STEFAN Ratchford hopes England can build on the “great strides” they have made in tomorrow’s Test against New Zealand.

Wire full-back Ratchford will win his fifth cap against the Kiwis at Sports Authority Field in Denver, Colorado, but his exact role in the team is yet to be revealed.

The 29-year-old says there is a lot of excitement around Wayne Bennett’s squad for the “ground-breaking” game in the United States.

“It’s always great to get in camp and to see the boys again,” he said.

“This one’s got a special feeling about it with it being over in America. It’s a ground-breaking Test we’re involved in.

“We had a good flight over, the boys are in good spirits and we’re all excited to be here.

“We’ve achieved a lot over the past couple of years.

“The get-togethers we’ve been having have been beneficial and I think that showed in the Samoa test last year and in the World Cup.

“We’ve made great strides and hopefully we can keep building on it this week.”

England will face a New Zealand team missing several key players, including star half-back Shaun Johnson, with seven players in contention to make their debuts.

There will also be a coaching debut for the Kiwis as former Wigan head coach Michael Maguire takes charge of his first match since taking over from David Kidwell.

England have been billed as favourites for the game, but Ratchford insists New Zealand are not to be taken lightly.

“Any time you play New Zealand, they are always going to be dangerous. The players they produce are always top-quality,” he said.

“They didn’t have the greatest World Cup, so they are going to be keen to bounce back from that and take steps in the right direction.

“They’ve got a lot of fresh players and debutants coming in.

“They will have points to prove, so they will be very dangerous.”

The game is being shown live on BBC2 on Saturday night, with kick off at 9.10pm UK time.