England v Tonga: Luke Gale determined not to get ahead of himself

By The Newsroom
Published 24th Nov 2017, 05:30 BST
Luke Gale in action during England's quarter-final win over Papua New Guinea (Picture: Brendon Ratnayake/SWpix.com/PhotosportNZ).Luke Gale in action during England's quarter-final win over Papua New Guinea (Picture: Brendon Ratnayake/SWpix.com/PhotosportNZ).
Luke Gale in action during England's quarter-final win over Papua New Guinea (Picture: Brendon Ratnayake/SWpix.com/PhotosportNZ).
MAN OF STEEL Luke Gale last night admitted he dare not dream about how it would feel to help England reach their first World Cup final in 22 years as it could scupper any hopes of success.

The Castleford Tigers scrum-half was aged just seven the last time they featured in the showpiece, ultimately losing against Australia at Wembley in 1995.

However, if England can negotiate dangerous outsiders Tonga in tomorrow’s Auckland semi-final they will secure a final place once more and take a step closer to lifting the trophy for the first time.

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“I’ll have just been kicking a ball around on the street with my mates back then,” said Leeds-born Gale, when asked what it would be like to be the first since the likes of Jason Robinson, Martin Offiah and Andy Farrell to claim a World Cup final spot.

“I think I’d just started actually playing for Middleton Marauders in a shirt five times too big for me.

“It’d be the highlight of my career so far to get to a World Cup final. But we’ve got a huge 80 minutes to perform in first and I can’t allow myself to dream that dream yet. I’ve got a big job to do on Saturday beforehand.”

Indeed, Gale does have a significant task ahead given his importance as the side’s primary kicker and orchestrator against an unbeaten Tonga side in their maiden World Cup semi-final, but packed with talent and set to be roared on by massive support in New Zealand.

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England, of course, expected to face the Kiwis at this stage, but they were undone by second-tier nation Tonga in the pool stages and then stunned by Fiji in the quarter-finals.

Kevin Brown gets checked by medical staff after a heavy tackle against Papua New Guinea (Picture: Brendon Ratnayake/SWpix.com/PhotosportNZ).Kevin Brown gets checked by medical staff after a heavy tackle against Papua New Guinea (Picture: Brendon Ratnayake/SWpix.com/PhotosportNZ).
Kevin Brown gets checked by medical staff after a heavy tackle against Papua New Guinea (Picture: Brendon Ratnayake/SWpix.com/PhotosportNZ).

England defeated Papua New Guinea in the last-eight, but, for all their impressive form in patches, they have yet to deliver a consistently commanding display.

It is easy to see why some England fans remain on edge – there were 20 handling errors against PNG – and Gale admitted: “We definitely need to get it right this week. We haven’t quite hit that 80-minute performance yet and we must do that now if we want to get to this final.

“PNG were a very physical side. We knew going into the game; they’re a good side that run it back at you with a fair bit of intent.