Australia v England Rugby League World Cup

Hello, this is Melbourne, it is 26

degrees, sunny and lovely a wide --

rugby league World Cup 2017 is about

to get underway. Over the next five

to get underway. Over the next five

weeks, we will have it all covered

on the BBC from three countries and

13 venues and it gets underway with

one of the biggest rivalries there

is, Australia against England. We

have a top team down under to bring

it to you, and I'm off to the studio

in Salford to present it.

What a try! France at their first

drive.

And outrageous rugby league drive.

What a staring moment, it is the

real thing, this. Bounced it out the

back post! They get us under way!

You just can't stop them!

It is lying Sam! England have the

lead!

What about that for a start by

the United States!

High fives all

around!

Tonga goes wild!

And these similar supporters are

going mad, here!

Elliot Kear has

scored again!

Australia,

world-class!

Is so, 14 teams with 14

dreams of winning the Rugby league

World Cup 2017. In just over an

hour's in Melbourne, the 15th Rugby

league World Cup will get underway

with the sensational opener that is

holders Australia against England in

that very stadium. Forget about

better homes for a cat under a

hammer in the sun or whatever is on

the other channels, this is where

the entertainment is this morning.

Australia against England will be on

BBC Two, all the way until 12:15pm

and then we will be on the red

button for more reaction at

analysis, all the way until 1pm. I'm

delighted to say I have got three

guys with me, Robbie Hunter Paul is

going to be the neutral... Kevin

Sinfield is the former England

captain, who will probably be

supporting England and Justin

Holbrooke, the St Helens coach, is

maybe the enemy in the camp this

afternoon... This morning! Starting

with you because your nation is not

hoping, is expecting that in five or

six weeks' time, Australia have

their hands on the trophy.

Absolutely, it is great to be

hosting the World Cup for Australia,

and they obviously want to win it,

they expect to win it and they are

going to be hard to beat, that is

for sure so I think some key players

that played together every week is

going to be a big part in that and

the fact that Mal Meninga has done

such a good job as coach is going to

make him hard to beat.

The England

players, we will see them now having

their morning walk through

Melbourne, did you find these walks

beneficial?

It gets the lads out of

bed!

LAUGHTER

That is what it does! When it is an

evening kick-off like it is in

Melbourne, you find yourself sitting

around all day and you don't know

what to do with yourself, you're

taking your heels or lying in bed

all day and it's not good for

performing later on in the evening.

-- ready to your heels. For the lads

to get out, have some breakfast

together, bit of a walk, stretch

their legs and it is good for them.

Take their mind off the game in many

ways.

I've got to admit, I was the

type of guy you like to lie in bed

all day.

That does not surprise me,

considering you are 50 minutes late

this morning!

Manchester traffic!

Of

course.

I was one of those players

who liked my own space on game day,

but when you go into camp and you

are in those surroundings, you

become a part of the system. It's

not anything we used a fallout about

but that was the focus and like I

said, it keeps the continuity going,

the ability to mix with the boys and

have a laugh and just relax, take

your mind off the game and that is

important, don't play the game too

early.

Let's take you through the

teams, starting with England, Jonny

Lomax, a play that Justin knows

well, will be full-back for England

today, John Bateman is

well, will be full-back for England

today, John Bateman is in the

centres, Luke Gale and Gareth Widdop

at half-back and plenty of time to

discuss the team in depth before

kick-off, Kevin, but at the moment,

where are the strength and who would

you like to pick out.

The half-back

partnership to start is crucial and

I think to see Luke Gale get given

the number seven shirt and asked to

control things like he does because

of that, and if he can play like he

does the government, it will be

great for us. And also to have Sam

Burgess and Sean O'Loughlin back in

the team together, they were both

outstanding in the 2013 World Cup

and they are both desperate to do

well this time, boast talismans and

leaders for England and they will be

expecting to have big games today.

When you talk about desperate to do

well, is there an element of May be

making sure you don't try too hard?

well, is there an element of May be

making sure you don't try too hard?

Yeah, but we sort of realise that it

is 22 years in England have been in

the World Cup final and I felt like

in 2013, we were so close and we got

beaten by the last play against the

Kiwis but we probably did not

deserve to be there and it has taken

a period of time for us to build as

a nation, to be in the right

position to make a final and go on

and win it. I think we are there

now, for those guys in particular,

Sam is no spring chicken any more.

He will be in his early 30s and they

may not make 2021 so it is their

time.

Let's take a look at the

Australian team, which has strength

forever you look. You would go

through the spine, Justin, well, I

say there is strength everywhere but

Billy Slater, Cooper Cronk, Cameron

Smith, that is what you are looking

at Oztumer

definitely. They don't

just play club football together,

they dominate at that level, they

dominate in State of Origin and for

their countries. I think all three

have played over 300 games the

Melbourne Storm. Cameron Smith has

an 85% win rate, I read, playing for

Australia, so the fact that those

three don't just play together, as I

say, they have dominated all this

year in the NRL and England have got

to do

year in the NRL and England have got

to do a great job to stop those

three. I would like to throw in

Michael Morgan as well. Obviously

without Thurston, it is a massive

loss, he was the form player in the

NRL final series, he almost carried

the North Queensland Cowboys to the

Grand Final by himself. I think

those four players will be huge in

today's

those four players will be huge in

today's game.

Robbie?

I think it is

really important, you can't argue

against the fact the spine of the

team is great but I think there is

some continuity and cohesion that

England has been looking for, and

the fact you have got Josh Hodgson

and Gareth Widdop and Luke Gale, in

the spine of that love triangle as

well. I think that will be imported,

probably the one element they are

missing is that you throw into the

mix the full-back, Jonny Lomax, so

hopefully he will bring the

excitable to Australia won't know

much about him and that will play

into his favour.

Let's go to

Melbourne and join the commentary

team, Ian Millward, Brian Noble and

our rugby league for respondents

Dave Woods.

Thanks, Mark. The sun has come out

in Melbourne, it's been quite chilly

in recent days but its hot today and

very warm, to say the least, mid

20s, a bit of breeze around but it's

going to be really good conditions

to play tonight and we are expecting

it to be a full house, come

kick-off, these two unlikely

characters alongside me for

commentary, Brian Noble, the former

Great Britain coach and in Norwood,

good to see you, joining up with us

for this World Cup. What do you make

of England selection?

Look, I think

it is an evolving team. If you look

at it, I expect it to genuinely be a

team that can make a final, I

predicted England against Australia

in the final but there are certain

things that have to be fixed. The

centres, they are going to try Ben

Currie and Bateman today. Will Lomax

work with Gareth Widdop and Luke

Gale? I think the more the

tournament goes on, their forwards

will match any team. If they get the

other part right, they are a genuine

threat.

Dechaine at Alex Walmsley

has had to pull out late and Ben

Currie comes in.

