Moa praises England’s middle unit

New Zealand prop Sam Moa has spoken out in praise of England‘s middle unit forwards, after the Kiwis were beaten in the first Test at Hull on Sunday.

England‘s forward pack produced a fine effort, especially in defence, and the Kiwi forwards were clearly fatigued by the end of the contest.

“We knew they were going to be strong in the middle when they had that sort of strength and experience,” Moa told the Yorkshire Evening Post.

“I thought (James) Roby was terrific – he controlled the game really well – and when you’ve got someone as big as Tom Burgess coming off the bench you know what’s coming.

“I thought (props) Chris Hill and James Graham really laid the platform well for them, too, but, hopefully, we can do that in return this weekend.”