to upset them.

"When Australia drew with New Zealand it was so ferocious and everyone looked at that game and felt worried that England wouldn't be able to compete or justify being on the same field as either.

"But having beaten the Kiwis they've also got to take confidence from what they did right against Australia first time round and carry that through to Saturday's final."

Explosive

Whatever the outcome, Offiah is expecting an explosive encounter and hopes a fittingly spectacular try is somewhere in the script for England at Elland Road.

He said: "It will be a tremendous atmosphere and there's certainly been some great nights in the past against Australian sides at both club and country levels so with the home crowd roaring them on I'm sure it's possible they can win.

"In my book I explain why the greatest of tries are those scored on the biggest of stages and whoever can score a match-winning try for England in a Four Nations final against Australia will be immortalised forever.

"It would be the first time England have beaten Australia in a major final so the players have the opportunity to write themselves into the history books and rugby league folklore."