ENGLAND captain Jodie Cunningham is more than happy that the work the international squad have been doing this winter can see them match Australia in all aspects of the game.
Cunningham will once again lead England out when they face the Jillaroos at Allegiant Stadium on Sunday morning, but is well aware of the fact that her side must stay focused on the job in hand and not get too wrapped up in the event.
“I never thought Rugby League would ever take me to Las Vegas so it does feel absolutely insane that that is happening,” Cunningham told League Express.
“But it is also exciting that we are getting the opportunity to take the sport to new places and excite new audiences.
“We’re hoping for a really big crowd full of travelling Super League fans, fans from Australia and local fans from America and that allows for such a big opportunity to showcase what Women’s Rugby League and England Rugby League is all about.
“Of course there are a lot of external distractions around and it would be easy to allow them to creep in but we are just trying to focus on ourselves and making sure we put in our best performance.
“There are also a lot of people doubting us and suggesting the scoreline might not be a pretty one, but we just have to have confidence in ourselves, know what we are capable of and have trust in the group we have around us that we can go out there and put in a really good performance against Australia.
“If we can stay focused on that and not really think too much about the spectacle of the day, then we can get to where we want to be.
“For me it is the athleticism of Australia that really stands out as one of their biggest strengths. They are all finely-tuned athletes and we have to match that.
“We have been working really hard behind the scenes on that for years, but since October we have not taken our foot off the gas because we know we need to match their physicality.
“All our testing results from the last couple of weeks have been really good and I do feel that we now have a really athletic and physical squad, so we are confident we can match Australia.”
Out of the 20-player squad making the transatlantic trip only Cunningham, Amy Hardcastle and Shona Hoyle have faced Australia before, with all three involved in the last meeting between the sides in the 2017 World Cup.
Both the game and the squads have progressed a lot since then, but Cunningham is still hoping that the experience the St Helens trio add to the squad can prove to be a calming factor for those about to experience the biggest match of their careers so far.
“Australia are world champions for a reason and they have shown why time and time again,” added Cunningham.
“When you have never played them before it’s easy to let that get inside your head, to put them on a pedestal and think they are incredible players that can’t be beaten.
“But at the end of the day, it’s 13 against 13 on a pitch and we have got an amazing squad that can go out there and do the job.
“As senior players we have got to guide this team, not let them get overwhelmed by the experience and make sure everyone believes that no matter how good Australia look, they are still human.
“It’s 70 minutes and we just have to go out there and believe that we can be the best team on the day.”