The Kiwis have booked their spot in the Rugby League World Cup quarterfinals and will likely play Fiji, the side who famously knocked them out of the last event.
Although the Kiwis remain undefeated following their 48-10 victory over Ireland, it has come with some controversy.
As they approach the finals, they could be without one of their best forwards’, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves who was sent off with a yellow card for a high tackle against Ireland’s Dan Norman.
Ireland coach Ged Corcoran called it a “dog shot” and believes it should’ve been a red card.
“I got to be careful about what I say here but I'm really disappointed. For me that's a game changer, they had an off night for me and my boys turned up.. and it's a hard one to swallow. I need to look at it and review it but that's a game changer,” Corcoran said.
The Kiwis were up 20-6 when Waerea-Hargreaves unleashed. He’s just returned from a post NRL season three game suspension and now facing another date with the judiciary.
While Corcoran says it was a clear shot to the head, Kiwis coach Michael Maguire said he thought Waerea-Hargreaves made contact with Norman’s shoulder.
But even with 12 men, the Kiwis were too quick for the Irish with the tries pouring in for the world number one team.
They scored a total of 10 tries, but this was far from a polished performance with the team being called up for forward passes and dropping balls. Quality was also lacking with their goal kicking, missing six conversions.
Player of the match Jahrome Hughes says it's something they’ll need to improve on.
“We’re still working on our combinations and we really need to fix that before the finals,” Hughes said.
Corcoran had an interesting message for the Kiwis ahead of the knockout stages.
“If that’s the benchmark for New Zealand, let’s see how they go for the rest of the tournament. I think there will be lots of other teams licking their lips after tonight’s game.”
But Maguire says his side will be stronger and are aiming to put out a complete performance in the quarterfinals.
“We need to improve on where we are but that’s what being in a tournament is all about. You got to make sure our next performance is even better than what we’ve been through,” Maguire said.
The Kiwis will need to be better if they are to rewrite their last World Cup mistakes.
SHARE ME