Josh Mansour of Australia tries to get past Dean Whare of New Zealand during the Four Nations Final between the New Zealand Kiwis and the Australian Kangaroos. Photo / Getty Images.
Josh Mansour of Australia tries to get past Dean Whare of New Zealand during the Four Nations Final between the New Zealand Kiwis and the Australian Kangaroos. Photo / Getty Images.
For Kiwis centre Dean Whare, being back in London brings back some special memories.
The last time the New Zealand side played in the English capital they were part of a memorable clash with England, stealing a win in the last few seconds through Shaun Johnson in the semi-final ofthe 2013 World Cup.
Tomorrow they will be in a different arena - the Olympic Stadium is about 20 kilometres across town from Wembley - but London remains a special place for this Kiwis squad.
"That day, with Shauny [Johnson] breaking through the line and that sidestep to the try line was pretty unreal," said Whare. "That is what some of the players on our team can produce."
Whare was involved in his own moment of magic in that victory, producing an outrageous flick pass from metres outside the field of play while in mid air. That pass enabled Roger Tuivasa-Sheck to score, in what was one of the more remarkable tries seen at Wembley.
"It was a bit of a lucky one," said Whare of his moment of inspiration. "Hopefully they show it a few times here and we can see it. Roger will be at fullback this time so he won't be on the outside of me. But hopefully it happens again."
Wharewas one of the few Kiwis to emerge from the first test with his reputation unscathed. Though he had limited attacking opportunities, the 13-test veteran was typically strong on defence, shutting down several dangerous English raids with solid, early tackles.
Meanwhile, England five eighth Gareth Widdop admitted there were still a "few memories of hurt" from their last London match.
"It was a tough way to lose," said Widdop. "In front of a big crowd, in a semi-final with so much at stake. There are a few memories of hurt."
Like his coach Steve McNamara, the Dragons five eighth recognizes a big opportunity for the sport tomorrow at the Olympic Stadium; to seal a series win for England in front of almost 50,000 fans at the ground and millions more on the BBC.
"The sport here is not as big as everyone wants it to be," said Widdop. "This is a great opportunity for us to win some silverware and grow the game of rugby league in England."
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