Kidwell denies pressure ramping after loss to Tonga
"We know we're quietly confident, and if we fix those little things in the game it will hold us in good stead for the rest of the tournament."
David Kidwell, right
Coach David Kidwell denies the pressure is ramping up on him or his side, despite the Kiwis carving out an unwanted slice of history.
Falling victim to Tonga 28-22 in their Rugby League World Cup pool B decider in Hamilton on Saturday, New Zealand became the first of the big three nations to ever lose to a second-tier side.
Effectively, it was the biggest upset in the international game, though considering Tonga’s roster – defectors and all – there was a time this was going to come, and the result does wonders for the sport.
However, for the Kiwis, it’s yet another stumble, which has become far too commonplace of late; and leaves their World Cup dreams in tatters. Instead of a likely semifinal matchup with England in Auckland, Australia in Brisbane now looms, though now even getting past Jarryd Hayne’s Fiji in Saturday’s quarterfinal in Wellington must not even be taken for granted.
Kidwell’s Kiwis coaching record now reads an ugly three wins, a draw (against Scotland), and five losses (to Tonga, and all four meetings with the Kangaroos).
Along with some shabby onfield showings, there surely has to be some serious swing in fortunes if there’s going to be much confidence in appointing him past his current January 2018 contract expiry.
Not that Kidwell seems to be feeling the heat, repeating his immediate post-match summation at the team’s recovery session on Sunday that the loss to Tonga was a ‘‘blessing in disguise’’.
‘‘There’s no embarrassment, you look at Tonga, they’re a very good side,’’ he said.
However, for the defeat to be a true blessing, the Kiwis would have to learn something out of it and progress to bigger things. But the need to atone for the result by beating Australia, or going on to win the tournament, wasn’t being entertained by Kidwell.
‘‘We are on a different path now, and Fiji’s in our way at the moment so our focus is them,’’ he said.
Despite the galling loss, Kidwell said the night was no more restless than the usual lack of sleep a coach gets post-game, and he was also able to explain why the team were in good spirits in their Sunday pool session, joking around as ice bags got flung at one another.
‘‘Oh look, we’ve got commitment in there, and we know there’s a couple of little things in that game - a good 15-minute period there where Tonga had scored a couple of tries,’’ he said, identifying kick-pressure improvement as key, along with discipline, and completion rate, which was just 68 per cent to Tonga’s 86.
‘‘We know we’re quietly confident, and if we fix those little things in the game it will hold us in good stead for the rest of the tournament.’’
The team were flying to Wellington on Sunday afternoon, and Kidwell said the only injury concern coming out of the game was winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, who had a ‘‘knock to the knee’’, and would be monitored through the week.