Kiwis eye rocky road but Kidwell talks tough
KIWIS coach David Kidwell has labelled their 28-22 loss to Tonga a ‘‘blessing in disguise’’.
It was the first time the Kiwis have ever lost a test to Tonga and it means they’ll play Fiji in Wellington next weekend.
But of more concern is that, if they win the quarterfinal in the capital, they’ll face the Kangaroos in Brisbane the following weekend, rather than England in Auckland.
However, given the 17 minutes of madness against Tonga in Hamilton, where they leaked four tries in a row, a win over Fiji shouldn’t be taken for granted.
But there was no despondency from Kidwell after the loss in front of 24,000 spectators and he could even take positives from it.
‘‘This is a blessing in disguise for us,’’ Kidwell said.
‘‘Talking to all the guys in the shed, they still feel like they believe in what our campaign is about.
‘‘What we’ve done with the commitment over the last threeand-a-half weeks.
‘‘So we’re on a different path now and that’s where our focus is.’’
It seemed inconceivable that the Kiwis could lose this game at halftime.
They controlled a fired-up Tongan side over the first five minutes, then took charge.
Tries to Dallin WateneZelezniak, Jordan Rapana and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck helped the Kiwis get to a 16-2 lead at halftime.
Given the experience in the Kiwis, they should have strangled the life out of the game.
However, in a whirlwind 17 minutes, David Fusitu’a scored two tries and there was one from Tuimoala Lolohea and Will Hopoate as Tonga stormed in front 24-16.
Tuivasa-Sheck scored a stunning solo try eight minutes from time to give the Kiwis hope, but when Fusitu’a brought up his hattrick five minutes later it was game over.
‘‘I thought we played very well in the first half, we completed our sets, we put Tonga under a bit of pressure,’’ reflected Kidwell.
‘‘In the second half, just our discipline, letting them out easy. Penalties, which forced us into errors.
‘‘Not taking anything away from Tonga, but we were poor with our discipline in the second half.’’
It will never be known how this game would have turned out had Jason Taumalolo, David Fusitu’a and Sio Siua Taukeiaho chosen to play for the country they were born in, rather than Tonga, but you could take a calculated guess.
‘‘They’re playing for Tonga and I’ve got 23 committed guys in that shed and that’s where our energy is,’’ Kidwell said.
‘‘We’re all committed in there, we all belong. It’s just that our path has changed.’’
Following the dropping of Jesse Bromwich from the Kiwis, Adam Blair as captain has done a lot to restore pride in the jersey.
‘‘We weathered the storm early, as we knew it was going to be,’’ Blair said.
‘‘We put them in a grind and we came out on top in that first half.
‘‘But we let ourselves down in the discipline areas, that we’re normally really good at, or have been in this tournament.
‘‘That forced us into playing some footy and caused a few errors, so you’ve got to give them credit for the pressure they put on us.
‘‘If you give them a bit of football, they’re a hard team to stop.’’
Emotions were high right from the start, as the teams came close to blows during the haka as both advanced forward.
With the defections, there was always likely to be an edge to this game and Blair said he wasn’t sure if emotions didn’t come into it.
‘‘I couldn’t be 100 per cent,’’ he said.
‘‘At times both teams were in the emotional side of the game, but in that first half we played pretty well.
‘‘The emotions for us started there, but we get in a grind and put them in a grind as well.
‘‘In the end, they put enough pressure on us and we made a few errors, they scored points and it’s hard to stop a team when they’re running forward with the calibre of players they’ve got.’’