England aim to show progress against Kiwis in Rugby League tests

England will be without Sam Tomkins for their three-Test series against New Zealand that gets underway on Sunday but head coach Steve McNamara is adamant his side are ready for the challenge.

England have not beaten the Kiwis since 2011 and their cause was not helped on Thursday with the news that Tomkins will miss the series with a recurrence of the knee problem that scuppered his NRL campaign in 2015.

They do have a more than adequate replacement in Zak Hardaker for the full-back role, the Leeds Rhino was recently crowned man of steel in Super League for the treble-winning Rhinos.

And McNamara is hopeful that his side have learned from their two most recent defeats to the Kiwis -– in the 2014 Four Nations and the 2013 World Cup semi-final -– both of which were by the narrowest of margins.

"It's a pretty big blow for Sam. Anybody who knows Sam knows he is hugely passionate about playing for his country," he said.

"We're disappointed as a squad. It's a little bit of a blow to us but it's a bigger blow for Sam.

"We've progressed in recent years and fallen agonisingly short but that's what it's like at international level and that's how it should be.

"Games should be going down to the last minute and be a case of 'did he touch it down or didn't he?' and that's what test matches are all about. We've put ourselves in a really strong position over the last couple of years to really move forward."

The last meeting between the two sides came in the 2014 Four Nations -– the Kiwis edging a 16-14 victory in Dunedin.

Since then they have gone on to establish themselves as the No.1 side in the world, winning that 2014 Four Nations and then beating Australia in the most recent Anzac Test.

But they have come to England missing some key players for the Test series -– front-rower Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, second-rower and captain Simon Mannering and half-backs Kieran Foran and Shaun Johnson to name a few.

And head coach Stephen Kearney admits they will be up against it when hostilities begin at the KC Stadium on Sunday.

"We understand it's a huge challenge for us. Regardless of who is in or out of the team, for us it was always going to be a challenge," he said.

"Having watched this English side over the past two years back to the last World Cup, I think they're a side who haven't had a great deal of fortune or good luck."

England warmed up for the first Test with an 84-4 shellacking of France and McNamara has named an unchanged 19-man squad to face the Kiwis.

Meanwhile, New Zealand saw off an under-strength Leeds in preparation and winger Jason Nightingale is looking forward to the new format.

"It's not something I've done in my career but I know some of the boys toured here back in 2007 so it's awesome to be able to have an old-school three test series," he said.

"It's an important series for ourselves to prove that (we are the world's best). We've put in some average performances in England in the past.

"This is an important step on our way to solidifying the position we're in at the moment and proving to ourselves that we can perform at our best in any conditions. Playing away from home is going to make it more challenging and difficult but will add to the excitement of it."
Source: AFP