England unable to beat New Zealand Maori but injuries are main concern

England will go into next Saturday's Four Nations opener against the full New Zealand team having been unable to beat either Cumbria or now the Maori, and with injury concerns over their captain, Adrian Morley, and Sam Tomkins, one of their main attacking threats. That was the bottom line despite a highly encouraging first 40 minutes in which the tourists took an 18-0 lead with three well-worked tries, and could easily have scored more. They shrugged off the early loss of Morley to an arm injury, with Sam Burgess assuming the role of pack leader, Tomkins a constant threat, and Luke Robinson making a major impact when he was introduced from the bench late in the half. "It's a bit sore," Morley told England TV. "I got a whack on the arm and he took me off as precaution. It was just an ordinary tackle but, when I felt my arm, it didn't feel right. I'll go for scans, let's hope it's not as bad as we think it might be." The England coach, Steve McNamara, said: "We're not sure at the minute with Adrian. He's got an arm injury so he'll go and get that checked and assessed over the next 24 hours. We are not making any rash predictions. England will also send Tomkins for a hospital check-up after the half-back went off with a hip injury after 50 minutes. "Sam fell awkwardly and jarred himself a little. Again it was precautionary and the next 24 to 48 hours will give us a bit more knowledge in terms of how the players react to their injuries," said Steve McNamara. Robinson, the Huddersfield playmaker who rearranged his wedding and sacrificed the stag week in Las Vegas after his surprise inclusion in the squad, made the breaks that led to tries for Tomkins and Sean O'Loughlin. His Huddersfield team-mate Eorl Crabtree also impressed off the bench, offloading skilfully with his first touch to instigate the sweeping move that ended with Ryan Atkins surging over for England's first try. Gareth Widdop, the young full-back from Halifax who has come through the Melbourne Storm system after his family emigrated to Victoria, added three conversions that were typical of his highly efficient performance, and, other than the injury to Morley, England could reflect on the perfect start to their tour. They were denied a fourth try early in the second half when the video referee ruled that Ben Westwood had made a double movement, the second time that England had the ball across the line but failed to score, after the impressive Maori full-back Kevin Locke dispossessed Gareth Ellis as he was diving over earlier on. Tomkins's withdrawal seem to invite the Maori back into the game. They seized the chance in front of an increasingly vocal crowd. A brilliant combination between Arana Taumata and Clinton Toopi sent Bodene Thompson over for their first try after 52 minutes. Rangi Chase, a former Junior Kiwi who has excelled in the Super League with Castleford for the past two seasons, set up a second for the former Leigh scrum-half Aaron Heremaia, and another clever Chase kick from a scrum deep inside the Maori half created the position for Taumata to score a third with nine minutes remaining. That left England clinging to a two-point lead as Locke's conversion attempt following Thompson's try had bounced back off an upright, but the Maori pulled level when Ellis was penalised for delaying a play-the-ball, handing the full-back a simple equalising goal. The young Hull wing Tom Briscoe had already saved England once with a terrific try-saving tackle on Kaine Manihera, and in the frantic closing stages Robinson and Burgess underlined the tourists' commitment by throwing their bodies in the way of an attempted drop goal. New Zealand fired an ominous reminder of the scale of the task facing England in Wellington next Saturday when they thrashed a strong-looking Samoa team 50-6 in the main event of a double header, Manu Vatuvei and Shaun Kenny-Dowall each helping themselves to two tries. Having lost a clutch of players including the previous captain, Jamie Peacock, Leon Pryce, Danny McGuire, Kevin Sinfield and Kyle Eastmond with injuries before the tour, the absence of Morley and Tomkins next week would be hammer blows for England. Maori Locke; Earl, Tahu, Toopi (capt), Manihera; Taumata, Chase; Tamou, Heremaia, Packer, Hauraki, Horo, Thompson. Interchange Smith, Proctor, McKendry, Brown. Tries Thompson, Heremaia, Taumata. Goals Locke 3. England Widdop; Briscoe, Shenton, Atkins, Hall; Brown, S Tomkins; Morley (capt), Roby, Griffin, Ellis, Burgess, O'Loughlin. Interchange Crabtree, J Tomkins, Westwood, Robinson. Tries Atkins, S Tomkins, O'Loughlin. Goals Widdop 3. Referee: Leon Williamson (NZ)