Sarginson: There is a good vibe

They can simplify their route to Anfield with victory over New Zealand tomorrow, and the Wigan centre believes there is enough self-belief in the camp to justify their optimism.

“It gives you a bit of leeway if you can win on Saturday,” he said. “You’ve obviously got that bit of insurance knowing you’ll make the final if you beat Scotland.

“It’s a massive one for us, if anything goes wrong, we know we’ll have to be at our best to beat Scotland and the Aussies.

“But the boys are buzzing. Everyone can’t wait for the weekend, there’s a real good vibe about them. We know we’ve got a really good chance, especially with this bunch of blokes we’ve got at the moment.”

Sarginson made his debut at centre in the 2014 Four Nations Series down under but missed the Kiwis Test series through injury.

The Gold Coast Titans-bound player caught Bennett’s eye deputising at full-back for the injured Sam Tomkins in Wigan’s Grand-Final victory, but made his name as a centre.

Mark Percival, who made his debut in Avignon, makes way for the return of Sarginson, while Jonny Lomax has got the nod to continue at full-back ahead of the versatile Stefan Ratchford.

“Mark Percival played so well against France and Jonny and Stef played really well at full-back, so I’ve had to train hard all week,” Sarginson said.

“I played a couple of games at full-back this year when Sam was injured but, as long as I’m on the pitch, anywhere in the back line I’ll feel comfortable. I’ll do my best wherever I play.

“Centre is a lot more technical, it’s probably the hardest place to defend decision-wise on the pitch, and I enjoy all that side of it, but if I get to play full-back I love the space that comes with that position, so it’s either or really for me.

“Wayne spoke to me a week ago about my Grand Final performance and said he was impressed with how hard he’d seen me work and how much it meant to me.

“The injury kept me out for five or six months last year and it was tough watching the boys from the stands, but it gave me a lot more motivation to get back into the squad to get that jersey back.”