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England v New Zealand Odds

RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP - ENGLAND v NEW ZEALAND BETTING - 8th November

New Zealand were drubbed 30-6 by Australia in their opening Group A fixture. In their next outing, New Zealand face Papua New Guinea on Saturday 1st November, for which the Kiwis will be red-hot favourites. England struggled to overcome a battling Papua New Guinea 32-22, at Townsville, in their first 2008 World Cup finals match. They now have to tackle reigning cup holders and 6-time winners Australia on Sunday 2nd November. Australia will be long odds-on to keep their unbeaten record. The penultimate fixture in Group A is the England v New Zealand meeting at Newcastle’s Energy Australia Stadium.

Latest England v New Zealand Odds

TV Coverage

The England v New Zealand match will be covered live on Sky Sports 2 from 8.30 a.m., kicking off at 8.55 a.m.

England

Coach Tony Smith realises that his side needs to improve on their opening effort to be competitive in the remainder of the tournament. However, he has made only one change to the side that beat PNG for England’s second match against Australia. Mark Calderwood replaces the injured Lee Smith on the wing for the contest at Melbourne’s Telstra Dome.

Looking forward to the England’s final Group A match against New Zealand, Smith commented that his team had good players in all positions and that he was convinced that they could challenge the Kiwis in all areas. He said that, despite a sub-par performance against Papua New Guinea, he is in no doubt that his players will continue to improve throughout the course of the tournament. He admitted that there were several areas in which his team had performed better previously, but pointed out that it had been some time since the players had played together. Regardless of the result of the match against Australia, England will start short-priced favourites to beat New Zealand.

New Zealand

New Zealand coach Stephan Kearney was understandably disappointed with his side’s lacklustre performance against the Kangaroos, but refused to admit that the chase for the title was a “one horse race.” He said that his team had made life too easy for Australia, giving away possession and field position too often to be competitive, but was encouraged by some aspects of the match. He is hopeful that his players can rebound from the defeat to challenge for the title. Kearney’s cause has not been aided by the loss of highly-rated Melbourne Storm forward Sika Manu, who sustained a right eye socket fracture in the loss to Australia. X-rays confirmed an undisplaced fracture, ruling Manu out of any further participation in the World Cup. Manu will be replaced by Sydney Roosters’ second row Setaimata Sa. Kearney believes his team will have a tough time against Papua New Guinea, following PNG’s impressive display against England. Krisnan Inu, of Parramatta Eels, along with South Sydney Rabbitohs team-mates, hooker Issac Luke and second row David Fa’alogo are recalled for this critical fixture at Skilled Park, Robina.

Kearney fully realises that the England fixture will provide a far sterner test for his players. He expressed surprise that England’s winning margin over Papua New Guinea was not greater and expects improved performances for the rest of the World Cup. He said that he had great respect for the vastly experienced, mainly Super League-based England side, put was quick to point out that his own side, consisting predominantly of NRL players is lacking in neither experience nor skill. He added that he expected a very competitive contest, but was quietly confident that his Kiwis could come out on top.

Assuming results follow the form book, with Australia beating England and New Zealand beating Papua New Guinea, the England v New Zealand fixture seems likely to be a dress rehearsal for the semi-final, as the second and third-placed teams in Group A meet each other in the semis.

All odds correct at time of writing. Please click here for the latest odds