There are positives

in anything, it gives the ability to

bridge Sam Burgess a bit further

infield and play him in some

positions where he can cause more

damage. I think they've got a

settled half-back partnership with

the -- which is exciting. I do think

the Alex Walmsley thing will affect

them too much, it gives them

options. I would have liked to see

him play myself because of what he

has brought to Super League but I

think Luke Gale has a point to

prove, he's been the Man Of Steel

this year and Gareth Widdop was

Player of the Year in his position.

I think they have a really exciting

combination and the big question as

Ian says is how they will cope with

Australia's outside backs.

The last

Great Britain coach to win here

against Australia in 2006. What did

you say to the England players when

you were there last night?

Win or I

will tell you! Something similar.

No, I didn't, it's all about coping

with the pressure at a high level,

this is the best against the best

and sometimes it is character that

separate the teams and they will

have to do the deed, England, to get

what they want to night. I agree

they will build, as Ian says, into

the tournament but I want to see how

they cope with the pressure.

The

whole tournament kicks off, it's not

just a night, the whole tournament

kicks off on how excited are you for

the tournament when we have got the

prospect of maybe Tonga, Samoa and

maybe Fiji mating a breakthrough?

I

think New Zealand are under a lot of

pressure, looking at Tonga and Samoa

and especially Fiji, especially the

pool that New Zealand are in is the

pool of death.

You're not allowed to

say that!

It is for New Zealand

because they have a fantastic record

in the southern hemisphere, they won

the World Cup and the tri-series, it

is the northern hemisphere they

really struggle in but Papua New

Guinea, their team is made up mainly

of players who played in the second

tier of the Australian Rugby league.

They play three games in Port

Moresby. Wales and New Zealand are

up against it. England are

straightaway being able to create a

lot of atmosphere, game on, let's

get it going.

It is not the pool of

death, pool B, Brian Noble has

christened it the pool of limited

expectations but when have we ever

listen to him? We are going to get

ready a bit more and looking forward

to the commentary later.

Thank you, Dave, I'm not sure when

or I will kill you is the most

motivational speech that Brian Noble

could have given! This is the

England team arriving in Melbourne.

You got a feel for one of your

players, Justin, Alex Walmsley,

being ill before the game when he

was going to come off the bench?

Definitely, I agree with Brian, we

all want to see play, him I think he

finished the Super League season the

form front row and to see him play

against Australia would be

fantastic. The back tees missing it,

disappointing for him and all of us

at home for watching. -- the fact

that he is missing it. Hopefully he

will be playing in a final!

Yes,

still that opportunity. I suppose

one man's misfortune is another's

opportunity so now it is Ben

Currie's opportunity.

Yes and I

think he is the right one to come

and he will cover us out in the

centre positions but also in the

back row. It is interesting to hear

Ian Millward talk about the centres

for England, and to hear his opinion

on the forwards. We talk about the

forwards a lot and say how strong

they are and competitive but I think

our backline is just as strong, the

half-backs are good. That left

centre spot is always up for debate,

whether that is Bateman or Currie, I

think one of them, or even Mark

Percival, will get a shot.

Do you

think the backs are

underappreciated?

Yes, massively, I

thought Lomax had an outstanding

four nations last year and the

wingers, Jerry is very strong, Ryan

Hall, 32, tries in 32 Test matches,

not many around the game can do

that. Kallum Watkins probably the

best British centre we have got and

arguably, if you put an Australia

jersey on him, he would look the

part. I think if we can nail the

left centre spot, we have a really

good backline.

I tend to agree, what

Australia will do with Cameron Smith

and Cooper Cronk is put them in top

positions at the start of the set

but I agree with Kevin that

England's back five are all strong

characters -- carriers of the

football and that is what they need

to get the set going and I agree the

forward pack is outstanding. It's

going to be a really good game.

Kick

off is somewhere between 10am and

ten past ten, you can never be

accurate, trust me but this is what

is coming up between now and then.

We hear from England captain Sean

O'Loughlin, a man who knows what it

takes to beat the Aussies.

The

excitement of thinking about it is

massive for me but I think we've got

something in front of us now that we

can make history if we perform and

do well.

We will also hear from the

Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga, a man

who knows how to win a World Cup.

They have got a strong squad, they

are coming here to ambush us, no

doubt about it so I feel it

certainly will be our greatest test

and show which you will get into the

final.

How will Wales, Scotland and

Ireland fair? I have a tough task

ahead but they are hopeful of

reaching the last eight. Tonga are

tips to go far and they have

Ormaechea we, Jason Taumalolo, a man

mountain to call upon. And we will

hear from slamming Sam Burgess and

try machine Ryan Hall on England's

chances.

To go away with a win would

be a massive confidence boost for

the next six weeks, it would cover

really long way.

Lots to get through

between now and kick-off so let's

run through how the Rugby league

World Cup works for you.

run through how the Rugby league

World Cup works for you. There are

four teams in pool A and B and they

played three matches, each team

plays their opposition in the pool

once and then the top three from

pool A and B qualify for the

quarterfinals. Each team in pool C

and D play their pool opposition

once but then for their third match,

they play one game against pool C or

D opposition so the pool C against

pool D matches our against Italy,

Wales against Fiji and Papua New

Guinea against USA but in pool C and

pool D, only the group winners

qualify for the quarterfinals. Then

obviously, who meets who in the last

eight is anybody's guesstimate

England top the group, they play the

third team from group A, for Wales

or Ireland can if they win their

group, they could play England, if

they finish second in their group.

Obviously, it will get much clearer

as the tournament progresses!

I suppose, Robbie, and it is a

difficult question to ask because

you are immediately disrespecting

France and Lebanon but if England

beat Australia today, they top the

group?

You would expect so, yeah,

and thank you for coming to me with

that question! Definitely, one thing

from experience, and this is from a

player who played all his rugby

league in this country, and used a

lie down under and represent New

Zealand, one thing that I used to

have an advantage over the

Australians with was that Australia

would spend all their time looking

at the other Australians or those

playing in the NRL and focusing on

them. I used to get away with a lot

because they did not know who I was.

From my point of view, England have

a real opportunity, as Mal Meninga

says, to ambush them in their own

backyard. Whether or not they want

to do that, I'm not sure. One thing

that happened in the 2008 World Cup

was New Zealand was able to ambush

Australia in the final because the

Australian media, I think, played a

part in that, pumping up Australia,

they went through undefeated to the

final, telling everyone how it was

going to be a walkover and then in

the final, New Zealand ambush them.

There's an element of Wayne Bennet

saying, we just want to play well

and maybe that is a bit of

gamesmanship by him but there is an

element saying, if we take a loss,

maybe we will get them at the right

time.

Do England players talk about

permutations, "If we do this, we

might get this team", or is it

something the media RSS with more?

I

think they will be fully focused on

this game.

-- are obsessed with

more?

If you had asked me for weeks

ago, I would say we have to win this

game because you would want to avoid

New Zealand in the semifinal but

because of the strength of Tonga

now, it completely changes the

mechanics of the whole thing. If we

don't get the result we would all

like today, I think Justin is an

England fan today as well, by the

way...

