League: England test a final - Johnson

Kiwis halfback Shaun Johnson. Photo / Getty Images

Kiwis halfback Shaun Johnson says his side are treating Saturday's Four Nations clash against England in Dunedin like it is the tournament final.

Having gone 2-0 up following wins over Australia and Samoa, the Kiwis are looking to put in their best performance at Forsyth Barr Stadium and improve on last week's mixed effort in Whangarei.

"Yeah, we have to [treat this game like a final]. It's a very big game for us," Johnson said. "With the side that's been named it's pretty strong and that's the way we're treating it. Obviously with how we performed last week, we really want to bounce back from that and put in a good performance."

After blowing numerous scoring chances at Toll Stadium, Johnson says the Kiwis need to show greater patience on attack and not rush their plays.

"Samoa did a pretty good job of frustrating us so we've got to stay cool, stay calm and not get too rattled when our first attacking wave doesn't score a try. We've got to be patient.

"We don't want to lose any games and the way I look at it, if we win every game we win the comp."

The 24-year-old was asked his memories of last year's World Cup semi-final win over England at Wembley, when his last-minute try snatched victory for the Kiwis, and although his memory was hazy he is adamant they won't leave it so late this weekend.

"It was a tough game, I know that. I thought we were quite lucky to get away with that win and hopefully we don't leave it down to the last minute this time. I can't even really remember it [the try]. It's all sort of a blur. It just sort of happened instinctively, it was nothing planned.

"I have moved on since then. It's good to know that you can step up if it does get to that point but you don't want it to get to that. If we execute our roles like we should and like we plan to then we won't be in that position."

Johnson said the Kiwis had identified Warriors teammate Sam Tomkins as one of England's key attacking men and was looking forward to testing the fullback under the high ball.

"We've done a bit of video on them and he's been a massive part of how they played last week and the week before so we're going to have to do a pretty good job if we want to contain him.

"I'll be giving Sammy a couple this weekend so we'll see how he goes."

The pair had kept in touch throughout the first two weeks of the tournament but both players were maintaining radio silence in the build-up to Saturday's game.

"This week for some reason I haven't heard from him. I might give him a text but we can't get caught up in that. It's going to be strictly business until after the game."

Although this trip is the first time several members of the Kiwis squad have been to the South Island, Johnson was familiar with Dunedin and knows what to expect at the enclosed ground, after playing a pre-season trial there for the Warriors back in February.

While the University town might not be regarded as a league stronghold, Johnson said they had been enjoying good support from the public this week.

"We enjoy every time we come here. We've been here a couple of times now and there's still a few people around that recognise us. As long as we can put a smile on someone's face it is worth the trip and it's been good so far.

"Hopefully we can get a pretty good crowd because I know that the stands are pretty close to the ground so it would be good to hear some Kiwi support."

Both teams will complete their preparations with their respective captain's run sessions at the ground tomorrow.