Great Britain promise uplifting finale against Papua New Guinea

Great Britain have pledged not to underestimate Papua New Guinea as they look to end their four-match tour with a much-needed victory.

The Lions flew into Port Moresby from Brisbane on Tuesday and, after being feted on arrival at the airport, were whisked straight off to a press conference.

“The welcome at the airport was brilliant, it was a really good introduction to Papua New Guinea,” said assistant coach Ian Watson.

“We’re looking forward to meeting a few locals and getting out there and putting on a show on Saturday.”

The Lions are licking their wounds after three defeats from their first three games and face a challenge from both the conditions and a fired-up Kumuls side that pushed Fiji close in their Oceania Cup match last Saturday.

“They really play for the shirt so we need to be at our best this weekend, physically and mentally,” Watson said.

“The heat will test us because it’s not something we’re used to and they played really well against Fiji at the weekend. Papua New Guinea have got some really good players that we need to be aware of.”

Great Britain suffered a 20-18 defeat on their tour to Papua New Guinea in 1990 and prop Tom Burgess says the current tourists are aware of the dangers they face.

“We know if we’re not on our game this weekend, we can get beat,” he said. “They have got a lot of quality players in their side – I know one of them very well, Alex Johnston, who plays with me at Souths and he’s top quality.

“We’re not taking it lightly at all. They are all strong and they’re not going to take a backward step.”

Head coach Wayne Bennett will give first run-outs on the tour to half-backs George Williams (Wigan) and Jake Trueman (Castleford) and Watson says they will have a chance to stake a claim for England’s Ashes series in 2020.

“When you come on tour and you don’t play a game it is a long time away from family, it’s really hard but they’ve been keeping their spirits up and they’ve been really good in training,” Watson said.

“I think they just need to focus on their own performance and have a real good input into the game and stake a claim going forward, to make sure they force Wayne’s hand to get selected.”

Burgess says the Lions will be determined to end the tour on a high after losing the two-Test series with New Zealand and going down to a Tongan Invitational XIII in their opener.

“It’s a very important game,” he said. “It’s our last Test, we’re finished after this, and we don’t want any regrets.

“We just want to go out there and give our best and represent the Lions to the best of our ability.

“We’ve addressed a few things this week in the review and pinpointed where we need to get better. It’s not much, just little things that can make a big difference.

“There’s been no lack of effort in the games, we need to be a bit smarter. We’ve got two sessions to get it right.”