LAUGHTER

If we don't get the result we would

all like, it is not all better off,

it is actually, we can still make

the semifinal and we might actually

dodge Tonga, who could be really

difficult to get past in the

semifinals. Today, for me, I know

the head coach has talked about if

we have a great performance and we

lose by a couple of points, he would

be happy. I think I would. I would

love us to win today but you can

only beat Australia -- if you can

beat Australia only once, I'd rather

it

beat Australia only once, I'd rather

it would be in a binder.

These are

the current world rankings,

Australia top, New Zealand's second

and England third, Scotland fourth,

Tonga, who Kevin is worried about,

is worried the right word?

Concerned.

They are way down in

11th, that is how the world rankings

pan out. If you look at the odds,

Tonga are the 20-1 fourth favourites

so would they be your dog causes as

well?

Definitely. --

your dark

horses.

As worried as England should

be, it is exciting for the World

Cup. Gone are the World Cup is gone

by when you might have half of them

NRL players Super League and NRL and

half of the knot but now Samoa and

Tonga are loaded with star players

and with a few of those guys

deciding to opt out of playing for

New Zealand Australia and to drop

back and Playford Tonga, I think it

strengthens the World Cup and I

think it adds more excitement for

the reasons we have just spoken

about -- and play for Tonga. It is

going to be exciting to watch every

nation play.

In previous World Cups,

I agree with Justin, the semifinals

have always been made up of the big

three and one other. But this time

we will have a serious fourth

contender, a serious other threat

which is brilliant for the

competition.

I wouldn't mind

throwing Samoa back in there as

throwing Samoa back in there as

well.

Yeah.

Ben Roberts has had the

best season ever for Castleford this

year, the most premium season he's

had in his entire career, taking

ownership of it as well but you have

got seven or eight out and out NRL

players dying for them, Prichard,

with so much experience also, they

are another -- players playing for

them. You can throw Samoa into the

mix alongside Tonga, New Zealand and

England.

They have given their

opinions and we've given you the

odds and world rankings we want to

know who you think will win the

World Cup. You have got until 9:50am

to vote on the BBC Sport website, so

about half an hour. We will announce

the result just before kick-off. We

are going to hear from the England

coach, Wayne Bennet, 67 years old,

an Australian, of course, but

brought in really last February with

the plan to win the World Cup. This

is what he said this week when he

met the press.

The World Cup is not

one game in the tournament. We just

have to get better each week. We

won't be at our best on Friday night

and Australia won't be, either. We

will all build into it and that is

my plan, I want us to play well and

do the things we know we have to do

to make sure we give ourselves a

chance of being there in six weeks'

time.

So his record is played five,

won three, lost two, with England.

What has he changed with this

England team since taking over?

Big

question, but it's only right for me

to say what a great job Steve Mac

tomorrow did previously, he said

some fantastic foundations, he got

the squad ready to go and make an

impact at the World Cup. I think

Wayne has brought in, I suppose,

some magic dust. He's obviously done

some media training this year! He's

far more media friendly!

Is he?

It's

great. But to be in his company, he

has some magic about him and he

looks after the players, he wants

the players to be happy. It is all

about the players for him, and from

all the messages I'm getting out of

the camp, it is what a great first

two weeks they have had. Mid-season

was a real success, beating Samoa

down under with some of the

congregations that came with that,

coming in doing it in seven days and

the lads have bought into it and

he's brought a feel-good factor.

How

much dialogue does he have with club

coaches, do you think? How much has

he spoken to you about your players?

I've only spoke to him the once, it

was a lengthy conversation, probably

half an hour, he asked me about my

players as well as players in other

teams over here. He has quite a few,

Kevin included, quite a few staff

that he talked about the domestic

petition so I was really surprised

he knew a lot about every player

that plays in Super League. The

other big factor is the coaches

against the Australian players every

week. He knows the area and he is a

big game coach. He won't let the

players get overawed by tonight's

occasional the tournament itself.

Look, I think it is, you know, the

experience he has got as a coach and

the knowledge he has the domestic

petition was really surprised.

But

he rang him, didn't you?

I actually!

I want to know how nerve-racking it

is when you ring Wayne Burnett?

I

thought I was going to talk to him

about 30 seconds, to be honest! At

St Helens, we had Ben Barba cumin

and I had to move Jonny Lomax to the

halves and I rang Wayne to say I

hooked it did not jeopardise his

opportunity to be in England

full-back. As I said, I thought he

would talk but their deep second and

I did not know how the conversation

would go. -- talk for 30 seconds.

But he saw Jonny Lomax could play a

number of positions in the halves

and even at centre and then he went

on to elaborate about Mark Percival,

and Alex Walmsley and then players

for the clubs who I have coached

against. As I said, I was surprised

how much he knew and it was really

good, actually, to have such a

lengthy conversation after I thought

it was going to be about 30 seconds

and I was pleased for Jonny Lomax as

well!

I was going to say he's come

under quite a bit of fire because

he's got a full-time job in

Australia and people are wondering

how he can be doing justice,,

understanding the Super League

players here? But he's got Kevin,

Paul Sculthorpe, Paul Anderson, who

I was talking to about this earlier

this week, he's got more assistant

coaches than you could dream of.

These guys are operating in the game

over here, like Denis Betts, all of

them watching the specific players.

Then he's got a team of people down

under that are also scraping

information and footage back. He's

really well-informed. Even speaking

to coaches!

We do have seven English

players in the Narelle so he's got

those already and from what we have

spoken about, he's got a mix of

English Super League players. It's a

really good balance of the side and

as we have said, a really good

coach.

De Gea delegation, isn't it,

in that sense? That is one of the

main things he will have to do and

then when he gets the players, coach

them but it is how you delegate and

who you choose to be your eyes and

ears.

Robbie is right, four England

assistant coaches, Paul Wellens,

Denis Betts, Paul Anderson and Paul

Sculthorpe, a constant dialogue

between them and passing of

messages, video footage has gone on

all year. It has been interesting in

that respect and interesting

listening to Justin say about his

conversation with Wayne because it

is almost like talking to your dad!

I mean that in the most respectful

way, it is because you are very

respectful of who he is and what he

has achieved but you also understand

that you need to build a

relationship and the friendship and

be able to be trusting and telling

the truth.

Does he send all his text

messages in capitals because he

cannot get it off like my dad?

Is

actually very good with technology.

Another good point and he spoke to

me and how icebound the players at

St Helens and I said fantastic and

he can't speak highly enough of

being players and I heard him on the

radio about them again, saying how

professional they are and how much

of the pleasure they are to work

with and he mentioned that to me

after the Samoa test in May and I

reiterated it with the players at St

Helens. The good thing is, he's

genuinely excited about the playing

group. He's not like, "I'm coaching

England", he's really happy to be in

this position.

And as well, he loves

the English game. He loves working

with the England team. He speaks so

passionately about the refereeing

over here, which, when you consider

some of the abuse they get at times,

he loves the fact that we still have

one referee and we don't have two

like the NRL. He loves a lot of

things about the British game which

is fantastic.

