BBC SPORT | Rugby League | Sinfield: Welcome to Ewood



By Kevin Sinfield Leeds Rhinos star and BBC Sport Online columnist

All the players are looking forward to running out at Ewood Park on Saturday.

It is a new venue for rugby league but we hope it will be a happy hunting ground.

It certainly could not be any worse than Bolton as far as recent results are concerned.

Moving to Blackburn is like a fresh start, a place where there are no bad memories

Don't get me wrong, the Reebok Stadium is a lovely arena, but not many of the players will be sad to see the back of it.

England were hammered by New Zealand in the World Cup semi-finals two years ago while Australia stuffed Great Britain in the Ashes last year.

Moving to Blackburn is like a fresh start, a place where there are no bad memories.

There should be a good crowd as well.

Ewood Park may be a new venue but it is still slap bang in the middle of rugby league territory.

The mood in the camp going into the first Test is good despite the loss of Paul Sculthorpe in the run-up to the match.

The few days we spent in Spain helped all the players bond, which is vital given that we haven't had any warm-up games.

Paul Sculthorpe takes on Australia
Sculthorpe will not be playing at Ewood Park
New Zealand, on the other hand, have had plenty of opportunity to gel, having played games against Hull, St Helens, England 'A' and Wales.

We know they will be a well-oiled unit by the time Saturday's Test comes around.

Some might argue we will be at a disadvantage, having being denied the chance to put our training into practice.

But we have just got to make sure we are as tightly knit as possible.

We are almost there. We need to put a few finishing touches to our play and then we will be ready and raring to go.

Being without Paul is obviously a blow.

As Man of Steel for the past two seasons, everyone knows what he is capable of and brings to the Great Britain side.

But his absence gives someone else the chance to shine, in this case Mike Forshaw of the Bradford Bulls.


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