ENGLAND’S giant forward Eorl Crabtree has set his sights on bringing down the Kiwis after proving the Australians are not infallible.
The 6ft 6in, 18st front rower, nephew of the late wrestler Big Daddy, inspired a courageous England fightback in the Gillette Four Nations clash with the Kangaroos.
Tony Smith’s men were already trailing 16-0 when substitute props Crabtree and Sam Burgess entered the action 19 minutes into the game at Wigan’s DW Stadium but they fought back to restore home pride.
“I’m not normally a nervous person but it did get to me a little bit because I’ve worked for 10 years to get to this and it was a big game for me,” said Crabtree.
“I’ve played for England quite a few times but never against the Aussies.
“It was pretty fast, I’ll be honest with you, but my confidence grew. You kind of build them up to being something special and it’s not what you expect.
“I really enjoyed it, trying to rip in and play my own game. It seemed to pay off, I got more confident as I went along and I enjoyed it as well. It was an absolute pleasure.
“It was not as physical as I thought it would be but that’s probably because that’s my game anyway and I enjoy the physical aspect.
“It’s something I’ve adapted to over the years. My body has toughened up a little bit. I enjoy the offloading and the big contact.”
The 23,122 crowd feared a repeat of the 52-4 mauling inflicted on England in their last meeting with the Kangaroos when tries from Billy Slater (2), man of the match Greg Inglis, Brett Morris and skipper Darren Lockyer put the tourists 26-0 up at the break.
“We made quite a few mistakes in the first half,” said Crabtree. “There was a bit of rustiness. We tried really hard and that can sometimes by your downfall.
“They got a bit of luck because they’re great players and they’re going to take their chances.
“But in the second half we calmed down a bit and were a bit more fluent.
“We seemed to control the ball, they made a few mistakes which helped us out and we started to get a roll-on.”
Crabtree, who missed England’s opening game after undergoing minor knee surgery, is now hoping he has done enough to keep his place for Saturday’s final group match, the do-or-die clash with the Kiwis which will be on his home ground.
“The whole idea for me was to go out there and show what I can do and that I could be an asset to England,” said the Huddersfield-born player. “I believe I did that. I put my hand up – I always have a crack – and, hopefully, Tony is pretty happy with what I’ve done.
“It would be fantastic to play in front of my home crowd. I’ve played something like 200 games and half of them have been at the Galpharm.
“It will be a great experience against the Kiwis but it doesn’t get any easier. New Zealand will do exactly the same thing, they’ll try to take my head off but that’s part of my game.”
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