Kearney wants Kiwi revenge at Wellington

New Zealand coach Stephen Kearney is determined that his team will gain revenge for a disappointing World Cup campiagn, when they head into a home Four Nations tournament at the end of this season.

Samoa are set to join England, Australia and the Kiwis in this year’s tournament. New Zealand will play games at Whangarei and Dunedin, with the final taking place at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington.

England will be part of a double header in Brisbane, when their clash against Samoa will take place on the same day as the Kangaroos face the Kiwis.

Kearney wants to make sure his men take full advantage of playing at home.

“We’re certainly preparing to be one of the teams playing here [at Wellington] in November,” he said.

“We have a plan on winning the next World Cup in 2017 and that process has already begun with May’s Anzac Test.”

With several players ruled out by injury, Kearney fielded a very inexperienced line-up that confounded the critics, leading the Aussies 18-12 at halftime and eventually bowing 30-18 in Sydney.

New Zealand fielded what some observers thought was a weakened side for the trans-Tasman test against Australia in May. Nevertheless, an inexperienced team gave the Kangaroos a fright, leading 18-12 at halftime before eventually succumbing to a 30-18 loss.

“Not many people gave us much of a chance against the Australian side, but the boys played with a great deal of pride and spirit in that game, and we intend building on that during the Four Nations tournament,” Kearney added.

“We think a big home crowd can make a difference for us, but regardless of whether we’re there or not, this will be a great rugby league spectacle.

“I know how passionate Wellingtonians are about their league and sport in general, so I’m confident they will support this event.”