Can Sam Tomkins unlock the defences of Australia and New Zealand

By Dave Woods BBC TV and Radio 5 live rugby league commentator

You can put 24 good players together and still fail to find a winning team. But assemble 24 good players with the right attitude and you have a chance.

Pound for pound and pedigree for pedigree, Australia and New Zealand have enough between them to make sure that one or the other wins this year's Four Nations, which runs from 23 October to 6 November.

But the character of the players included in the England squad and the attitude encouraged by coach Steve McNamara suggests the possibility of an upset down under.

We also have a full-back in Sam Tomkins who can out-dazzle even the great Billy Slater on his day

As every coach who has ever taken a team on tour will tell you, the spirit off the field is hugely important in attempting to forge positive results on it.

That is not to say this England squad is lacking in skill. They have a pack that can crush bones with the best of them.

Adrian Morley is an inspirational presence, Sam Burgess and Gareth Ellis have both been singled out as probably the best-second rowers in the world in their stints in the NRL, while Sean O'Loughlin has just had a terrific season with Wigan.

Throw in the likes of James Graham, a thoroughly modern prop forward, the rejuvenated Stuart Fielden, Ben Westwood, James Roby, Shaun Lunt, Eorl Crabtree, Darrell Griffin, Joel Tomkins and Ben Harrison and you can pick a seriously good starting six with another three in reserve for any game.

England also have a full-back in Sam Tomkins who can out-dazzle even the great Billy Slater on his day. If Tomkins plays in that role, chiming into the line on the back of a pack giving great go-forward, he can be devastating.

Paul Wellens has been magnificent over the years and remains on top of his game but he has never been able to produce as sharp a cutting edge in attack as young Tomkins can. The Wigan player will be a handful for both Kiwi and Kangaroo defences.

Darren Lockyer will lead the Australians again

Gareth Widdop might also play with the number one on his back.

He is a young full-back who loves to get involved in the line on attack, acting as an extra pivot with a confident kicking game, although he remains a potential talent rather than the finished article having played only three NRL games so far.

Either he or Tomkins may also play at six, of course, where Kevin Brown will also challenge for a spot.

Brown has developed into a confident and highly skilled practitioner under the guidance of Nathan Brown, a claim that can also be made about Luke Robinson.

The perceived weakness is in the three-quarters but give the lads a chance. Michael Shenton, Ryan Atkins, Ryan Hall, Tom Briscoe, Leroy Cudjoe, Darrell Goulding and Tony Clubb have each been talked about for some time as having big futures in the game.

Well, now is the time for those futures to be turned into the here and now. It is up to them to prove how big a talent each of them can be.

There is a distinct lack of seniority and international experience in the back line but then England did take a back line that included the likes of Wellens, Martin Gleeson, Keith Senior, Leon Pryce, Danny McGuire and Rob Burrow to a World Cup in 2008.

They all played in a match against the Aussies in Melbourne and were crushed 52-4.

McNamara is right not to go back to those familiar names, all two years older, when each of the new boys have got some great domestic form on the board.

GEORGE RILEY'S BLOG In Gareth Ellis and Sam Burgess, we have two Australian-based forwards who have not just proved themselves in the NRL but have been two of the best players in the competition in their debut seasons Radio 5 live's George Riley

But it is the spirit in the camp being engendered by McNamara that is the most encouraging aspect of this tour.

Even before they set off, the talk was about "enjoyment" and "having fun". They have plenty of extra-curricular activities planned to ensure that happens.

You cannot expect young men to go away from home for six weeks, leaving families and close friends, and expect them to live a monastic lifestyle, only escaping boring hotel rooms to train before attempting to produce some magic on the pitch.

The approach this time is fresh - and so are many of the faces.

It might turn out to be the old familiar story of disappointment down under. Then again, this lot may just surprise a few.

Follow me on Twitter as I cover the Four Nations for the BBC.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version