His captain is Sean

O'Loughlin of Wigan and we can hear

from him. He has been talking to

Dave Woods.

You are in a squad with big

characters who are captains of the

NRL teams and Super League teams, so

to be given the honour of England

captain, what does it mean in that

company?

Yes, it is a huge honour.

It is something you never expect.

Whether I was going to be captain

this or not, I would have come

undone exactly the same as I for my

club. That is a bit of a luxury when

you come to international some if

you get the nod to be captain,

having blokes around you that are

captains at their clubs as well. I

think we've got five or six of those

boys, having people around you like

that makes your job a lot easier.

Do

they listen or do you have to stamp

your feet?

Not really, not at all,

the boys have come together and it's

been a real focus, quite an easy job

for me.

A bonus for you and England

that you are fit and playing because

you've missed a few so how much does

that add to the hunger to play?

I've

only been involved in one World Cup

and this will be my last. There's

definitely the hunger and the

willingness to succeed this year. I

was disappointed not to be involved

in the international is in the last

year, and to be involved with Wayne

as well and see what he was about

and what he brought to the table.

Reimagined the coach and he has been

involved a while but do you fill you

are evolving into a Wayne Bennett

team?

I think so, the last game in

the tournament against Australia, I

was not involve playing but he

invited me to watch the game with

the staff. Even though it was a

massive disappointment, Wayne

orchestrated the World Cup and prep

for this, and put the disappointment

behind them. The traits, what he

wanted us to do throughout the

season, which was always building up

to this, he wanted us to work on it

at club level and go away and be

conscious of all the way through the

season.

People talk about

professional sportsmen having a

mental vision of what they are going

to do. Have you ever had a mental

vision of lifting the trophy in six

weeks?

Yeah, I probably have! The

excitement is massive. We have

something in front of us, we can go

down in history if we perform and do

well but we also, not looking too

far in front but we've got a great

game to start off this week against

Australia, we are going into this

game confident but we know we have

got a tough task in front of us but

if we can put a performance in and

do well, there's no reason we can't

do well and keep building to the end

of big opposition.

How important is

this experience? Not only did he

play every game in 2013 World Cup

but he beaten in 2006 when Great

Britain beat Australia so that

experience for the other guys in the

squad?

You know what it does for the

senior players? It dispels the myth

of the players. A lot of the younger

players just coming into the England

setup, you hear about the NRL all

the time, the greatness of the

competition and they do a great job

in communicating how athletic they

are and you go into those games a

lot of the time, and you kind of

have this apprehension about you but

when you have got guys around you

that have been there and done that,

they are not fazed by the

opposition, they have smashed them,

scored tries, won games, that rubs

off on you. That is the importance

of being in camp because you get the

influence from them and your beliefs

starts so you get into the game,

five or ten minutes, these guys are

beatable, not superhuman.

They are outstanding. They are at

the top of the tree for the

competition, which only confirms for

the rest of the players, we are up

for this.

How important is the

captain, coach relationship?

I think

it is very important. I think what

when his very good at, he will have

a host of players, leaders, who he

talks to. He doesn't say all that

much. But what he says lasts a long

time. It is very relevant. I mention

Sam Burgess. I think Sam and Sean's

combination today is crucial. There

is a whole lot of experience. Sam is

a big bundle of enthusiasm, a big

personality. Sean O'Loughlin is

almost the calm. He will help Gareth

Widdop and Luke Gale. He will know

what to do. He will know what

buttons to press. Those two are

really important.

Let's here from

Mal Meninga, one of the greatest of

all time. He has won this World Cup

as a player. Will he do it as a

coach?

How much are you looking forward to

this, the tournament and the first

game?

It's an exciting time for a

rugby league. It is a showpiece, an

opportunity to display the players'

talents around Australia, New

Zealand and patria McGinley. --

Papua New Guinea. It is the biggest

sporting event in Australia in the

summer months. Would we want to kick

off the competition in the right

lane. We want to be entertainers. We

have a competitive game against the

English. I'm pretty sure they will

set the trend for other matters.

How

important is that first game in

terms of setting down a marker?

It

is important. Like England, we want

to get away to a good start. For us

personally, to get a victory in that

game sort of holes us in good stead

and gives us an opportunity to stay

in Australia, possibly playing in

the semifinals.

What are you

expecting from England?

A very

committed side. The sea disappointed

by their Four Nations. -- obviously.

It will be our greatest test until

we get to the finals.

Is this as

good an England squad as you have

seen for a while, given the error

for players -- NFL players?

Yes, the

forward pack has got a lot of

experience. Gareth is informed. We

are expecting a torrid battle. We

need to play at her best.

No

Johnathan Thurston. How much do you

miss him?

You are always going to

miss a player of Jonathan's quality.

Not only is playing ability but the

person himself. He is great within

the team environment. He is highly

respected. We have got a whole

wealth of talent vying for the

number six jersey.

The competition

against Wayne Bennett, is a

personal?

It is not personal. We are

competitive. We like winning. In

that sense you can make it personal.

But at the end of the day we are in

charge of our football teams. We

want to make sure that both teams

are at their peak of their powers.

We were having a chat of thereabout

Mal Meninga and what he has brought

to the Aussies since becoming coach.

You were saying he has brought back

a pride in the shirt. Explain what

you mean?

I think he said the jersey

always had pride, but there is a

real purpose. Over the years it was

getting a bit lost, which was

bigger? Queensland or playing clear

country? It's sort of got lost.

Since took over he has got the

purpose in the jersey along with the

players. They talk about the

players' campaign, respect, desire,

excellence... The players live and

breathe the slogan. I think he has

done a great job, along with the

playing group. He took over for the

May test. That was last year. We got

to have a training session with him.

To go out for dinner with him, back

to their hotel, seeing the history,

he has done a great job bringing all

that together.

The other interesting

thing with the Aussie players is

there was a feeling that because

they are expected to win every time,

that when they win it is just great,

well done. But if they were ever to

lose, they were absolutely hammered.

It was a bit of a no-win situation?

Yeah, a tough situation to be in.

They are in this situation in this

World Cup. But they have found a way

to embrace it. Enjoy it and look

forward to it. You mentioned about

Captain and coach for England, I

think it is huge for Australia. They

work together for Queensland. The

fact that those two... Mal is not a

dictator. He will get the players'

input, as he did for Queensland. He

gets enjoyment and excitement and

how they play.

Let's get more

reaction from the stadium in

Melbourne.

We can rejoin Dave Woods. Welcome

back. We are joined by a couple of

Australians, Steve massacred from

the Sydney morning Herald, and a man

who broke England hearts in 2007...

The dynamic between the coaches, Mal

Meninga and Wayne Bennett, is there

a genuine rivalry?

I think so. Wayne

is an amazing coach. He has won the

World Cup with New Zealand and

Australia and now he wants to do it

with England. We asked how confident

the England side are, and he said,

extremely confident because they

have picked a great side this year.

