Morgan Knowles has urged his side to match Papua New Guinea’s physicality and has reassured fans that England have a confident game plan to reach the World Cup semi-finals.
England host a dangerous PNG side in Wigan on Saturday, bidding to win a fourth successive game to reach the last four. After big wins over Samoa, France and Greece, Shaun Wane’s men are braced for their biggest test yet against a combative PNG who combine power up front with the electric pace of hooker Edwin Ipape, the Betfred Championship Player of the Year.
The Sportsman understands that St Helens enforcer Knowles will be asked to provide impact off the bench to lift an England side backed to continue their dominant form. “Everybody wants to be playing now, and we have a full squad that has already been called upon, so that’s really important,” Knowles told this week’s episode of The Last Tackle: Inside England.
“We have senior lads who know what World Cups are about. I’m just a small cog in the machine that is this England team. I will do my bit, the effort-based areas and try to get the respect from the boys through that. Whatever I can do to help this team I just want to be part of that group that goes on to win the World Cup.
“The NRL lads here give us a lift and a slightly different perspective. They have some knowledge too on some of the players we are playing against. The further we progress and the more time we spend together, the better the combinations and the camaraderie that we have.“
READ MORE:
- RLWC Today: England begin wheelchair campaign
- Princess of Wales to attend double-header
- England 6/1 to win RLWC
The 25-year old Knowles came off the bench for England in the opener against Samoa and the final group win over Greece, sitting out the victory over France. He is expected to be amongst the replacements again this weekend, and says that despite the landslide 94-4 win over a weak Greek side, the players ensured that momentum has been maintained heading into this biggest week of the tournament so far.
“Everyone came through healthy against Greece with no injuries,” said Knowles, as England prepare to welcome back centre Kallum Watkins from concussion.
“We had to try to treat it like we were playing Australia, New Zealand or Tonga to build our habits for when we do play those teams. You know PNG are physical so we need to match that physicality, especially at the start of the game. They have weaknesses too which we have looked at and will try to exploit. As long as we perform at our best I think we will be alright.
“They are passionate, tough blokes, and their nine [Ipape] has been really good off the back of that with offloads and playing off the cuff. But we are really happy with our game plan going into it.
“It’s not going to be perfect at the weekend, it is hard to get a perfect game. Things will go wrong, so it is how we react to that. We have a good group who can dig in and will not be too fazed by tough periods, which there will be, they will definitely be on top at times. We will ride out those tough periods.”
Knowles joins his former St Helens team-mate Kyle Amor for an insightful half-hour from the England camp on the latest episode of The Last Tackle. Amor admits he has been surprised by just how good Knowles and the rest of the England pack have been.
“Coming into the tournament I was concerned that this England side was just a bit too small,” Amor reveals. “But they just look like they are all really enjoying it. It is the way that George Williams and Jack Welsby are playing and what Sam Tomkins has been able to do off the back of those guys.
“The guys in the middle really are just ripping in, working hard and giving them a platform to play off. If they don’t do that then Williams is not really going to run, Welsby is not going to find those passes as he’s not in the right field position. This pack has been incredible but I do think that there are bigger tests coming, the physicality steps up a level.
“But this England side are just going to have too much brains and will meet the physicality then just pull them apart. They need patience to stay in that grind, then England’s ability and class will shine through and a lot of tries will be scored out wide. “
*18+ | BeGambleAware | Odds Subject to Change
