Kiwis stun Kangaroos in historic upset

As seen on NRL.com

The New Zealand Kiwis have taken out the inaugural Pacific Cup final after keeping the Kangaroos scoreless 30-0 to orchestrate an international upset in Hamilton on Saturday.

A 12-0 scoreline had the New Zealand faithful daring to dream at halftime and the fairytale final continued as the Kiwis ran in another 18 unanswered points to hand the Kangaroos for the first time since 2018.

Seven days after going down to their Tasman rivals 36-18 in Melbourne, Michael Maguire’s side were all class with halves Jahrome Hughes and Dylan Brown steering the ship and wingers Ronaldo Mulitalo and Jamayne Isaako dazzling on the edges.

Held scoreless for the first time since their 2005 Tri-Nations final defeat to New Zealand, the Kangaroos costs themselves any chance to break down the Kiwis’ early momentum with 50 missed tackles and 11 errors leading to their heaviest-ever international defeat.

After several Kangaroos errors gifted his side early possession, winger Mulitalo started and finished it for the Kiwis opening try, making a long-range break before finishing a left side sweep later in the set. Isaako’s conversion made it 6-0 after 16 minutes.

The Kangaroos looked to strike back in the 25th minute when Daly Cherry-Evans looped a long ball to the right but Mulitalo produced an incredible shot to deny Valentine Holmes an opportunity to cross the line.

The Kiwis continued with their early momentum and were rewarded in the 35th minute, with their star-studded spine linking up to set up an airborne Isaako on the right and extend their lead 12-0 at the break.

Some early mistakes in the second half heaped more pressure on the Kangaroos and the Kiwi wingers pounced again with a Hughes cut out pass opening the door for Isaako to bag a double after another aerial finish in the corner.

New Zealand were on their way to a Pacific Championship trophy with Brown’s quick hands putting Timoko in space to score his first international try.

With eight minutes remaining New Zealand were able to put the game away with Griffin Neame tearing through the Kangaroos line to score under the posts and put the finishing touches on their Pacific Cup victory.

Match Snapshot

  • Kangaroos forward Cameron Murray was ruled out of the match on game day with Rueben Cotter starting in the backrow and Nicho Hynes joining the bench.
  • In a dominant first half showing the Kiwis enjoyed 59 per cent of possession to keep the Kangaroos scoreless at half time for the first time since 2005.
  • Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad had 277 running metres and six tackle breaks to go in a player of the match performance.
  • The Kangaroos missed 38 tackles in the first half, 21 more than the Kiwis (17).
  • Australia recorded their biggest Test losing margin after going down to New Zealand by 24 points in 1952 and 2005.
  • Last time Kiwis beat Kangaroos was in 2018.
  • New Zealand had lost seven of their past eight Tests against Australia.

Play of the Game

With the Kiwis boasting a 6-0 lead, the Kangaroos looked to strike back early but winger Ronaldo Mulitalo produced a monster shot to deny Valentine Holmes an early opportunity on the line in a crucial momentum shifter for New Zealand.

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