New Zealand star Adam Blair excited to play in England again

New Zealand forward Adam Blair enjoys playing in England but admitted that they face a big challenge in the test series.

The 32-year-old has played in England several times throughout his career – the Four Nations tournaments in 2009, 2011 and 2016 – and has tasted both winning and losing in that time.

Blair said is looking forward to playing on English turf again but thinks his side face an uphill battle after losing to England in Denver back in June.

“We got over here a couple of days earlier so we got to enjoy spending time with all of the group,” he said.

“But we are getting stuck into it and we enjoyed our latest session. It was our first run out for a while but we want to head into our test against the poms with some momentum.

“England are a quality side all over the park and they always have been over here. Our focus is all about winning and we’ve spoken about that from the start. We are here to do a job against a quality side with some quality players.

“I’m excited to play games in those little suburbs, especially in Hull. The boys who have never been over here before will get to experience the crowds and how passionate they are about rugby league. It’s always great to go to those little places and I’m looking forward to a solid test match against the poms.”

Blair helped New Zealand end Australia’s 13-game winning streak with a 26-24 victory over the world champions earlier this month.

And the New Zealand Warriors star admitted that the win gave Michael Maguire’s side a big confidence boost.

He added: “I felt like a kid again because there aren’t many times I’ve been out there and beaten the Australians.

“Michael (Maguire) has really instilled that winning culture in this group.I’ve beaten Australia a few times but it’s always nice to beat a quality side and the number one team in the world. It ranks highly in my wins against them.

“I thought as a group we were really professional leading into the game and I think it showed in our game because we did all the little things leading up to it right, individually and as a group.

“We put in a strong performance but then let ourselves down in the end of the game, so there are a lot of things we can from it and take into our three test matches against England.”