Scotland coach Steve McCormack says they will do England no favours
Tuesday 8 November 2016 16:50, UK
Scotland coach Steve McCormack insists he is not out to do any favours for England in Friday's Four Nations clash with New Zealand in Workington.
England struggled against the Bravehearts in Coventry on Saturday before prevailing 38-12 and are now hoping McCormack's men can pull off a major shock, or at least restrict the Kiwis' winning margin to improve their own chances of reaching the November 20 final at Anfield.
If England beat Australia at the London Stadium on Sunday, the two finalists are likely to be determined by points difference, with the Kiwis currently 25 points behind Wayne Bennett's side and 53 points behind the Kangaroos.
A New Zealand victory of less than 30 points would leave England with the simple equation of having to win two days later but McCormack says that will play no part in his thinking going into the game.
"I'm not bothered about them, I'm not bothered one single bit, I'm just bothered about what we do," McCormack said at the team's training base at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston.
"It's about making sure this lot are galvanised this week. They were pretty bashed after that game as you'd expect but they've trained well the last couple of days and the mood is really good.
"I'm not interested in any other results, apart from ours."
Friday's game will be the first meeting between the two nations since the quarter-finals of the 2013 World Cup, which the Kiwis won 40-4 at Headingley, and will provide Scotland with a chance to gauge their improvement over the intervening period.
"We have improved, there is no doubt about that," added McCormack. "This team has come a long way. 2013 was great but we can't wait for this week.
"The improvement from game one to game two was noticeable and we need to make that same improvement for game three. That's a big challenge.
"It was nice for the lads to get the credit they deserved against England but, if you had seen the dressing room after and how disappointed they were that we didn't win, (it) shows what standards we've set.
"It doesn't get much tougher than the Kiwis on a Friday night but, as always, we'll be ready for them."
