Huddersfield Giants' Brett Ferres is hoping to maintain his tryscoring run to help fire England into a Rugby League World Cup semi-final showdown at Wembley on Saturday week.
The Giants back-row forward followed up his first England try in the 42-0 thrashing of Ireland at the John Smith’s Stadium with a second seven days later in the 34-12 triumph over Fiji at Hull.
His score against the Fijians was far more important, helping his country open up an 18-6 lead early in the second half and effectively end the visitors’ brave resistance in the process.
But the 27-year-old Huddersfield vice-captain knows a third try in England colours over the next few weeks could prove even more significant.
“I always enjoy scoring tries, particularly easy ones!” said Ferres. “The two I’ve scored for England have been down to some great work from my teammates (Sam Tomkins for his first and Rangi Chase for the second), and I’ve just been there to take advantage.
“Scoring my first try against Ireland was a very special moment, but in the context of the game, my second against Fiji was by far the biggest. It definitely has to be up there in terms of tries I’ve scored in my career.
“Fiji made it so tough for us in the first half and we were pleased to draw level at 6-6 at the break. So we knew we needed to start the second half strongly to take control, and my try certainly helped us do that.
“It was a big moment, not just for me but for England. It was an amazing feeling.”
But Ferres knows a try in Saturday’s quarter-final at Wigan would be even better.
“I do feel I’m on a bit of a roll try-wise, and at this stage of the competition the scores do gain even more significance,” he added.
“But I’d like to think I’m contributing a lot more than just with the points.
“Overall, I’ve been happy with my performances up to now, although you always know you can do more.
“So I’m looking to improve, just as everyone else in the England squad is looking to improve.
“All being well, we’ll be even better in the quarter-finals and can then start preparing for the semi-final at Wembley, probably against New Zealand – although I’m sure Broughy and the Scotland boys will have something to say about that when they meet at Headingley on Friday!
“But we can’t worry about that. We have to keep on focusing on ourselves and make sure we give ourselves the best possible chance of going all the way in the competition.
“The games will be getting harder and tougher, but we will be ready.”
