New Zealand name unchanged squad for England match
Thursday 27 October 2016 17:07, UK
New Zealand coach David Kidwell has kept faith his that suffered a 26-6 defeat against Australia by naming an unchanged squad for their opening Four Nations clash with England.
Warriors centre Solomone Kata and Canberra winger Jordan Rapana retained their spots after making their Test debuts in Perth two weeks ago and veteran Thomas Leuluai, who is returning for a second spell with Wigan in 2017, again partners Shaun Johnson in the halves.
"I'm really happy with how the boys have trained," said Kidwell, who will be taking charge of his second match. "We understand the challenge that's ahead of us and we need to be at our best.
"In Perth, a lot of our guys hadn't played for a long period of time. The result wasn't what we wanted but all the players were better off for the run and we will look to build from that."
The return of Sydney Roosters enforcer Jared Waerea-Hargreaves has added a tough exterior to the Kiwis pack which Kidwell is hoping can contain an England side boosted by the return of Sam and George Burgess.
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"It's no secret this game is going to be won up front," Kidwell added. "Both teams have strong forward packs and we need our middle men to lead the way."
New Zealand: J Kahu (Brisbane); J Nightingale (St George Illawarra), S Kata (NZ Warriors), S Kenny-Dowall (Sydney Roosters), J Rapana (Canberra); T Leuluai (NZ Warriors), S Johnson (NZ Warriors); J Bromwich (Melbourne, capt), I Luke (NZ Warriors), J Waerea-Hargreaves (Sydney Roosters), K Proctor (Melbourne), T Harris (Melbourne), J Taumalolo (North Queensland).
Replacements: L Brown (Penrith), M Taupau (Wests Tigers), M Ma'u (Parramatta), A Blair (Brisbane).
