Cooper hopes Wigan passion helps take England to victory

England prop believes that a noisy crowd at Wigan on Saturday could be key to helping Steve McNamra’s team claim victory over New Zealand.

England will claim a 2-1 series victory and the Baskerville Shield, and the former Warrington man, now at St George-Illwarra in the NRL, thinks that the crowd can play their part in creating an intimidating atmosphere for the Kiwis to face.

“Playing for Warrington in those big Friday and Saturday night games, I know how intense they can be,” he told reporters.

“It will go in our favour. Our lads are used to that, whereas in Australia they are not used to crowds that make a noise which can intimidate you.

“It’s a completely different atmosphere to play in.”

Cooper also believes that playing regularly in the NRL has helped make him better suited to international rugby.

“I think playing in a high-pressure situation every week gets the best out of you and that’s what has made the transition into the Test level a bit more comfortable for me,” he said.

“Although I didn’t get to play for England last year, I still had to train pretty hard to put myself in the frame to play and it gave me a bit of a kick up the backside for this year.

“It’s been good to be back with the boys, bac k to having an English sense of humour. We’ve had a laugh the last three or four weeks. It’s been hard work but I’ve enjoyed being here.

“Obviously you don’t know what to expect until you’ve played in a Test arena but I’ve been fairly happy.”