Clinton Toopi and Adrian Morley will captain Saturday's teams

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

Jumping off the top of the Sky Tower on a bungee rope, sailing on an America's Cup yacht and indulging in all-you-can-eat seafood offers - lads on tour, eh.

But in amongst the good - and terrifying - times enjoyed by the England players so far in Auckland has been plenty of hard graft on the training ground.

It is a combination of laughs and labour that England coach Steve McNamara hopes will serve his side well ahead of the warm-up game with the New Zealand Maori on Saturday and before the real business of the Four Nations begins.

And nobody in the England camp will be fooled into taking the Maoris lightly. As a stand-alone game, it should be a ferocious encounter. The opposition will certainly focus attention.

McKendry will be looking to put a dent in England's preparations

Sixteen of the players in the Maori squad play for National Rugby League or Super League clubs, while two of them - Lewis Brown and giant prop Sam McKendry - are also in the New Zealand squad.

Other familiar names in the Maori line-up include former Leeds centre Clinton Toopi, Castleford's Rangi Chase, Weller Hauraki of the Crusaders and Jeremy Smith, now at Wakefield after leaving Salford.

If that squad list was not enough to trigger slight trepidation, then be mindful of that other tour maxim. Beware the warm-up game!

Remember the Burleigh Bears?

For those who cannot, or refuse to cast their mind back to 1999, the Queensland-based Burleigh Bears were the opposition that Andy Goodway's Great Britain side only stumbled past ahead of the first Tri-Nations.

There were some mitigating circumstances, like a dodgy referee and the fact GB were rubbish, but that narrow victory in what should have been a pleasant outing ahead of the real agenda plagued the rest of the series.

GB never recovered confidence and the Australian press had a field day. The Burleigh Bears name now acts as a shuddering reminder to every international player since then, that no game can be treated lightly.

So Saturday will be treated like a fourth Test by this England side - and hold onto your hats because it will be a belter.

The fact that the Kiwis have never played Samoa in an official Test match in New Zealand encapsulates rugby league's failure to look after the international game in one brief throwaway line Dave Woods

We will also get a glimpse of New Zealand on Saturday when, as part two of a double-header, they play Samoa for the first time in a Test match in New Zealand.

The fact that the Kiwis have never played Samoa in an official Test match in New Zealand encapsulates rugby league's failure to look after the international game in one brief throwaway line.

Anyway, at least they are playing them now and of most interest to McNamara - and England fans back home - is what combinations they will they use.

With Isaac Luke favourite to start at hooker in the Four Nations and Benji Marshall at stand-off, the big question is whether Nathan Fien or Thomas Leuluai start at scrum-half.

Remember Fien? He is the Kiwi who is not a Kiwi.

Actually born in Mount Isa, Queensland, he was at the centre of the "Grannygate" controversy in 2006, when Brian Noble's GB side made the final, despite losing twice to NZ, because the Kiwis were docked points for fielding an ineligible player.

Well, he is now qualified for the Kiwis thanks to New Zealand residency, although he is not based in New Zealand any more, having just helped St George win the NRL Grand Final.

Confused? You should be.

Thomas Leuluai is battling for the New Zealand scrum-half spot

Anyway, it is between him and Leuluai for the number seven shirt during the Four Nations.

Leuluai has been given the nod at scrum-half for the Samoa game but we will have to see whether he can hold on to it, especially given his revelation this week that coach Stephen Kearney told him early this season that his chances were not helped by the fact he played in the Super League and not the NRL.

It promises to be a good couple of games in Auckland on Saturday, with warm weather predicted after a week of chilly rain.

Don't forget, you can watch the first match of the Four Nations - New Zealand v England in Wellington - live on BBC Two on Saturday, 23 October (0730 BST), while Australia v PNG is live on BBC Two on Sunday, 24 October (0545 BST).

England's games will also be covered on BBC 5 live sports extra and the BBC Sport website.

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

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