League: England hope big Wembley crowd will bring advantage

Kiwis winger Roger Tuivasa-Sheck. Photo / Getty Images

It's one of the iconic stadiums of the world and England are hoping a big crowd at Wembley stadium tilts tomorrow morning's World Cup semifinal against the Kiwis in their favour.

It's a venue carved in history, even though it changed dramatically with the rebuild completed in 2007.

It played host to events like the 1948 Olympics, 1966 Football World Cup final and Live Aid rock concert. There are also the famous 134m-high arches, the 90,000 seats which make it the second-largest stadium in Europe, and the steps up to the royal box to collect the trophy (there used to be 39 but there are now 107).

Kiwis winger Roger Tuivasa-Sheck even discovered it has the most toilets (2,618) of any venue in the world - he did some research after earlier thinking Wembley was where they played tennis.

It's a venue the England players are familiar with. No fewer than 17 of their 23-man squad have played there and eight players from Wigan and Warrington enjoyed recent success there in the domestic competition.

Seven of the Kiwis squad played there against Wales in 2011 but it was a game watched by about only 20,000 people, not the more than 70,000 expected for tomorrow's match.

"We know we can get a lot better and I think playing at Wembley will get a lot more out of everyone," England back-rower Sean O'Loughlin said this week.

New Zealand, however, don't think the Wembley factor will play much of a role.

"I think this Wembley is a little different to the old one," said manager Tony Iro, who played in two Challenge Cup finals at Wembley in the 1980s.

"This Wembley, to me, feels like the Olympic stadium [in Sydney]. It will build its own history but at the moment it feels like another big stadium.

"A lot of boys played in the NRL finals series or grand final this year so I don't think that's going to be too much of a challenge. They are now used to playing in big, full stadiums and just get on with it ..."

Fullback Kevin Locke agrees but will also look to soak it in. The 24-year-old, who has won the battle for the fullback's position ahead of Josh Hoffman, played at Wembley in 2011 but knows it will be different playing the home side in front of a partisan crowd in a World Cup semifinal.

"We know this is big for England and they will come out with a bang," he said. "We will be doing the same because we know we have the support back home. Being part of the Kiwis ... is something special."