Australia coach Sheens hails England’s forward pack

Correspondent

Kangaroos coach Tim Sheens believes that England‘s pack could pose problems for both his team and New Zealand in the Four Nations.

England open their campaign on Saturday with a testing clash with Samoa, with Australia and New Zealand meeting straight afterwards.

“The Kiwis have got a lot of front-row options who have been in very good form but the English, if anything, are better again,” Sheens told Australian reporters.

“Sam (Burgess) will be missed but Graham and the other two Burgess boys (George and Tom) will be a very formidable combination, fit and ready to go.”

One Kiwi who Sheens thinks can cause his team problems is Jason Taumalolo. The 21-year-old forward could have been in the Australia squad, had he followed through on a pledge to make himself available for Queensland and Australia a couple of years ago.

“If he was an Australian he’d be picked in our side. I don’t know if that’s a recommendation or not,” Sheens added.

“He’s a damaging player with great go-forward so that’s going to test Australia up the middle, which is where I’m concerned we’re going to have to plug holes with so many guys out.”