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SYDNEY - Tony Smith hasn't known this kind of heat as England's rugby league coach.
Smashed by the Kangaroos, bagged by the British press, the Australian arrived in Newcastle in a defiant mood this week insisting their World Cup remained on track as they eye back-to-back matches against
the Kiwis starting tomorrow.
The 4-52 hiding in Melbourne was his first defeat since taking over the national team's reins last year. It all began swimmingly, with a heavy defeat of France then a 3-0 whitewash of an unhappy Kiwis side in England.
"We can be a lot better and we've been a lot better in the past with this group of players. We'll find some of that form again, no doubt," Smith said as his team trained in Newcastle, the city his brother, Brian, calls home as the Knights' coach.
Smith's England team, captained by prop Jamie Peacock, began their World Cup with a shaky 32-22 win over Papua New Guinea in the Townsville heat.
Then last Sunday they were bedazzled by Kangaroos speedsters Billy Slater and Greg Inglis in Melbourne, a defeat which made the Kiwis' 6-30 loss not seem so bad.
The backlash was severe, led by former Great Britain prop Cliff Watson.
"It was disgusting. They were absolutely woeful and the only answer appears to get another team," he was quoted as saying.
Then tabloid The Sun weighed in with some off-field hi-jinks this week, quoting a Townsville woman who claimed a liaison with the engaged England centre Keith Senior.
Smith said he and the team were immune to any criticism in the British media.
"I've got no idea (what's being written). We only ring our wives and family, what everybody else is saying doesn't really matter.
"We're disappointed for our fans that have travelled and we've got a lot of well-wishers and there's still people who are right behind us. But we've had one loss in eight games, so that's not a bad record to have."
Having picked over the remains of the Melbourne defeat, Smith took a glass-half-full approach.
The former Leeds coach who guided the club to last year's Super League title before Brian McClennan took over, maintained the score didn't reflect England's effort.
"They punished us badly in some areas and the scoreline suggests that. We missed 19 tackles in the game and that's pretty good against a team like Australia. Most teams would get that in the first half against them.
"They really did make them count when they busted us."
The Kiwis will provide fewer fears tomorrow as both sides reshuffle their lineups with little riding on the result, a week out from a semifinal rematch in Brisbane.
With only a handful of survivors from last year's awful tour and new coaching team Stephen Kearney and Wayne Bennett in place, the Kiwis were rated $1.70 favourites to England's $2.10 by bookmakers. To win the tournament, Australia are $1.15, the Kiwis $7 and England on the drift to $11.
Prop Maurie Fa'asavalu (broken finger) and second-rower Jon Wilkin (facial injury) are both out while gifted five-eighth Leon Pryce was named in a 19-man squad despite suffering a painful rib injury in Melbourne.
Smith was complimentary after studying the Kiwis' 48-6 win over PNG.
"They were a lot better, they got together and put in a good performance. PNG were spirited at times and showed their worth, maybe not as much as they did the week before.
"The Kiwis were very enthusiastic and did a good job on them, very clinical."
- NZPA