They certainly did a wonderful job

in the mid season tests. They played

like a Wayne team. Mal has known him

for 40 years. Wayne took him into

the police force. I think he would

like to beat him, put one up and put

some pressure on the favourites.

The

Australian side, there are a few

players missing. Johnathan Thurston,

Matt Smith... How good is this

squad?

It is a very good squad.

Since Mal came in he has given them

a new start culturally. 2014 was a

low point for the spreading team,

losing consecutive games against the

Kiwis, losing the final. A lot of

players cried off. That is not

happening now. The players are

available. It is the best possible

side. It is hard to see them being

beaten tonight. Based on the fact

that it is the best available team

and they have had a fresh start on

Mal.

I think England need to go

close tonight. And I think they can.

The fact there are ten changes, the

pace of the game will be pretty

fast. There are a lot of players

playing in the Australian

competition. You have the best of

the Super League players. This is

the best England team I have seen

for a long while. If they can win

the battle in the middle, they will

go a long way to win the game.

How

much of an influence is the emotion

going to have on the Australian

team?

When people are saying in

Sydney that Cooper Cronk, talk about

who he is going to join this year,

it is outshining the World Cup, that

gives you an indication of what a

big start he is. They loved him

here. The combination of those three

tonight will be a really big hurdle

for England to combat.

I thought you

were going to say something! Two

Australians who reckon the strains

might win tonight. Let's hope they

are wrong.

You can still vote online as to who

will win the World Cup. As far as

the other teams in the group are

concerned, Lebanon and France,

Lebanon coached by Brad Fittler,

they have 11 NRL players.

That gives

them some confidence. The way they

will approach it is, what have we

got to lose? Pour it all on and

leave it all out there. If they have

some close wins, it grows

confidence. More players want to pin

their flag to the Lebanon post. That

grows it for the future. There is a

great opportunity. I don't think

they can lose in this tournament.

If

people are watching and wondering

how there can be 11 NRL players

representing Lebanon, the

eligibility rules were changed, so

that if you want selected by a top

tier country and you had connections

to another country through parents

or grandparents, there was that

opportunity to switch. Do you think

that has been a good thing for rugby

league? It ought to make a more

competitive tournament.

Yeah, I do.

When you look at the Nations and

some of the squad lists, some of the

players who have opted to play for

second-tier nations, makes it a

strong World Cup. It is interesting,

Robbie's point 11. The big talk is

about England and Australia. But

that France Lebanon game is equally

important. Arguably the winner will

play -- feel the third spot and make

the quarterfinal. That is a huge

game. We understand how strong the

French squad can be. A lot of the

players are in Super League. It will

be really interesting to see a mix

of 11 NRL boys representing Lebanon

against probably 13, 14 Super League

guys from the Catalan Dragons.

From

previous experience, those kind of

games are massively entertaining?

Definitely. That is what makes this

World Cup so exciting. We will be

talking about players we have never

heard of. -- we're not talking about

players have never heard of. They

are full of NRL and Super League

players. The fact domestic

competition is finished, it is

exciting for rugby league that we

get six weeks. On predictability in

the results. We're talking about

Lebanon, France, Fiji... Every

country is going to have a good

story to tell.

The eligibility rules

may not have gone down as well in

New Zealand. They have been hit the

hardest, haven't they? They are in

with Samoa and Scotland and Tonga.

They have lost players?

They

definitely have. One of the luxuries

New Zealand have is they are deep in

strength. There are quite a lot of

New Zealanders playing in the aunt

-- N O -- NRL and the Super League.

I think it is -- he is the first

forward ever to break 5000 metres in

a season. They are just passing the

ball.

The New Zealand coach said if

he had just spoken to him, he would

have been OK. But the fact there

wasn't a great deal of conversation,

he might have posed in a New Zealand

kit and scarf and then switched,

that is what has annoyed him?

Yeah,

the official reason that Jason said

is that he was hugely passionate

when he played for tongue in 2013.

Absolutely loved his time there. He

is proud he is of Tongan lineage.

There is another argument saying

that because Jesse Bromwich and

Kevin Proctor, included in the New

Zealand squad, that close-knit

squad, that could have made things

come are at the seams.

Are you

worried about that group?

Definitely. Players like Bromwich

was playing for New Zealand. They

had selection opportunities. A

couple of players playing for

tongue. Your debt becomes even

better. But they are not playing.

They are playing against New

Zealand. One of the things it also

throws up to me is what is going on

in the New Zealand camp? I'm

disconnected from it. I don't know.

When everybody buys into something

and you have that unit and it is

crossing over a couple of years,

people find it hard to leave their

group. Because there are players out

of there, I think that is why... We

are talking about cohesion, the

Australian spine of the team have

been together forever. England have

been working on that cohesion in the

past couple of seasons. New Zealand

have a fresh setup. That is what

makes it nervous for me.

What would

be a good result for Scotland?

I

think to get out of it. It is a

tough group.

I know one thing, they

will be sore after every game

against Samoa, Tonga and New

Zealand. Good luck!

Let's head back to Melbourne.

I don't know if you can see in the

background, a few of the Aussie

players warming up. Not many British

players and coaches can beat

Australia but this man has, Jamie

Peacock. He played the last time

Great Britain beat Australia. Is

there a sense within the camp that

2006 could be revisited with this

England A side?

I think so. I have

been around the team for the past

couple of weeks. There is the belief

there. They know they are good

enough to beat Australia. If they

play well and do the things Wayne

asks them to do... I'm sick and

tired of looking at the clips from

2006.

Do you want a fight?

I'm a bit

too old to fight these days! I think

they are far better team than the

one we was. I think this is their

time. Hopefully we will see this

performance today.

This fellow is

still living that night. Gareth

Raynor's match winning try and the

emotion that came out of it?

It was

a great night of the others but it

is about this current team. We want

to replicate that. They want to

replicate that. Having a brief

encounter with them the other night,

I can sense it is good. We will only

find out when the kick-off starts.

The reality is we need to find out

how they cope with pressure and this

intense level of having to

concentrate for the full 80 minutes.

You have seen what Wayne Bennett's

influences like. What is it like?

He

gives the team confidence. He has

been there, done it, seen

everything. He has instilled belief.

He has given them simple things to

go and execute. It is about

executing the simple things well. It

is a lot more difficult than it

sounds. If they can do that, they

will win.

Any game against the

Australians, England wants to win.

How significant is this game tonight

given the rest of the competition?

We want to perform well. We want to

win, no doubt about that. But I

think this team let themselves down

when they played Australia in London

a year ago. I think they want to

improve on that performance. The

majority of the squad is here. If we

can go anywhere near their best, if

most of the players play at nine out

of ten, we can win.

You talked about

beating Australia twice in a series,

which we have not done for a long

time. How important you think

tonight is?

