Kidwell’s ship is sinking
OPINION: New Zealand may yet still sneak through to the final, but their chances of winning the Four Nations appear slim to none based on what was dished up against Scotland.
Coach David Kidwell refused to speculate on England’s chances of beating Australia tomorrow (NZ time), which would deny his side a place in next week’s tournament decider at Anfield.
A draw in London would also send New Zealand home early due to England’s superior points differential. But Kidwell was only focused on the recovery of his players, which is sure to include a few battered egos after the embarrassing 18-18 draw to the lowly Scots yesterday.
Despite the awful conditions and sub-standard pitch in Workington that levelled the playing field, Scotland were certainly deserving of their result.
They turned the match into an arm-wrestle, stayed in the fight for the full 80 minutes when most expected them to peter out, and were expertly led around the field by halfback Danny Brough and his playmaking partner in crime Lachlan Coote.
But this is the world’s No 1-ranked side. And a with healthy victory all-but guaranteeing a place in the final, the Kiwis had all the motivation they needed to put in a first-rate performance.
Instead, what we got was a lacklustre display, marred by errors and poor decision-making that will have many questioning if Kidwell is out of his depth.
The coach may well be regretting his decision to rest the likes of Jason Taumalolo and Kevin Proctor in favour of blooding four new caps, who apart from double try-scorer David Fusitu’a, failed to make an impression.
That was not the reason for the result.
Skipper Jesse Bromwich did his best to lead from the front but he was let down by several of his fellow senior players, who failed to keep their composure in the face of the Scottish resurgence.
Shaun Johnson had another indifferent display. There were the usual moments of magic and he did have a hand in all four of New Zealand’s tries, yet his kicking game was erratic.
Johnson was far from alone, though. New Zealand failed to respect the conditions, particularly with a howling wind at their back in the first half, and were constantly let down by illdiscipline and basic handling errors.
‘‘Scotland played well, they played to the conditions,’’ Kidwell said. ‘‘I thought after we scored that first try we gave them a bit of hope by trying an offload and they took advantage of it.
‘‘They had more energy at GETTY IMAGES times. A couple of penalties on fifth tackle really hurt us, especially when we had good line speed down there, and we just kept inviting them back into the game.’’
To put Scotland’s achievement in perspective, yesterday’s test was the first time a team other than Australia, New Zealand or England had secured a point in Four Nations history.
Kidwell was adamant the side’s spirit remained intact and they certainly have the talent to give fans hope of an upset in the final should they get there.
But it will take an almighty turn around to topple the Kangaroos. One which looks highly unlikely at this point.