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First win in pool play
Monday, July 7th, 2008
Some staunch defence and calm nerves allowed New Zealand to pull away in the last quarter and beat France 22-10 in the opening round of the Universities Rugby League World Cup at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia, on Saturday.Played in wet slippery conditions which hours earlier had been dry, New Zealand showed
why they have been labelled as the tournament favourites when its veteran 36 year-old prop Henry Heke went over for his first try in three World Cups after falling on a perfectly weighted grubber from his scrumhalf Pose Manu in the second minute of the first half.
France however enjoyed the bulk of the penalties in the first half and through two of them narrowed the gap to 6-4 near the start of the second quarter.
The academic Kiwis however regained its six-point buffer when its left wing Emmanuel Toka was successful in his 15m sprint down the sideline to put his side 10-4 up at halftime.
After the resumption France continued its effective spoil tactics by lying down on players for long periods around the ruck area and by inducing to give away some unnecessary turnovers through unforced errors, it levelled the scores when its wing Fred Marcerou went over when the ball was quickly shifted wide.
Some smart interchanges by the New Zealand coach Trevor McLeod however soon gave his side a go forward momentum again before the turning point came near the start of the final quarter when the French second-row Guyllayne Reffle was sent off for his third intentional head high tackle in the match.
This gave New Zealand the momentum it needed and with 15 minutes to go, some Benji Marshall type footwork by standoff Roy Leoni near the line soon put his side out in the lead again before repeating the effort with a similar try with two minutes remaining.
McLeod said while his side made too many mistakes on offence at times, he was nevertheless proud of their willingness to wear down the opposition in defence.
“As we only have half a dozen players that have represented New Zealand at this level before we came over, we are still obviously working on combinations. However it was pleasing to come away with a hard earned initial win.”
McLeod said Heke’s big forward bursts along with a high work ethic of second-row Laupepe Pasene and smart play from Leoni allowed his team to overcome France.
New Zealand plays its next pool match against Wales at Griffith University this Wednesday night starting at 9pm New Zealand time.
In the other matches which were played on Saturday a 20-0 halftime lead allowed Wales to easily beat Ireland 32-12, while tournament newcomers Greece upset Scotland 14-0 thanks mainly to two tries to its speedy wing Michael Giorgas.
The final match played saw hosts Australia comprehensively beat its old enemy England 24-0 with a comprehensive second half after being only 6-0 up at the break.
(Media release - NZ Universities & Tertiary Students Rugby League)
For more information please contact the New Zealand Universities and Tertiary Students Rugby League media liaison officer Carey Clements on 00 61 41 586 4270.
