Rugby League: Kiwis clobbered by Lions

Nov 5 2007 Western Mail

Great Britain 44-0 New Zealand

GREAT BRITAIN coach Tony Smith says he will be facing a huge dilemma when he selects his side for the final Gillette Fusion Test against New Zealand in Wigan next Saturday.

Smith saw his vibrant new-look side open up an unassailable 2-0 series lead with a 44-0 thrashing of the Kiwis in Hull on Saturday.

The win was Britain’s biggest winning margin in Tests and was also a record win over the tourists on home soil. More importantly, it secured a first series win for 14 barren years.

But Smith, who will coach England in next year’s World Cup, confessed that he will look to test the depth of his squad for the dead rubber at the JJB Stadium.

The likes of Kirk Yeaman, Stephen Wild, Jamie Jones-Buchanan, David Hodgson and Michael Platt should all make their first appearances of the series, with skipper Jamie Peacock and full-back Paul Wellens among those who could take a breather.

“There’s a fair chance I will bring in some of the other guys,” said Smith. “I was hoping to maybe give a couple of guys a well-earned rest if I can so I will sit down and have a look at that.

“There’s some guys there that have played a lot of rugby this year, the full-back being one of them. What a game he had. I thought he was outstanding and has been for the series.

“It’s a tough call whether to rest people or not, it’s not necessarily resting, it’s the preservation of some top players. It will be a juggle to get it just right.

“We want to win the series 3-0, but I want to give the guys who I know are good enough a chance. Once again, I won’t make any decision until I’ve spoken to the coaches and players.

“I’ll talk to them and usually when you talk to them about common-sense, they’re pretty good. It’s a two-way street with me, I’ll talk to them and if someone doesn’t play next week it will be for their own benefit and the benefit of the team.”

Should Smith opt to rest Peacock, who opened the scoring at the KC Stadium after just 74 seconds, then he is likely to face huge resistance from the prop who is regarded as the most durable player in Super League.

Should he do so, Adrian Morley, who captained Britain against France in the summer, would be the most likely recipient of the armband.

Following on from Peacock’s score, seven more tries followed with Leon Pryce (two), being joined by Gareth Raynor, Wellens, Ade Gardner, Rob Burrow and Keith Senior. Burrow and Kevin Sinfield also shared six goals.

In theory, the win propels Britain into second in the world rankings, a claim disputed by Kiwi boss Gary Kemble, who cited several injuries as a factor in his side’s poor showing.

Whilst Smith has tasted success in all three his games in charge, Kemble has the exact opposite record, slipping to three losses and shipping 122 points in the process.

The rout also capped a miserable return to Humberside for Kemble, a player with Hull for eight years, who was moved to defend his own position just two months into his reign.

“This is a new team and we’ve got another one at home,” he said. “They’re learning all the time.

“There’s no excuses and we got beat by a big score again. I’ll review myself and see if I’m doing anything wrong.

“We have a couple of injuries but it might be time to replace a couple of players. They’re hurting but they’re a close unit. They’ll come out of this fired up.”

But Smith responded to Kemble’s words by saying: “Get the big players on the field then. That’s why you have a Test series, to test your best players and lay claims to that sort of stuff

“You can talk until the cows come home about what you’ve got off the field and lay claim that you’re still number two if you want.”

New Zealand’s shell-shocked players were last night trying to come to terms with their latest humiliation, just three weeks after their record 58-0 defeat by Australia in Wellington.

Saturday’s eight-try rout eclipsed the Kiwis’ 53-19 defeat to Great Britian in the 1972 World Cup in France.

“It’s very disappointing,” said Thomas Leuluai, the Wigan scrum-half. “They’re a good team, I know that from playing over here.

“I don’t know what to say. We didn’t do the little things we are usually so good at doing, but there’s no excuses, we’re all professionals.”

Leuluai was hampered by a leg injury in the second half and eventually had to be replaced but he was not looking for excuses.

“I’m not passing the buck,” he said. “I’ll put my hand up. I didn’t perform and I’m pretty sure other blokes will put their hands up.

“We’ve lost a lot of good players, guys that were our leaders, and we’re going through a transitional stage – everyone is harping on about that – but we’ve got to perform better than that. It wasn’t up to standard.”

The Kiwis were crowned Tri-Nations champions just two years ago after beating Australia 24-0 in the final at Elland Road but have now slipped to third in the unofficial world rankings.

For prop forward Roy Asotasi the record is nought from four since he inherited the captaincy from Ruben Wiki earlier this year, but he tried to put on a brave face.

“We tried out there, but they showed a lot more urgency and were determined to win,” he said. “We came out to play and I thought we prepared well through the week, but obviously the score didn’t reflect that.

“We’re a very young side and we’re still learning, but there are no excuses. We all play at elite clubs and it’s disappointing to lose by that much.

“I haven’t had a win yet as captain, but I’ve got to try to be positive and concentrate on next week’s game and hopefully we’ll be ready for that.”

Asotasi said Great Britain and Australia have different styles, saying: “Australia play a quicker game, whereas Britain play a more physical confrontational type of game and we just didn’t match them.”

Coach Kemble, who has struggled to plug the gaps caused by injury and unavailability, looks certain to make further changes for the “dead” third Test.

Scrum-half Jeremy Smith is set for a recall and teenagers Chase Stanley and Shaun Kenny-Dowall may make their Test debuts.