Second row forward Ben Westwood is looking forward to taking on New Zealand’s Sonny Bill Williams as England seek a place in the World Cup final.
The two nations will go head-to-head at Wembley on Saturday for the right to face either Australia or Fiji in the final, with the Kiwis favourites to emerge victorious from the tie at Wembley.
The visitors can boast some superb players in their ranks but none better than Williams, who made a U-turn last month to make himself available for the showpiece event after initially ruling himself out.
He will be one of the main threats that England have to deal with in north London this weekend and Warrington’s Westwood is relishing the prospect of locking horns with the dual-code legend.
“There’s no two ways about it, he’s a world-class athlete,” he said. “The things he does a lot of people can’t do.
“It’s exciting. I’ve never played against him before. It’s good to test yourself against the best in the world and that’s probably what he is.”
England have yet to hit their straps in the World Cup and are not fancied to make the final but Westwood has made it clear that they will be prepared for battle when they run out at the historic ground.
“We certainly need to pick up our game this week and I’m sure we’ll be ready for it on Saturday,” he added. “We’re definitely getting things right to put in a real good performance against a strong Kiwi side.
“We’ll be ready for them and give it our best shot.”
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