The task should be for

them to mentally get their heads

around the fact they may have to

beat them twice. If there be than to

night, they may have to again in the

final. New Zealand come through, who

knows what will happen? The

mentality for me has to be, we are a

good team also. If we beat them

tonight, we may have to beat them

again. The history of our game over

the last 40 years, we haven't beaten

them twice in a series. That's

unusual. They didn't beat us twice

for 30 years before that. Maybe its

time.

I will let Jayme Doll.

Hopefully after tonight we can stop

seeing clips of him pointing Willie

Mason all those years ago.

Jamie is off.

-- Ponting. Let's show you some

pictures from 2006. Do we need to

challenge some of this? Goodness me.

I'm not saying goodness me at the

punches, I'm saying goodness me at

the hair that Jamie had! Do they

need to channel some of that

fighting spirit?

No. I think we need

to be controlled. The squad is fully

aware that of Australia want to mix

it, we have got enough in there.

Look at the Four Nations last year.

Sam Burgess hit David Klemmer. The

English boys aren't afraid to

protect themselves and Stander up

for each other. Jamie mentioned

belief and confidence. I think there

is big belief and confidence.

I'm

not advocating punching people, but

if there is something like that

early on in a game, everybody

jumping in, how does that affect you

on the field? Does it poorly

together?

I think it can do. It can

go one of two ways. It would be

interesting. I think we will be

pretty controlled. If it ends up

like that, we will get stuck in. The

key today is to rattle Australia,

and that doesn't mean by fighting.

It means by playing rugby, by being

physical and aggressive and

executing properly.

I agree. Those

days have gone. You have to play

better rugby league in Australia.

They don't get fazed by that. I

agree with Kevin. You have to put

them under pressure and play rugby

league and make them come up with

plays. That doesn't last for 80

minutes.

Whenever stuff happened on

the field, I used to sit down and

picked daisies!

People react in

different ways.

When we played Great

Britain, on the other side you'd

have Jason Robinson and he would be

setting them picking daisies as

well!

We will be on the red Button after

the game and we will talk more about

Ireland, Wales and Scotland. With

both of them playing pappy in

Guinea, it is tough? -- Papua New

Guinea.

It is their national sport.

They are not the tallest people in

the world. But they are as wide as

they are tall. It's like you are

playing against 13 boulders. You

have got eight people flying at you.

Honestly, you come out of those

games and you know you have been in

a game. You are beaten up.

Robbie is

right. We played against Papua in

the first game of the World Cup and

I don't think we ever recovered.

They were like lamp posts. They were

solid. A really tough game.

Especially for that group. Papua New

Guinea's home games are in Port

Moresby. That is a tough place to

go.

We will talk more Ireland and

Wales between 12:15am -- 12:15pm and

one o'clock. Let's go inside the

England camp. We can hear from Sam

Burgess.

What are the feelings going into the

game?

We are really confident. We

had a mid-season test against Samoa

which we played really well in. It

was important we played well in that

game coming into a World Cup. We

have that confidence in how well we

can play as a team. We have had a

couple of weeks preparation and

things are running really smoothly.

It is a World Cup and you are in an

England shirt again. We know what

happened last time there was a World

Cup. Do you feel you have something

to prove to the British sporting

public?

Not necessarily. Every time

I get the opportunity to wear an

England shirt, I will never take it

for granted. I will give it my best

shot. The only I feel is to not let

my team down, do my job on the

night. That is it really. But

certainly the weight of everything,

and the history of me wearing an

England rugby union jersey, I don't

think so.

Sam Burgess, you played in

an England team was he wasn't there

because of his spell in rugby union.

You feel the team got a lift on his

return?

Definitely. It is a

fantastic player. It is uplifting to

have someone like that and your

team. I'm glad he is back.

You're

one of several based over here. The

majority of the pack seem to be

Australian -based. Is an advantage?

I'm not sure it is. Maybe mentally.

We play these guys week in, week

out. We see their weaknesses and

strengths. We have got six or seven

players here now. They are all doing

fantastically well. Transferring

that to the international stage is

our next step.

32 tries in 32 games,

a phenomenal record. You have scored

at? Memorable tries against

Australia, haven't you?

Yeah, I

have. It is not just the lower

ranked teams he scored tries

against, it is the bigger teams. It

is always good to score tries

against the best.

He does all right,

the big fella. He has got a good

suntan he has been here. He doesn't

go out thinking about scoring a try.

Eagles are thinking about doing his

job for the team. The tries comment

his way. -- he goes out thinking

about doing his job for the team. He

is a world-class winger.

I'm happy he is on our team. A

magical way of scoring tries. His

record is phenomenal. What do you

say to your winger when they are

against Ryan Hall?

If he has the

ball, move up quick to tackle him.

He is a big, strong human. That is a

strength were injured. The

backfield, how strong at carries

they are. They will need to be

tonight. I think Ryan Hall is as

strong as anybody else. He finishes

really well as well. He can move

quite quick for a big fellow. We

heard Sam Burgess saying he doesn't

think about scoring tries, he just

thinks about doing his job, although

arguably his job is scoring tries.

I

think the game has changed for

wingers from what it was. It was all

about tries. Now the game is very

different. How they bring the ball

out of our own territory is equally

as important as scoring tries. Teams

have such a threat from kicks, how

they execute, how they catch high

balls. Not only scoring tries but

saving tries and gaining valuable

metres is so important.

I have only

met him at? Times, you played with

him for years. Nothing seems to faze

him?

He is very complex. He is chalk

and cheese with Sam Burgess. Sam

Burgess is a big personality. Ryan

is quite in Syria at times. Almost

the type of guy who is so

intelligent but with very little

common sense. A bit like rain man!

You need a mix of every type of

personality and character. He fits

in perfectly point macro there the

England team. You can see John

Bateman who will be in the centre.

The absence of Gale will be crucial

today?

It will be. It will be

interesting to see who takes the

leadership role? Luke Gale has been

the man of steel.

Who should take

leadership?

Luke Gale should be

directing everything. Setting things

up for a widow. You have Josh

Hodgson in the middle who is very

important. He has to make sure the

takes every opportunity he can. Luke

Gale for me needs time and space on

the ball. I think we saw in the

Super League Grand Final, when he

doesn't get that time and space, he

is limited. But with this pack, and

with Jermaine McGillvary and Ryan

Hall Ponting into the line, James

Graham, Sam Burgess, Chris Hill, you

should be able to get both of these

have backs on the ball. This is an

element Luke Hall has added to his

game, his support game. If he can

come up with the big plays at the

right time, he has got a Canon for a

boot. If he grabs the game by the

scruff of the neck and gets time and

space on the ball, that allows to

achieve his ability. When he is

achieving what he can come the team

does.

I am sorry, Justin! That was

unbelievably cruel. I'll talk to the

production team.

He was man of Steel

for the whole year, don't forget!

Cruel.

Robbie has nailed it on Luke

Gale. Last year during the Four

Nations we were much or as an

England team who was the boss, who

got smacked around the field. Was it

Luke Gale, was a brown, was it

Gareth Widdop? Now Wayne has told

him, you run the team. That frees

Gareth. Will the same sort of

discussion be going on in the

Australian team about Thurston, who

runs it?

