Rugby league: Puzzle over absence of Vainikolo from touring party

LONDON - England A coach John Kear believes a lack of backline depth could eventually catch out the Kiwis in their test series with Great Britain and cannot fathom how Bradford wing Lesley Vainikolo has not been brought in to bolster the squad.

"I can't understand why he hasn't been called up," Kear said after hearing the Kiwis' line-up to play his side at Griffin Park at 9am today (NZ time). "A lot of those players will be weary by the end of the tour and if they get injuries it's going to be very hard for [coach] Gary Freeman to rotate them, but he's his own man I suppose."

Vainikolo was on standby to join the squad after the Super League grand final on October 19, but Freeman has opted to stick with his present squad, despite losing wings Matt Utai and Tevita Vaikona on the eve of the tour.

Kear thought former Canberra and Kiwis wing Vainikolo would be a certainty to reprise his international career after a two-year hiatus.

He had an impressive season for Bradford, scoring 11 tries in 22 appearances. Instead, the Kiwis have had to principally stick with the formation they will use in the test series for a third straight match, with Robbie Paul the main positional change. He moves from standoff to centre as Nigel Vagana, a double try-scorer against St Helens last Saturday, was spelled.

Lance Hohaia has his second outing at standoff after a mixed performance in tricky conditions in the opener at Hull.

Kear was hopeful his young side could exploit any tiredness in the Kiwis back division, pointing to his outsides as potential game breakers.

Meanwhile, new Kiwis prop Jason Cayless is not lacking motivation as he seeks to enhance his claims to a first test jersey.

While there is a paucity of outside backs, the reverse applies in the front row where competition to partner Jerry SeuSeu and hooker Richard Swain is intense.

Cayless, an NRL premiership winner with the Sydney Roosters, had a low-key debut against Hull, but was the pick of the Kiwis forwards against St Helens where he made huge inroads off the bench.

The younger brother of injured Kiwis skipper Nathan, Cayless shone in an error-ridden display.

England A: Paul Sykes (London Broncos), Mark Calderwood (Leeds), Gareth Ellis (Wakefield Trinity), Chev Walker (Leeds), Waine Pryce (Castleford), Sean O'Loughlin (captain, Wigan), Danny McGuire (Leeds), Andy Lynch (Castleford), Matt Diskin (Leeds), Danny Ward (Leeds), Danny Tickle (Wigan), Mike Bennett (St Helens), Ryan Hudson (Castleford). Interchange: Rob Burrow (Leeds), Sean Briscoe (Wigan), Richard Moore (Bradford), John Stankevitch (St Helens).

Kiwis: David Vaealiki, Henry Fa'afili, Robbie Paul, Clinton Toopi, Francis Meli, Lance Hohaia, Stacey Jones (captain), Paul Rauhihi, Motu Tony, David Solomona, Ruben Wiki, Awen Guttenbeil, Monty Betham. Interchange: Ali Lauiti'iti, Jason Cayless, Michael Smith, Tony Puletua.

Referee: Thierry Alabert (France).