England and Australia all set to lock horns for Gillette Four Nations 2011 title
The final showdown of the Gillette Four Nations 2011 will feature England and Australia at Elland Road, in Leeds, on Saturday, November 19, amid a packed house.
The best of the participating teams have been sifted out to decide 2011’s Four Nations title holder over the weekend. The series obvious favourites’ are Kangaroos, who did not face a single defeat against any of the participating teams in the Four Nations
Series. Their successive wins booked them as finalist before the second finalist were chosen.
Over the sudden death encounter played between the Kiwis and English side, the latter proved their dominance by claiming a massive 28-6 victory. New Zealand were sloppy in their overall performance, as they had completely failed to boot in any goals or tries
during the initial half of the game. The resistance offered by Kiwis’ quarters was next to nil, which translated likewise on the score card with 8-0, at half-time.
Second-half of the game was no different for their ever dwindling performance display by the meagre side. However, England dominated with Kevin Sinfield’s six goals on all six attempts made. Sinfield’s on-field brilliance led him to be the man-of-the-match
during the semi-final showdown of the series.
This was not it as Tom Briscoe, James Graham, Ryan Hall and Sam Tomkins ran in tries for their side which had further helped the English side to widen its score gap with the opponents of the clash. Their performance against Kiwis was an evidence of their
improved game down the run of the Four Nations Campaign.
English side has really worked hard and this has translated well into the games they have played so far. They have persistently improved their on-field performance, which is why there is now a huge possibility for them walking away victorious in the final
showdown.
England’s performance against Kiwis was commendable, as the side managed to run down the meagre side, with ease, but the equation against Roos is not going to be simple. Australians have cemented their position with excellent defence and equally good attacking,
which makes them a much stronger team to beat.
As long as England makes sure that it stays away from making penalties and errors during Saturday’s game, there are still ample chances of them walking out triumphantly from the macth up.
The finalised pick of the English pack is yet to be revealed but the news is that English coach, Steve McNamara, will retain the same English pack who won against Kiwis last weekend, with the introduction of Gareth Ellis. Ellis sat out of the last weekend
game because of his injury but the player is expected to make his comeback for the last showdown of Four Nations on the English side.
When Ellis missed the semi-final clash against Kiwis, his place was filed in well by Garreth Carvell, who did not let English regret their decision with his uptake.
It is very difficult to speculate at this stage which side is going to win the Gillete Four Nations title for 2011, because the English side has now addressed all its loopholes, which may have cost them heavily otherwise and the Australian side is as strong
as ever.
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