Four Nations Round One: Australia and England to make a winning start

Raj Bains
28 October 2016

As one of the sports all-time greats, Australian playmaker Johnathan Thurston will likely set the standard

Join

View market

Twitter

Facebook

With both the Super League and NRL seasons over, it's time for the Autumn internationals to take centre stage. England, Australia, New Zealand and Scotland will contest this year's Four Nations, with the best rugby league players in the world coming head to head...

"At the price they’re being offered at, it’d be daft not to back the home side here, with the John Smith’s Stadium in Huddersfield a sell out in anticipation."

England to beat New Zealand @ 23/20

On the back of the recent announcement that England had won the right to host the 2021 Rugby League World Cup, this Four Nations series takes on some added significance. Hardly the biggest sport in the country, the RFL are actively seeking to expand the horizons of the game domestically, attracting as many people through the turnstiles as possible.

As well as matches being played in League heartlands such as Huddersfield, Workington and Hull, a double header will take place in Coventry and England will host Australia at the Olympic Stadium in London, before the final makes its way over to Anfield for a change of scenery.

England, New Zealand and Australia will all have very serious ambitions of winning the competition, while Scotland will seek to learn from their opponents in preparation for the World Cup in the Southern Hemisphere next year. Having come through a qualifying process to get here, however, this Scottish side are no mugs, and will make it as difficult as possible for their opponents through hard work and dedication.

Sam Burgess is back for the host nation for the first time since his Union switch with the added responsibility of captaining the side under new coach Wayne Bennett, and England will need every bit of their shared experience to raise the game to level that's required against the better opposition on show.

New Zealand will be looking to hold on to their number one world ranking, while both Australia and England can leapfrog them by winning the tournament.

Having called on the biggest and best names from the NRL - the likes of Johnathan Thurston, Greg Inglis, Shaun Johnson and Jason Taumalolo have all travelled - this promises to be a fantastic advert for the game, which is exactly what the doctor ordered.

Australia vs Scotland
Friday 28th October, 20:00
Live on Premier Sports

We may as well get this out of the way now: Scotland aren't going to win a single game in this competition, and there's nothing wrong with that. They're simply not as good as the other three teams, they don't have the same depth of squad, quality of preparation, experience or high quality coaching staff - but to evaluate them on that would be to entirely miss the point of their inclusion. Rugby League is a sport in dire need of growth, not just domestically, but internationally, and that won't happen if the emerging nations can't test themselves against the best the game has to offer.

While their squad is padded out with plenty of Super League and NRL talent - Cowboys fullback Lachlan Coote and Huddersfield halfback Danny Brough the standouts - this side is yet to properly gel, and the task at hand for head coach Steve McCormack is to begin to cement the side with a collectively identity, something that they can then build upon and use against sides closer to their own level, helping them, in the long run, to become a better team.

Australia, on the other hand, boast a who's who of some of the greatest players in the world, and one or two well in the all-time great conversation. While on the face of it a relatively inexperienced squad, the Kangaroos still have a backbone that includes Darius Boyd, Greg Inglis, Johnathan Thurston, Cooper Cronk, Matt Scott, Sam Thaiday and Cameron Smith, who captains the side. The reigning World Cup holders will have their eye on retaining their status at the top of the world rankings, with new coach Mal Meninga keen to make a good first impression in the job.

If this Australian team are the Harlem Globetrotters, the Scottish side are the Washington Generals - and we all know how that ends.

Recommended Bet: Australia to beat Scotland by +51pts @ 7/4

England vs New Zealand
Saturday 29th October, 14:30
Live on BBC One

Despite coaching changes for either side, these two are no strangers, having fought through multiple hard matches against each other in recent history. While the World Cup semi-final in 2013 is still a sore point for England, last year's autumn test series win against New Zealand will have gone a long way to exercise those demons. Shaun Johnson is returning to the Kiwi line-up after injury, while Dally M medal winning loose forward Jason Taumalolo will be a constant threat up the middle of the park.

More dangerous across the backline than up front, the likes of Kahu, Nightingale, Rapana, Kata and Kenny-Dowall can all hurt England from anywhere on the field if not given the proper defensive attention. While the Australian squad is made up of smart, experienced professionals who have the extra yards in their head, New Zealand are little less subtle than that, with the entire side strong, fast and committed, so this could easily become a bit of an arm wrestle if England attempt to fight fire with fire.

The hosts have a fairly youthful side to call upon, with new head coach Bennett utilising the NRL based players as much as possible. Burgess has been handed the captaincy, while his younger twin brothers George and Tom - also based in Sydney - lead a contingent including Dan Sarginson, Gareth Widdop, Mike Cooper, James Graham, Josh Hodgson and Elliott Whitehead in being based in the NRL, on the way to it next season, or having just left. Widely recognised as the strongest league in the world, with Bennett one of its most celebrated coaches, this isn't an England set-up lacking quality.

New Zealand are favourites for this one, but this England side has shown how well it can go, so they might actually be a little bit underrated. At the price they're being offered at, it'd be daft not to back the home side here, with the John Smith's Stadium in Huddersfield a sell out in anticipation. It'll be close, and it might not be particularly pretty, but there's no good reason why this England team can't stand toe-to-toe with New Zealand and come out on top.

Recommended Bet: England to beat New Zealand @ 23/20