Even Kiwis coach Michael Maguire was surprised at the nature of his side’s record-breaking 30-0 victory over the Kangaroos which clinched them the Pacific Championship final in Hamilton last night.
It was the Kiwis’ biggest victory over Australia and the Kangaroos’ heaviest Test defeat. It was also just the third time the Kiwis have kept their biggest rivals scoreless in a Test.
And it came after the Kiwis lost 36-18 to Australia in Melbourne last weekend.
“You never expect a Test match is going to be 30-0, but there’s something special within this group which I’ve always believed and they were able to bring it out this week,” Maguire said.
“Right from the start of the camp, I felt with the group coming in and naming James Fisher-Harris as captain, he’s been exceptional.
“But the way the group has come together and the feeling they have as brothers, I felt they had a performance like that.
“I was really pleased with how they were able to defend the way they did.”
Played in front of an increasingly excited crowd at Waikato Stadium, most of what the Kiwis did was a resounding success, with wingers Ronaldo Mulitalo and Jamayne Isaako scoring spectacular early tries. The Kangaroos, meanwhile, went from bad to worse.
The Kiwis scored five tries in total after leading 12-0 at halftime.
“To be honest, last week I thought they did a lot of good things,” Maguire said of his team's defeat in their previous match.
“I always felt with the group and what they were doing, we could get this special performance and I’m obviously really pleased with the scoreline and the way they went about doing it.”
The victory may go some way to salving the wounds of last year’s 16-14 defeat to Australia in last year’s World Cup semifinal.
“A lot of us toured together last year. There was a feeling in the changing room then that I never want again,” Maguire said.
“The players felt the same, that’s why I say there’s something special in this group. When you go through a bit of adversity together and come out the other side, which I knew they would, I’m really proud of them.”
Kangaroos coach Mal Mengina said: “It hurts, no one likes losing.
“I can’t question effort and attitude. We made heaps of errors, but that’s a reflection of how New Zealand played.
“I felt that they were certainly better side today and deserved their victory.
“You don’t see those sorts of games coming but we’ll reflect on it. We’ve got to accept it obviously, but the credit deservedly goes to the other side.”
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