England captain Jamie Peacock insists his side will be giving Papua New Guinea plenty of respect in their World Cup opener.
Skipper happy to see Kangaroos as favourites
England captain Jamie Peacock insists his side will be giving Papua New Guinea plenty of respect in their World Cup opener on Saturday.
England go into the contest against the Kumuls in Townsville as hot favourites to get their campaign off to a winning start, but the Leeds forward is wary of over-confidence.
Speaking at the official launch of the tournament in Sydney, Peacock told
Sky Sports News: "It will be a tough game against Papua New Guinea. It is one we need to play well in. If we don't play well then it could be a potential banana skin for ourselves, so we are looking to play well and start off the World Cup with a good win against Papua."
England should beat the group's minnows, but it is Australia who are everyone's favourites to retain the title they have held since 1975.
"Rightly so, Australia are favourites," Peacock added. "They have dominated World rugby for the last 30 years and they are at home. But we are happy with the underdog tag. Someone has got to be the underdog and we are happy doing that."
Unbelievable
Scotland captain Danny Brough is just happy to be Down Under. "It is unbelievable," the Wakefield half-back said. "To be in stadiums like this and to be in Australia is an achievement in itself and we are just looking forward to playing our first game. Everyone is revved up and ready to go."
The Scots face group B games against France and Fiji, while Ireland will have to cope with the considerable physical presence of Samoa and Tonga in Group C.
But Ireland skipper Scott Grix - a Wildcats teammate of Brough - insists his men will not be fazed by that prospect. "All over the park they are big, from one to 13, so you have got to work your way around that," he said. "We are pretty happy with preparations and we are pretty confident we will be alright."
England get the tournament under way on Saturday with their clash against PNG, while Scotland face France on Sunday. Ireland kick off against Tonga on Monday.
