England's Luke Gale Admits He's Yet To Show What He's Capable Of At The Rugby League World Cup

England's Luke Gale Admits He's Yet To Show What He's Capable Of At The Rugby League World Cup
10:30, 17 Nov 2017

Luke Gale says England has not seen the best of him yet but has promised an improved World Cup performance against Papua New Guinea.

England will tackle the Kumuls at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium in the quarter-finals with Gale at scrum-half. The halfback has started in all four of his country’s World Cup games to date but believes his best is yet to come.

“Wayne’s shown a lot of faith in me,” he said.

“I’m still not where I want to be, I’ve still got some improvement in my game. I’m looking forward to pulling the jersey on this Sunday and showing that improved performance.”

The Man of Steel this year in Super League, Gale will line up alongside Warrington halfback Kevin Brown on Sunday. He believes the combination with Brown, and with Gareth Widdop at full-back, worked well against France. “I thought the combination worked really well,” Gale said.

“Kev plays with real good structure and talks great, and Gaz was outstanding at full-back. He’s an extra half and as a team I thought we worked real well and scored some great tries early on. We got lost a bit second half with a few too many errors but overall I was happy with how it went. Everything went smooth - our plays went well and that’s the type of football we want to play.”

Gale admits England’s game plan is different to how Castleford are structured in Super League.

“We play a bit different - it’s a bit more of a possession game over here, and we probably throw the ball a bit more at Cas,” he said.

“But you’re playing rugby. It’s not a lot different. The combinations is the main difference, you’re used to week-in, week-out with your club team. It’s a bit different in this environment but I think we’re getting there. It brings out the best in you, sudden death football. Everything’s on the line and I think you’ll see an improved England performance this week.”

Papua New Guinea are England’s next opponent, and the Kumuls will be wanting to spring an upset.

“I think PNG have been outstanding so far this tournament,” the playmaker said.

“They’ve been good to watch and they’re a physical side. We’re expecting a big challenge. When you play the islanders they’re all big, physical men and it will be a test. But our boys are ready and I’m looking forward to the encounter.”

England welcome Sam Burgess back into the fold for the quarter-final.

“He is an important player and an important character in camp as well,” the 29-year old said.

“We’ve missed him in training and we’re looking forward to having him back. He’s a great player.  

Gale has enjoyed the first World Cup experience of his career.

“It’s been great,” the half-back said.

“Obviously we didn't get off to the greatest of starts against the Aussies and Lebanon was a bit indifferent but we’re peaking at the right time. The first half against France was a blueprint of how we want to play and hopefully there’s more of that in the next few rounds.”

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