No. I also did would be

Cronk anyway. Cupar organises the

team better than anybody. He is

familiar in that role.

What does

Morgan have to do alongside him?

Just get the ball when he wants to.

Cooper will organise the whole set.

When he does, Morgan will overwrite

Cooper. Try to make one play in a

set of six count. Cooper can kick

him into some tough places.

I think

Justin is described as the best

outcome. He looks after your kicking

game, he gets the field -- team

around the field. Get the ball to

him. He knows his field position and

his space. That link between Morgan

and Slater will be crucial.

Johnathan Thurston bringing the flag

and frustrated.

-- in for Australia, which he would

not want to be doing. You've got to

feel sorry for him.

Not too much!

You know how we English feel about

our Australian brothers.

Maybe I've

got more heart the new!

Maybe but

don't get me wrong, Jonathan has

been and won accolade in the game. I

think it helps the rest of the team

that he is not part of the

tournament, he's that good! It does

the tournament justice, getting to

play a part in the tournament.

How

do you view the Morgan and Cooper

Cronk partnership.

It's interesting

because I read an article earlier

this week when Michael Morgan said

it was Cooper Cronk that brought the

best out of him during one of the

Australian camp 's mid-season,

Cooper Cronk said to him you have

got to own the game and grab it by

the scruff of the neck and a lot of

players have said since he came out

of that Australian camp, he changed

the forgings for the Cowboys and

because of that, -- the fortunes of

the Cowboys and he may still be in a

subconscious with of trying to run

the game and that is where friction

might come in. But I will agree with

both of these guys, you have do have

a leader, a guy that can free

himself up and blew everything else

together and -- and glue everything

else together and Morgan will have

to play that role.

What are you

looking for from England in the

first half?

That we create pressure

and rattle Australia and we go in, I

would like to see us in front on the

scoreboard but look, I said a really

good performance in the first 40

minutes.

You did your online vote on

who is going to win the World Cup,

62% went for Australia, 23% went for

England, 10% for New Zealand and 2%,

obviously are paying attention to

what you were saying this morning,

have gone to Tonga. The teams are

out, Australia against England, this

is it, the opening match of the

Rugby league World Cup. We will have

it for you across the BBC, on TV,

online and on radio five live and

sports extra as well and we can join

our commentary team out in

Melbourne, led by Dave Woods.

# God save our gracious Queen

Long live our noble Queen

# God save the Queen

# Send her victorious

# Happy and glorious

# Long to reign over us

# God save the Queen. #

APPLAUSE

COMMENTATOR: At the Melbourne

Rectangular Stadium, the English

National man them and now the

Australian. -- national anthem.

MUSIC: Advance Australia Fair.

# Australians all let us rejoice

For we are young and free

# We've golden soil and wealth for

toil

# Our home is girt by sea

# Our land abounds in Nature's gifts

Of beauty rich and rare

# In history's page, let every stage

Advance Australia fair

# In joyful strains then let us sing

Advance Australia fair

APPLAUSE

APPLAUSE

We've had a fantastically

atmospheric build-up to this game

and tournament inside the stadium

tonight, the 14 nations all

represented by flags and some of

their greats as well, Garry

Schofield carrying on the flag

remember, and assured way away from

wherein 1992, inspiring England,

Great Britain in those days, he

inspired Great Britain to a win

against Australia, Johnathan

Thurston has been carrying a flag

for Australia, not involved in this

tournament, of course, just looking

down, we see Petra Cinemas either.

This is how they lie -- line-up,

Dane Gagai on debut on the wing for

Australia, as are two of their

substitutes, Wade Graham and Jordan

McLean. The England team, some late

destruction, no Alex Walmsley would

have been on debut, instead, Ben

Currie comes in and he will be

winning his first cap tonight and it

is a very settled look to the

England side as well. We will get a

special presentation here tonight

before the match kicks off, we are

told, with Johnathan Thurston

reading the poem The Rise, the

Australian version of the haka.

That's bringing Brian Noble and Ian

Lohan. What have you made in the

build-up of England's chances and

the strength of this particular

Australian side?

The first thing

Wayne Bennett said was he was not

anticipating a bill, he wanted to

give that Australian team a

build-up, he was a high completion

rate but Australia are very well

oiled by, they have best players in

the world in the spine, Cameron

Smith, Cooper Cronk and Billy Slater

and Michael Morgan for the North

Queensland Cowboys has been

absolutely sensational this year.

That is where they have the

advantage in this tournament, in

those four key positions. I like the

English pack of forwards but Wayne

is very good at building.

What about

that fellow, Billy Slater? We

thought we'd seen the last of him at

international level a couple of

years ago when he got that shoulder

injury but to come back from that

has been pretty phenomenal.

The

biggest thing is, he did not loses

speed and honestly, everyone talks

about how good he is with his speed,

anticipation and skill with the ball

but people don't talk about how well

he organises the defence in front of

him, they say he's one of the best

talkers on the field and he will

bring that to Australia tonight.

Michael Morgan in your picture,

there, another one who is very much

the linchpin, the North Queensland

Cowboys player and the Australians

are coming together for this Rise

presentation. We will keep an eye

out to see Jonathan Thurston coming

on the revealed, the Australians

gathering together, the English

lining up on the 40 metre mark. --

on the field. Here comes Johnathan

Thurston. He will enter the ring of

Australian players in just a moment.

You will see him walking into your

picture, onto the screen, in a few

moments time. He is a big miss for

the World Cup, this fellow. In

footballing terms, he is the Messi,

the Ronaldo rugby league. But he's

going to have a part to play

nonetheless, rise is what this is

called, respect, inspire, selfless

and excellence. It is something the

Australians have adopted for this

World Cup. All aspects of their

culture represented.

We, the Kangaroos, acknowledge and

pay respect to our traditional

owners. We welcome all nations to

our country, for this World Cup. And

we will rise as one.

APPLAUSE

Like the coat of arms on our heart.

We will be selfless.

And with the Chevron on our chest,

we will be selfless in victory.

We are from different backgrounds

but we strive for excellence and

will rise united.

We are the

Kangaroos.

Well, that is quite a

performance. I don't think I've ever

seen anything like that on the Rugby

league field before. Let's hope

they've been spending as much time

in rehearsal for that as they have

been for their planned moves.

Let's

hope they haven't!

Since he came

into the job, they have won seven

from seven but he brought a bit more

passion into the organisation and

they have shown it with that and Sam

Thaiday was a major contributor to

penning those words when he was

injured in the Four nations and was

in hospital.

Sound Thaiday Johnathan

Thurston who were involved in making

it not involved but these players

are, and England are looking forward

to the horizon of opportunities this

World Cup offers, how far they will

travel will be gauged in part the

night but Australia, formidable

opposition, Engelbach, Billy Slater,

hooker Cameron Smith, for example,

they can lay claim to being the best

ever in green and gold in their

position --. The referee tonight,

Mike check-in, preparing to get it

underway. Cameron Smith has planted

the ball down. Billy Slater back on

the international scene. James

Graham, utterly prepared. Their

countdown comedy gig after the 2017

Rugby league World Cup, it all

starts in Melbourne, Australia

against England. 12 more nations

entering the fray this weekend but

this is very much the voters. What a

ferocious start we have got.

