England stand-off Leon Pryce intends to let his rugby do the talking during the World Cup.
Stand-off has no interest in winding up hosts
Leon Pryce intends to let his rugby do the talking during England's World Cup campaign.
The St Helens stand-off found himself at the centre of controversy during Great Britain's tour Down Under two years ago when he claimed that Bondi Beach was overrated and that he preferred Blackpool.
The light-hearted remark was seized on by the Australian media, who cast Pryce in the role of public enemy number one and pursued him relentlessly for the rest of the Tri-Nations Series.
"It doesn't really bother me," said Pryce. "I've moved on from there. It's old news.
"I don't even want to talk about it. I don't want to say anything out of turn to get them going again. Let's concentrate on the rugby, not on one thing that was said two years ago.
"It's like football in England, so things get blown up more than they should do.
Joke
"It was maybe a bit of a silly thing to say but maybe they take things differently too. We have all got our own sense of humour and know how to take certain jokes.
"It was quite hard last time but I'd never gone there and experienced it before. I have now so I - and the boys - will just focus on ourselves."
England begin their World Cup campaign against Papua New Guinea in Townsville on October 25 and are currently preparing at a training camp on the Gold Coast.
"It's a potential banana skin," admitted Pryce when asked about Papua New Guinea.
"Everything is geared around them doing well.
"It's our first game together and there's the humidity but those are the hurdles you have to overcome. You can't have too many qualms about who you are playing against or the heat, just enjoy it and get on with it."
Pryce was just 18 when he played in the last World Cup in 2000 but he is now among the senior players and is arguably playing at the peak of his career.
Confidence
He was short-listed for the Man of Steel award after another hugely impressive season with St Helens and was man-of-the-match in England's mid-season win over France.
"It's good to be on tour with the boys and being involved with a good squad," he said.
"I'm sure it will be a great occasion, especially with the media attention the game gets in Australia. It's a bit low key in England but it's a very big sport here."
England have already been labelled "cocky" by the
Sydney Telegraph after Adrian Morley expressed confidence over his team's World Cup prospects and Pryce is happy to echo that self-belief.
"We have a good chance," he insisted.
"It's going to be tough playing against the best team in the world on their own patch but we believe in ourselves.
"We have a lot of players in form but we'll do our talking on the field. Let's get on with it."
