World number #1 New Zealand face an anxious 48 hours, if they are to progress to the Four Nations final next week.
The NZ Kiwis were held to an historic 18-18 by underdogs Scotland in their final pool game at Workington’s Zebra Claims Stadium, conceding a final-minute converted try that has them on the cusp of elimination.
They must now hope world champions Australia can defeat England tomorrow morning (NZ time) in London. The tournament hosts only need a draw to advance on points-differential.
Faced with a fired-up Scottish side, playing at their south-of-the-border home, a heavy ground and horrific weather conditions, the Kiwis, including four players on debut, never really settled into their task.
They reached half-time just 6-4 ahead, after enjoying the benefits of a strong tail-wind for the first 40 minutes.
After 20 minutes of unrewarded Scots dominance, debutant winger David Fusitu’a finally put them up with a try down the right side.
Capitalising on a Scotland mistake down their own end, the NZ side made easy metres up the middle of the park, half Shaun Johnson found Tohu Harris running off his shoulder and the rangy second rower showed Fusitu’a an open path to the line.
But Lewis Tierney answered only a few moments later, chasing down a grubber kick from Lachlan Coote behind the try-line and grounding before space ran out. Danny Brough’s conversion was wayward, leaving his team adrift at the break.
Brough signalled Scotland’s intent immediately after the restart, drilling a wind-assisted 40/20 kick that pinned the Kiwis deep in their own territory.
Somehow, the black-and-whites held them out and eventually provided Fusitu’a with another touchdown on the end of a slick back-line movement
But the Bravehearts weren’t to be denied, drawing even with a try to Ben Hellewell, converted by Brough. Then they drew a penalty by catching Manu Ma’u offside, as he regained his feet from a tackle and Brough slotted a go-ahead kick from out in front for a 12-10 lead.
Facing an upset of Trump proportions, the Kiwis seemed to stave off defeat with two tries in quick succession to centre Gerard Beale. Neither were converted into the wind and Scotland still had a chance with the final minutes counting down.
That was all they needed. Charging back onto attack, they moved the ball right, where centre Euan Aitken burst through two tacklers to score. Brough was again on target to seal the deadlock, as the final hooter sounded.
Johnson was named Man of the Match and was a threat whenever he had the ball in hand, but the individual honour will be small consolation, if the English can get up on Monday morning.
“We’re disappointed, but Scotland played really well tonight,” he said afterwards. “We wanted to get the job done, but we knew it was going to be tough in difficult conditions, but a lot of credit to Scotland.
“Every game you play in these tournaments is very tough. We can complain all we want about how we played, but they showed up with the right attitude and competed really hard.”
This was the best performance ever from a “fourth team” at the Four Nations and suggests the big three cannot rest on their laurels as the game spreads internationally.
As the starting winger, Fusitu’a was always dangerous on debut, but fellow newcomers Joseph Tapine, James Fisher-Harris and Te Maire Martin were forced to come off the bench under fire.
They probably enjoyed their best moment, when Martin and young fullback Dallin Watene-Zelezniak were part of the lead-up to Beale’s second try, DWZ providing the final pass.
Martin came onto the field, when veteran Thomas Leuluai ominously headed to the sideline clutching a broken jaw.
“I suppose that was a welcome to coaching,” reflected new Kiwis coach David Kidwell. “I thought we did well to get back into the game, with the conditions here suited to Scotland’s style of play.
“We’ve got some disappointed players in there, but we just have to move on and make sure we recover well.”
NZ Kiwis 18 (David Fusitu’a 2 & Gerard Beale 2 tries; Issac Luke goal) Scotland 18 (Lewis Tierney, Ben Hellewell & Euan Aitken tries; Danny Brough 3 goals)
NZ Kiwis players are trying to take the mathematics out of the equation this week, as they prepare for a banana-skin Four Nations match-up with Scotland on Saturday (NZ time).
But fullback Jordan Kahu admits they are ruing past mistakes that have added to the tension, as they try to nail down their spot in next week’s tournament final.
After edging England in their campaign opener and falling narrowly to world champions Australia last week, New Zealand have the inside running on a place at Anfield and a chance to defend their title from two years ago.
All they require is victory against the Scots and an Australian win over England to set the scene for a trans-Tasman showdown at the iconic home of Liverpool FC.
But if the home side were to somehow topple the Kangaroos, then points differential becomes crucial and the Kiwis’ margin of success over Scotland becomes doubly important.
Weigh that against the temptation to blood several tour rookies this week and you begin to understand the dilemma facing coach David Kidwell.
But Kahu insists his team-mates aren’t sweating too much on the outcome, just the process.
“As players, we haven’t been focusing on [points differential] too much,” he says. “We had missed opportunities against Australia and England, and points have gone begging, so we’re really just focusing on ourselves to make sure we’re at the top of our game.
“Hopefully, if we put our best footy on the park, that will help us with the differential.
“When we play England and Australia, it’s always hard to get points. Defensively, they’re both pretty good teams and we’ve been trying our best, but those missed opportunities haven’t helped.
“If we can rectify that, then I guess we can put more points on the board.”
Apart from the opening stages against England, when they jumped out to an early 8-0 lead, the Scots haven’t really threatened an upset so far, but that’s not to say they won’t provide a tricky obstacle in that scramble for final spots.
