Inspired Kiwis send Australia crashing to their heaviest Test loss
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New Zealand – and NSW Rugby League officials – would have loved watching Michael Maguire orchestrate one of the great Test boilovers against Australia.
In front of a disappointing crowd of 13,000 in Hamilton, the Kiwis thumped Australia 30-0 in just their second win over the Kangaroos in their past 10 contests.
The last victory came in 2018, which happened to be Maguire’s first game in charge.
Australia had never been on the end of such a heavy defeat. It was the first time they had been held scoreless against New Zealand since the 2005 Tri-Nations final.
“It’s an embarrassing result for Australia rugby league,” Greg Alexander said on the TV commentary.
Cameron Murray (hamstring) was a late withdrawal from a Kangaroos team already missing Nathan Cleary, Latrell Mitchell and Tom Trbojevic but coach Mal Meninga would have expected so much more.
Maguire, on the other hand, is expected to be unveiled as the new NSW coach in the next fortnight, and the win on the international stage was a timely reminder of his ability to motivate elite players.
Australia struggled to get themselves into good attacking position, and did not help themselves when missing 34 tackles in the first half.
The Kiwis celebrate a try during their 30-0 defeat of Australia in the Pacific Championships final.Credit: Getty
Meninga would never admit it, but for the international game to grow, Australia need to be regularly beaten.
Test football has been a tough sell, and one reason has been the sheer dominance of the men in green and gold.
Ronaldo Mulitalo was the first to score on Saturday afternoon when he took a lovely floating cut-out pass from Dylan Brown to dive into the left corner.
Moments earlier he had taken the ball from Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad to put the home side on the attack.
Mulitalo, however, came up with an even greater player later in the half when he ironed out Valentine Holmes on the last tackle.
Holmes went to turn in-field but was smashed from in front and driven into the ground. The Sharks star almost enjoyed the tackle more than his four-pointer.
New Zealand were not done with and doubled the lead through Jamayne Isaako when they had the Kangaroos for numbers out wide on the right.
Maguire did everything to inspire the Kiwis, who were well held a week earlier in Melbourne.
“They gave us a hiding last week, we learned from it,” Kiwis captain James Fisher-Harris said.
“I just want to say to the Kiwi boys, this is our moment, this is our group … this is our time.”
New Zealand Rugby League officials did everything at short notice to promote the game, but can only hope there is a greater appetite from the locals next year.
Jamayne Isaako extends New Zealand’s lead with a spectacular try in the corner.Credit: Getty
The only reason the NZRL moved the game to Hamilton was because the Test schedule was not locked in until the collective bargaining agreement was nailed down.
October remains the best time to play Test football – it is foolish to suggest any other time during the year – and 12 months of promotion will help next year.
Four nations taking part rather than three will also mean there is no rest weekend during the Pacific Championships, which helps the series maintain momentum.
Australia, New Zealand, Tonga and potentially Fiji will make up the Pacific Championships next year, with international officials hopeful Samoa tour England, and Papua New Guinea, Cook Islands, Lebanon and potentially France round out the tier-two tournament.
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