Excellent, Test match football at

its best!

Worldy is going to be

opening minutes.

You've got to be

concerned when you come out of the

line, you have do be sure you nail

it otherwise you will lose some

space.

Not fazed by that early

contact, England. Pretty clear where

they are going out of the rock at

the moment. First touch was Ann

Burgess who comes way but Valentine

Holmes is up to catch the kick. It

is a very good chase by the English

defenders. Australia start from

there.

Wayne Bennett's coaching

always talks about completing the

first ten sets. He's looking for

100% completion and will be ticking

them off, no frills, just up the

middle.

And if you are looking for

structure and line speed from

England, I think if they have

advantage today, England, it is with

that big bag of forwards, that you

can see going forward, big Sam

Burgess with a hit on Cooper Cronk,

back to six so they will have six

more plays but they won't desist

with that kind of attitude.

A couple

of winning moments for Sam Burgess

in these opening stages. Here comes

David Klemmer. Australia are in

possession inside the English half

for the first time tonight, in the

opening two minutes. Grant with the

short ball. Gillett. Cameron Smith

sidling up to dummy half again.

Aaron Woods. James Graham, wrapping

himself around and the play-the-ball

is still quick and Cameron Smith is

away, looking for support. Back it

comes again to David Klemmer, whose

slams that huge body, that huge

body, into the England line.

Australia poised. Cooper Cronk with

a kick, high over the double Ryan

Hall. On the dead-ball line, it is a

restart, England on the 20.

Grant

will be disappointed because he had

it nailed, had the numbers on the

left side of the England defence,

David Klemmer into the line and then

amid people, Cameron Smith

particularly, probing in and around

the rock. Good start from Australia.

But two different styles, Brian,

England going up the middle but were

-- are they working to get to the

edges Australia.

And a lift for

England because the penalty for

offside and the chance for them to

settle a few nerves, Luke Gale

having a little chat with his

team-mates and Aaron Woods is the

man who has been pinged. Not the

best touch by Luke Gale but it has

at least given England a good start

inside their opponents' half and

here comes the Sam Burgess again.

Hodgson out of dummy half. Graham.

Carrying them on. Best position

England have had in these opening

stages. O'Loughlin. Gareth Widdop.

Closed down, Lomax, but he has

bounced away from the tackle of

Dugan. Look how close they are,

here. Hodgson again. O'Loughlin can

deliver a pass and he does and

Watkins... Trying to make his way

through a couple of defenders.

McGillvaray spinning it back.

Hodgson. Dummies inside to Hill and

it comes to Luke Gale and Lomax

joins from full-back, set up by

Bateman, Grant can't keep hold of

him. Burgess slipping it back

towards the middle. Looking to cause

some damage. The last tackle coming

next. Hodgson. Laughlin. Good pass

by him, over the Doctor McGillvaray!

Get in, I tried for England.

England

claimed the opening try of the World

Cup. Matt Cecchin will give it, no

recourse to the video referee and

what a terrific start this is for

England. Look at those faces.

They

are happy, for sure, McGillvaray

finishes what has been a pretty

competent opening attacking set,

they have asked questions on both

sides of the field and O'Loughlin is

the key on both sides, unleashing

Gareth Widdop with a great out ball

and McGillvaray just as to catch it.

The last tackle as I do it was a

good set, prepared to play the ball,

what was in front of them, great

off-load and great vision, because

when the play came outside in, you

were not surely if he was going to

pass short and force an error for

Australia but he went over the top,

great vision and that will give them

great confidence.

Keeping up a fine

record, Jermaine McGillvary, five

tries in his last five appearances

for England and there will be in

excitement amongst the group now.

What a start.

Sam Burgess did a

great job in that set, his footwork

but also they put him on top of

grant a few times and they won the

ruck, and with his ability to

comeback on the inside, he didn't

panic.

The two best buys, O'Loughlin

featured three time so we are doing

the right thing.

Gareth Widdop from

near the touchline, close but not

close enough. So just four points.

That is what you need, when you are

underdogs in a game and everyone

talks about building up to the

tournament...

Great movement,

O'Loughlin goes at the line, Gareth

Widdop has a four against two and

find the right pass to McGillvaray

to finish, asking questions, Adam

Brimelow three, great start for

England.

Lomax caused the problems

because they had a number up on him

and then went over the top. It is

like the way they got out of their

half, England, I thought they would

be a bit more pedestrian, a bit

flavour but they went right down the

middle of the park. They had a bit

of confidence about them. -- a bit

safer.

All the talk is about the

England centres but who need them

when you got a loose order that can

deliver passes like that? Sam

Burgess is just sizing himself up

again to take on the big fellows in

the middle. Smith and Woods, doing

the job. A little bit of footwork as

he hits the line.

Chris Hill with

terrific footwork. He always find

his feet to do that.

James Roby is on the bench as well,

so they have that potential to

switch the dynamic that dummy half.

It is a good kick, high in the air

from Gareth Widdop. Taken by Billy

Slater. We all remember his debut

for Australia, his debut season for

Australia, in the World Cup in 2008,

when he scored a hat-trick in this

fixture against the English.

Chambers.

David Klemmer, just inside the

England half. Smith. Switched away

and a step from Michael Morgan and a

good pass as well and Kronk is in

support, the cover comes back across

and Cooper Cronk's pass is straight

into the hands of the recovering

McGillvaray.

They cut England apart

with Cooper Cronk and it was David

Klemmer with the short ball and

McGillvaray's Johnny on the spot

with one of those try saving plays

you will need in a game like this

but dangerous signs from Australia.

Normally very clinical at the back

end, Grant and that was a bit of a

Hail Mary from him.

The Melbourne

tram Britos later, Kronk and Smith,

here, playing together in the same

team on this pitch for the very last

time. Gareth Widdop with the kick

away under pressure from Woods.

Was

that an early kick?

No, it was the

last tackle.

Cooper Cronk is in a

bit of strife at the moment, by the

way. He has just put his thumbs up

to the bench to say he is OK but we

will keep a careful eye on it.

Trbojevic.

I'm a bit worried about

how quickly the Australians are

getting off the ground. They need a

bit more stick from the English

defence.

Cameron Smith, towards

Woods. Looking to get the off-load

away but the English defenders are

there quickly. On the last play,

Kronk, recovering enough to take

part and the reverse kick that is

causing all kinds of confusion and

James Graham in the end can only

take it and concede the drop out but

more strife for Cooper Cronk after

he got that kick away. This will be

a major concern for the Australians.

There was nothing in the tackle from

Burgess, he's gone through the

middle so it is not late and high.

That is the two card trick you get

with Kronk and Smith and Slater and

Kronk do it as well, they kick it