League: McClennan defends his methods

Brian McClennan encountered his first major speed bump of his Kiwis coaching career last weekend when his side were humbled 38-12 by Great Britain but he stands by his side's preparation for the match.

Former New Zealand coach Bob Bailey led the attacks on the Kiwis for their limp capitulation and also on McClennan for allowing a number of senior players to take a holiday to Sardinia the previous week.

But McClennan refused to accept he made mistakes in the lead-up to the test, citing only the fact he should have checked out the training facilities prior to the tour.

"Nah, not at all. It's easy for Bob to sit there when he doesn't know what's going on," he said belligerently. "I wouldn't change anything at all... the only thing would have been to come here myself and find proper training facilities because what we've been asked to train on was what Victoria Park was like after heaps of rain 20 years ago. It was a mudhole."

The Kiwis have found themselves in a murky situation after letting slip a golden opportunity to qualify for the final, setting themselves up for a nervous week ahead of this morning's crucial test between Australia and Great Britain.

"I'm going to be really nervous," admitted McClennan, who took an early flight back to Hull to be at this morning's test. "We're all nervous. I hate it. It's horrible to think it is out of your control.

"I think we deserve to be in the final and if we get there we are going to be a team that fires some shots. We have an unpredictably about us."

Whether they get to show that will be decided by Australia and Great Britain, although McClennan rates their chances at better than 50 per cent.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY