Defending champions Australia canceled training yesterday ahead of the Four Nations rugby league final with New Zealand after five players were quarantined with a virus.
Coach Tim Sheens said he hoped the outbreak was under control and was confident the Kangaroos will field their top side in Saturday’s decider in Wellington.
“We’ve had a bit of disruption this week with that bug in the camp, but we’re confident going into the weekend’s game,” Sheens told reporters.
Medical staff have isolated the ill players, who were not named, in an attempt to prevent the virus sweeping through the rest of the team.
“We’ve got it under control I think,” Sheens said. “We’re not looking for excuses and we expect them to be right to play on Saturday.”
The virus has disrupted the Kangaroos’ buildup since they arrived in Wellington this week after a late qualification for the final when they beat Samoa 44-18 in Wollongong on Sunday. The world champions suffered a shock loss to the unbeaten Kiwis in the first round before bouncing back with wins over England and then Samoa, but Sheens said it will be tough to maintain the momentum with the short turnaround between games.
“I don’t think anyone gave us much chance and certainly after Game 1, they gave us no chance,” Sheens said. “Now some are saying we’re favorites, although I don’t know how they figure that.”
“We’ve had to come down here on a short week and play them in their own backyard, so that’s going to be a tough game,” he added.
Australia have been plagued by illness throughout the tournament. Greg Inglis was unable to take the field for the second half in the first-round loss to the Kiwis, and Sheens was laid low before the England game the following week.
Back-rower Greg Bird told Sky Sports Radio that the Kangaroos expected the Kiwis to focus on the forward strength that powered them to victory in the series opener.
“They were quite successful at it really,” Bird said. “We’ve got to play smarter, I think. Just more control. A little bit more fluent with the ball. It was a little erratic in Game 1.”
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