By Dave Woods BBC TV and Radio 5 live rugby league commentator in New Zealand

Morley's involvement in England's tour was cut short

Imagine making a 24,000-mile round trip to play just six minutes of a rugby league friendly, to lose the chance to captain your country and miss your swansong down under.

When Adrian Morley says he is "devastated" to have to miss the remainder of England's Four Nations tour with a ruptured biceps muscle, it is no under-statement.

None of us can truly understand the emotions that the warrior known as Mozz is going through at the moment, especially as he carried the coffin at the funeral of his close friend Terry Newton just days before he began his epic journey.

Wherever Adrian Morley is right now, it is likely to be a dark place.

But aside from the personal pain, the captain's all-too-swift departure from the tour party has left England with a chasm it simply cannot fill.

Morley was not just prop forward and skipper, he was the 'chief' to this particular bunch of players. He would have led by example both on and off the field.

For all that fellow forwards Sam Burgess and Gareth Ellis are beginning to prove themselves on rugby league's toughest playing fields in Sydney, neither can yet boast Morley's longevity in taming the NRL, nor his unquestionable demeanour as a leader.

And so England have a problem.

ENGLAND'S FOUR NATIONS FIXTURES 23 October v New Zealand 31 October v Australia 6 November v Papua New Guinea

A squad that looked fresh when it set off now seems vulnerably young and inexperienced without their pack leader to show the way.

I am not writing England off before the tournament even begins but fans should not be too harsh in whipping the boys if the path up the learning curve doesn't go as smoothly as they would hope.

Replacement Garreth Carvell will arrive ahead of the first match, against New Zealand in Wellington's Westpac Arena on Saturday. He joins Stuart Fielden as one of only two squad members to have celebrated a 30th birthday.

But it is the likes of Burgess, Gareth Widdop and Sam Tomkins, all 21, who hold the key to the door of whether England can succeed.

Put three years on each of them and the rest of this squad and you would have a solid mix of talent and experience - and that is what we can look forward to when the World Cup next comes around in 2013.

For now, a lot of the current tour party are still in the foothills of their rugby league careers, certainly at international level. Having an Adrian Morley around would have greatly assisted their ascent.

Burgess's NRL experience will be important for England

The Australia and New Zealand squads are hardly packed with geriatrics but, in key positions, they both have players with a few more years of domestic and international rugby on the clock - vital experience and know-how for big games and tense times.

For my money, this Saturday's opener against the Kiwis was always likely to be England's toughest test.

New Zealand have not been hit with as many injuries as Australia have been; they have key players in top form; a ferocious pack; a devastating backline; an inspiring young coach in Stephen Kearney with international form on the board; an aching desire to put last year's Four Nations disappointment behind them; home field advantage; and a swaggering confidence, as was shown in their 50-6 warm-up victory over Samoa on Saturday.

Any team would want a Mozz in the middle to help batten down the hatches when the maelstrom hits.

Success for England should not necessarily be measured by a win or a loss in Wellington. If they can compete, that will be enough to give them a fighting chance of optimism ahead of the following week's engagement with Australia in Melbourne.

And if they can compete then as well, some of the young men will have grown up a little bit and will have earned the approval of their absent captain watching on helplessly from the other side of the world.

Follow me on Twitter as I cover the Four Nations for the BBC.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version