As the Kiwis and England prepare for the first league Test in Dunedin for 86 years, Kearney refused to respond to claims last week by Samoa coach Matt Parish that "Adam Blair is taking kickers out left, right and centre".

England coach Steve McNamara also believed Australia had made the most of more loose interpretations in that area last Sunday and his captain Sean O'Loughlin said during the week there was more leniency in the tournament so far than at club level.

But Kearney commented: "Nothing stood out for me. If we use a couple of examples - that's in the rule book. As long as you follow through with the tackle, you're allowed to put pressure on the kicker.

"As long as you're not hitting him with your shoulder or going at his legs. So as long as the rules are there…

"I think every team is trying to gain an advantage. If you're getting to the kickers and putting some pressure on them, obviously they are rushed for time and not putting kicks in the right spot.

"I think every team is looking to do that."

An agitated Parish said after the 14-12 loss to New Zealand in Whangerei last Saturday:  "Adam Blair was taking kickers out left, right and centre all day. I told these blokes, 'if they touch our kickers, don't cop it'."

Given the opportunity on Friday to defend second rower Blair, Kearney said at a media conference: "Nah … not interested."

McNamara said following the 16-12 loss to Australia in Melbourne on Sunday that his men needed to take their cue from the green-and-golds by putting more pressure on kickers.

O'Loughlin added this week: "That's something that's been clamped down on a lot at home. There's not been anything overly physical but they've been getting nudges here and there after they've kicked the ball.

"There's always a bit of a variation internationally. It's a bit of a mixture of some of the rules back home and some of the rules over here. It always takes you a game or two to come to grips with that."

England have a doubt over interchange forward Tom Burgess, who hobbled off with a twisted ankle at training on Wednesday. New Zealand still have one player to omit from their nominated bench and McNamara is widely tipped to make unforced changes.

There is speculation that McNamara's chances of retaining his position in 2016 will be seriously damaged with a defeat, which would keep England out of the final in Wellington next weekend. It's an issue about which Rugby Football League CEO Nigel Wood is unwilling to comment.

When McNamara was reappointed at the start of the year, in a part-time role which allowed him to take up an assistant's role at Sydney Roosters, no term was announced.

"People are saying we need to win by 10 to go through but we just want to win," said halfback Matty Smith.

Officials are expecting about 16,000 to17,000 at the state-of-the-art indoor venue that has previously hosted pre-season NRL matches.

Teams for the match at Forsyth Barr Stadium, which kicks off at 6.05pm (NSW time), are:

NEW ZEALAND: Peta Hiku (Manly); Jason Nightingale (St George Illawarra), Shaun Kenny-Dowall (Sydney Roosters), Dean Whare (Penrith), Manu Vatuvei (Warriors); Kieran Foran (Manly), Shaun Johnson (Warriors); Jason Taumalolo (North Queensland), Kevin Proctor (Melbourne), Simon Mannering (capt, Warriors), Adam Blair (Wests Tigers), Issac Luke (South Sydney), Jesse Bromwich (Melbourne). Interchange: Thomas Leuluai (Warriors), Greg Eastwood (Canterbury), Martin Taupau (Wests Tigers), Tohu Harris (Melbourne), Lewis Brown (Penrith) (one to be omitted).
ENGLAND: Sam Tomkins (Warriors); Josh Charnley (Wigan), Kallum Watkins (Leeds), Dan Sarginson (Wigan), Ryan Hall (Leeds); Gareth Widdop (St George Illawarra), Matty Smith (Wigan); Sean O'Loughlin (capt, Wigan), Joel Tomkins (Wigan), Liam Farrell (Wigan), James Graham (Canterbury), Josh Hodgson (Hull KR), George Burgess (South Sydney). Interchange: Daryl Clark (Castleford), Brett Ferres (Huddersfield), Tom Burgess (South Sydney), Chris Hill (Warrington).

Referee: Phil Bentham (England).