Kahu, for one, refuses to write them off.
“They’re gutsy. They’ve definitely put their hand up and shown they’re competitive at this level.
“We’re coming to Scotland and playing their home team. I know if Scotland were coming to New Zealand, we would definitely be putting our best team on the park, so we’re going to prepare like we’re playing anyone else and make sure everyone turns up on Friday.”
The composition of that Kiwis line-up should become clearer within 24 hours and Kidwell may opt to test some of the exciting new talent waiting in the wings.
Five-eighth Te Maire Martin, wing/fullback David Fusitu’a, and forwards Joseph Tapine and James Fisther-Harris are all vying to become Kiwi #800, while one-test winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak is another champing at the bit.
“They definitely deserve a shot,” says Kahu, who may well have to step aside to make room, if those newcomers are to be accommodated.
“They’ve been here with us since Perth and pushing us at training, making sure we’re fighting for our positions.
“They all deserve a chance to wear the black jersey and If they do, they’ve been training like they’re ready to play some good footy and I’m sure they’ll fit in pretty well.”
Head coach David Kidwell has given four international rookies the chance to wear the black-and-white jersey in the NZ Kiwis’ Four Nations clash with Scotland on Saturday morning (NZ).
One-test Kiwi Dallin Watene-Zelezniak (21) has been named at fullback in place of Jordan Kahu, joining debutant David Fusitu’a (22), who takes a wing spot, in the starting line-up.
Three others – Te Maire Martin (21), James Fisher-Harris (20) and Joseph Tapine (22) – will come off the bench for their first appearances in an international test match. The first to take the field will become Kiwi #800.
The NZ team have moved camp to Carlisle ahead of their game in Workington on the northwest coast of England.
With this line-up, all 24 members of the touring squad will have played during the Four Nations tournament.
“It’s an exciting opportunity for these young players,” says Kidwell. “They are hungry, their effort and attitude in training has shown me that, and they’ll bring a lot of energy.”
After the 14-8 loss to Australia last Sunday (NZ), Kidwell acknowledges this game is a must win.
“The most important thing right now is we need to win. Scotland started really well against England and we need to respect that.
“They have improved every game and if you add that on top of the conditions, we have a tough challenge ahead.”
“The guys making their debuts deserve the opportunity to play. They have worked extremely hard and have been pushing for spots all tour.”
Jason Nightingale also returns to the team, after missing last week’s test with an ankle injury.
Manu Ma’u and Greg Eastwood come into the starting team replacing Kevin Proctor and Jason Taumalolo, while Gerard Beale shifts to centre in place of Shaun Kenny-Dowall.
6Kiwis half Shaun Johnson came within an ace of stealing an unlikely result against world champions Australia, but he and his New Zealand side fell shot 14-8 in their Four Nations clash at Coventry.
One week after engineering a one-point win over hosts England in their tournament opener, Johnson appeared out of sorts for most of this encounter, but burst to life over the final 10 minutes to bring his side within an ace of victory.
Trailling 14-4, he chipped ahead on the final tackle of a set, regathered in midfield and spread the ball to centre Shaun Kenny-Dowall, who drew the last defender and sent Jordan Rapana over in the corner.
Johnson’s conversion attempt was wide, but a converted try could still snatch a draw.
With the final seconds counting down, Johnson found another chink in the Kangaroos’ defensive armour and plunged over the try-line, but was wrapped up by Australian fullback Darius Boyd and was unable to force the ball.
The thriller ended, with Gerard Beale’s in-goal speculator forced dead.
“We had a chance, but it wasn’t to be,” lamented Johnson afterwards. “We had plenty of opportunities at the end, we just came up short.
“A few things let us down, we just couldn’t build the pressure we wanted. We just have to get better.”
Australia dominated the first half, running in tries to wing Blake Ferguson and half Johnathan Thurston to lead 10-0 at the break. They probably should have been further ahead, but made more errors than their counterparts, who could not get a fair share of possession.
New Zealand’s best chance of scoring in the opening 40 minutes came, when Rapana intercepted the ball on his own try-line and set off up-field, only to be ankle-tapped by the pursuing Greg Inglis.
But the reigning Four Nations champions began the second half with far more determination, rewarded when centre Solomone Kata bullocked his way over for his first try in the black jersey.
Ultimately, the win slipped from the Kiwis’ fingers through ill-discipline. Twice, they were penalised in the tackle in front of their own posts and Thurston’s kicking boot stretched the advantage to 14-4.
Ferguson almost had another try in the right corner, but the touch judge correctly ruled the final pass forward.
New Zealand came close, but could never quite bridge the gap.
It was an improved performance on their previous two outings against Australia, though – the 16-0 loss in Newcastle in May and 26-6 in Perth three weeks ago.
The Kiwis still hold the inside running on a spot in the Four Nations final. They must beat Scotland convincingly in Workington on Friday and hope Australia can keep England at bay on Sunday.
If England win, the two final berths will likely be decided on a countback of points difference, so the margin of victory over the Scots becomes vital to New Zealand’s hopes.
Australia 14 (Blake Ferguson & Johnathan Thurston tries; Thurston 3 goals) NZ Kiwis 8 (Solomone Kata & Jordan Rapana tries)
