sport news Aussie mind games fool no one - they're huge favourites at RLWC but England ... trends now
The Rugby League World Cup will feature 16 nations competing in 31 matches in the men's competition, but it will boil down to one very difficult question: How do you beat Australia?
The Kangaroos are the mighty force in international Rugby League and before the tournament has even begun, they are huge favourites to win in England, when the finals are played here through October and November.
Australia's dominance – some bookies are offering odds of 3-1 on – stems from the popularity of the game down-under, which dwarfs every other nation, even England, and translates into more money, power and better players.
England won their penultimate warm-up match against the Combined Nations All Stars
However, stout English hearts hold hopes of an upset - despite Australia making 14 of the 15 finals since the tournament began in France in 1954, and the fact they have lifted the trophy on 11 of those occasions.
England coach Shaun Wane has talent and battle-hardened experience to choose from as he seeks to upset the odds, including NRL stalwarts, second row, Elliott Whitehead, 32, who has made 154 appearances for Canberra Raiders and prop Tom Burgess, 30, who has amassed 207 outings for the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
'[I] imagine Shaun Wane's expectation is: We lift the trophy,' said England legend James Graham, who holds the record number of appearances for the national side and has played at three World Cups, including a defeat in the final to Australia in 2017. 'That's it. That's got to be the expectation.
'How you get there is a different story,' added Graham, who made his name at St Helen's before moving to Australia where he played for Canterbury and St George Illawarra. 'That's about growing the belief within the camp.'
The former forward told The Roar in Australia: 'The long-term expectation is to win the trophy, we use our strengths: like the crowd, like the forward pack, like the classy touches out wide.
'I'm excited. I'm not going to get too carried away because it's going to be a very difficult tournament and you need the stars to align sometimes but I've got the upmost confidence in this England team… the potential is there to go all the way.'
England's latest outing was an 18-4 win over the Combined Nations All Stars at the Halliwell Jones Stadium at Warrington in June. It was only Wane's third match in charge of the Three Lions in two years, as a result of the Covid pandemic.
There were bright performances, not least from Catalans Dragons full-back and England skipper Sam Tomkins, and the win was achieved without the Aussie exiles Whitehead and Burgess.
England have one more warm up to play, against Fiji in Salford on October 7.
Australia were heavy favourites and beat England in the 2017 Rugby League World Cup final
But the Three Lions put up a brave defence and lost 6-0 in a tight and nervy affair in Brisbane
At the World Cup, England will be backed by a boisterous home crowd with the country developing a taste for success following
