Lowe blasts ‘disastrous’ performance
NEW Zealand rugby league legend Graham Lowe has branded Friday night’s Anzac Test a ‘disaster’ for the Kiwis and said the NZRL is being run by ‘amateurs’.
The Kangaroos convincingly beat the Kiwis 30-12 in Canberra. The two late tries to New Zealand meant the final scoreline didn’t give a true reflection of the Kiwis, who were down 30-0 at one point.
Lowe, a former Kiwis and Queensland State of Origin coach, didn’t hold back in his assessment of what took place at GIO Stadium.
‘‘I thought it was an absolute disaster,’’ Lowe said.
‘‘You’ve got to be up front about it, the score totally flattered New Zealand.
‘‘They hardly fired a shot, they were really disappointing in attack and I was expecting more from them.’’
Lowe didn’t have a problem with the team for the Anzac Test named by the New Zealand selectors, but felt that those who were picked played well below their usual standards.
‘‘They just didn’t look up for it and the worrying thing is that they haven’t looked up it it for a while and that’s got to be a big concern,’’ he said.
‘‘The responsibility lies with everyone but tactically they never looked like they were going to threaten Australia at any stage.’’
In the build-up to the test, there was plenty written about how good the Kiwis spine, of Warriors Issac Luke, Shaun Johnson, Kieran Foran and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, would be but they failed to make a significant impact.
‘‘This whole thing about the spine is totally overplayed,’’ Lowe said.
‘‘It’s a fashion that everyone’s jumped onto.
‘‘We didn’t get beaten because
They just didn’t look up for it and the worrying thing is that they haven’t looked up it it for a while and that’s got to be a big concern. GRAHAM LOWE
we had a good spine or a bad one.
‘‘You play as a team and individuals in it didn’t play to their potential.
‘‘If they would have played to their potential we could have beat Australia, but they didn’t.
‘‘It’s got nothing to do with the spine, every one of those players failed to play to their potential and the question I ask is why?’’
Lowe said this result should be a wake-up call for the NZRL, who need to immediately work out what’s going wrong and make the changes ahead of the World Cup.
‘‘If they ignore this and pretend it didn’t happen, we might as well not turn up to the World Cup, because this has got to be addressed,’’ he said.
‘‘It’s not as if it’s a one-off, there’s a pattern to it.’’
With just one win from six tests, the heat is on Kiwis coach David Kidwell. It’s unlikely the NZRL will give him the chop this close to the World Cup and Lowe believes the problems go beyond the head coach.
‘‘David is under a lot of pressure and he’ll be feeling it,’’ he said.
‘‘But the NZRL have got to have a look at themselves and think about what they’re trying to achieve.
‘‘Who is making the calls there? Has there been anyone with experience there to put stuff in place? I don’t think there has.
‘‘It looks like they we’re being run by amateurs.
‘‘There doesn’t appear to be anyone there with points on the board. People talk about the spine of a team, but the spine of the whole organisation is under question. I just hope for the game’s sake that this is going to be addressed as it should be, by people who know what it takes.’’