The New Zealand Kiwis blew off a few cobwebs to open their Rugby League World Cup campaign to beat the Lebanon Cedars 34-12 in Warrington.
Lebanon made their intentions clear early on with a short kickoff to start and used it to open the scoring in the first minute through Josh Mansour. It wasn’t pretty, but a Charnze Nicol-Klokstad strip on the last tackle ended up in the in-goal for Mansour to score.
A Lebanon error soon allowed the Kiwis to answer back. Joseph Manu spent the opening set hanging around the ball and produced an offload on the line for Kenny Bromwich to crash over. Pushing through the tackle for long enough to get his arms free, the Kiwis fullback flicked his pass out to a waiting Brandon Smith who sent Bromwich over to make it 6-6 after six minutes.
The early stages certainly had an early-tournament feel to it. A handful of errors and a lack of control made for an ugly opening quarter. Regular enquiries with the video referee didn’t help either. However,as the ball remained in play and the Kiwis started to generate quick play-the-balls, the favourites began to assert their dominance. Again it was a late offload on the line that turned into points. This time, Smith carried four Lebanon players into the tackle and towards the line before finding Asofa-Solomona out the back. Nobody is stopping the big unit from this close to the line.
In a sign of things to come in this match, the Kiwis soon surged up the field in what should become a classic set. Peta Hiku and the back-five involved themselves early before James Fisher-Harris completed a typically brutal carry. A Smith dart from dummy half generated some ruck speed for Joseph Tapine to survey the line before applying some late footwork and releasing an offload to a trailing Isaiah Papali’i. Joseph Manu made sure to get his hands on the ball on 4th tackle – a common occurrence. From there, Hiku barged over from dummy half for the Kiwis to push 18-6 in front, a fair reflection of the first 40 minutes.
New Zealand’s nine errors in the first half kept it close as they struggled to string multiple sets together as a new-look team.
Adam Doueihi continued to roll the dice and look for opportunities to pinch points with his 40/20 to start the second half putting Lebanon hot on the attack. Robbie Hunter-Paul in commentary mentioned the value of Mitchell Moses in the halves and his role as the undisputed organiser of the Cedars as the Kiwis somewhat struggled in that department. Right on cue, the halfback orchestrated a set for Abas Miski to score in the corner.
Setting up in the middle of the field, Moses caught the Kiwis for numbers on the right edge and swung around to his left. Doueihi is a big half and a strong runner of the ball. Sometimes he just needs time and space which Moses provided with an early pass.
That early pass is where the four-on-three overlap is created as Moses beats Smith at A and Marata Niukore at B with the quick ball.
With Niukore late off the line, Kieran Foran is forced to hold on Doueihi leaving a sizeable gap for the backrower to charge at. Hiku and Rapana fold in on the lead line leaving space out wide for Lebanon to score.
However, like the start of the first half, the Kiwis responded to a Lebanon try with one of their own.
Take a bow, Joseph Manu.
And another…
It all became too much for Doueihi who was ordered to have an early shower by referee Grant Atkins. Following what must have been a vicious spray, Lebanon lost their five-eighth due to dissent.
As Jordan Rapana made it three tries in as many sets for the Kiwis, the scoreboard began to reflect their dominance. Lebanon produced some promising periods. They left no stone unturned in their search for points. Physically outmatched, they explored different ways to break down the Kiwis defence on the edges. The class of the Kiwis showed in the end, though.
It’s not one to write home about, but New Zealand will be better for the run while Lebanon can be confident heading into their next match against Ireland.
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Key takeaways
Lebanon with the ball
Lebanon threatened with the ball and played with a lot of freedom and confidence. They didn’t try to out-muscle a monster Kiwis pack. Instead, the Cedars searched down the edges; Mitchell Moses kicked in behind early in the set. While it may not look like it on the scoreboard in this one, there are plenty of points in this squad.
Kiwis crashing
They’ve been talked up as the best forward pack at the Rugby League World Cup and looked to use it in this one. Perhaps it was a little bit too crash and bash on the line at times. That could be down to Jahrome Hughes’ absence as the Kiwis lacked organisation at times. However, with Asofoa-Solomona and Smith, in particular, creating opportunities on the line by crashing and bashing, the Kiwis made it work often enough.
They’ll need to find some more creativity in good ball against the better teams later in the tournament.
Cheika’s Influence
Short kickoffs, chips into the corner, running it on the last. The Cedars played expansive and exciting footy and it certainly looks like Michael Cheika is bringing a little bit of rugby union into the Rugby League World Cup.
Doueihi sent off
We don’t know what was said but it must have been bad for Atkins to send Doueihi off. In the NRL, he would be rubbed out for at least one game – maybe more. With Ireland up next, Doueihi could be a massive loss for a game that will define Lebanon’s Rugby League World Cup.
Rugby League World Cup Round 1 Results
England 60 def. Samoa 6
Australia 42 def. Fiji 8
Italy 28 def. Scotland 4
Ireland 48 def. Jamaica 2
New Zealand 34 def. Lebanon 12
Earlier in the day, Italy pulled off a reasonably notable upset in beating Scotland 28-4. Jake Maizen crossed three times as Italy pulled away in the second half. His third coming through a 90-metre individual effort:
Ireland continued to develop as a side in the day’s second match. They’ve talked about using this Rugby League World Cup as a platform for the next and continued growth into the future. As a heritage player and crucial piece in accelerating that growth, Luke Keary showed his class as Ireland beat Jamaica 48-2 in Leeds.
He kicked well and produced the sort of actions you’d expect from one of the best halves in the NRL against a second-tier side in Jamaica. While the scoreboard somewhat flatters Ireland, it sets up a mouthwatering Round 2 matchup against Lebanon which will more than likely decide who finishes second in the group and advances to the quarterfinals.