ENGLAND got the serious work-out
craved by coach Steve McNamara as
they succumbed to the Exiles 16-12 in
the inaugural CarPlan International
Origin match.
The Exiles, drawn from the pick of the
Australian and New Zealand talent plying their
trade in Super League, were chosen as
England’s mid-season opponents after France
had repeatedly failed to provide the intense
competition needed to prepare them for the
Four Nations Series.
And it was the ageing Antipodeans who took
the spoils in a full-blooded, defence-dominated
encounter in front of a 14,174 crowd at
Headingley.
England trailed for most of the match but
looked to have snatched victory 12 minutes
from the end when Joel Tomkins picked off a
pass from Exiles captain Danny Buderus 20
metres from his own line and showed a clean
pair of heels to cover for a glorious try.
Kevin Sinfield’s second conversion put the
hosts in front for the first time but they could
not withstand a furious late onslaught and, in a
tense finale, Wigan’s Samoan centre George
Carmont struck for the decisive try with just 45
seconds left on the clock.
Although defeated, there was plenty for
McNamara to cheer in the performances of
Sam Tomkins, Luke Robinson, James Graham
and Ben Westwood.
And with James Roby and Danny Brough to
come into the side, along with England’s three
Australia-based internationals, the coach will
be in positive mood ahead of the autumn
clashes with Australia and New Zealand.
A couple of bone-crunching hits from
Thomas Leuluai and Craig Fitzgibbon
provided an early notice that the team put
together by former Leeds and New Zealand
boss Brian McClennan would not be holding
back.
While the Antipodeans produced some
adventurous rugby befitting a team with nothing to lose, England were more structured and,
sadly, more predictable in the first half.
Robinson, a replacement for the injured
Roby, produced a couple of impressive breaks
in the opening quarter but England generally
looked out of sorts and struggled to break
down the enthusiastic defence of the Antipodeans.
Despite fielding 11 survivors from the 2010
Four Nations Series, England lacked cohesion
and put themselves under pressure with a series
of worrying handling errors.