‘The game needs some leadership’

Former Kiwis coach Graham Lowe has slammed the Kiwis’ reaction to their Rugby League World Cup exit as ‘‘unforgivable’’ and ‘‘un-Kiwi’’.

Lowe – the Kiwis coach from 1983 to 1986 – stopped short of saying the Kiwis needed a new coach and captain, but called on the New Zealand Rugby League to ‘‘show some leadership’’ and ‘‘act now or step aside’’.

Kiwis captain Adam Blair claimed the loss to Fiji was ‘‘not a negative’’, playmaker Shaun Johnson hit out at the team’s fans and critics after they crashed out of the cup following a 4-2 quarterfinal loss to Fiji on Saturday, and coach David Kidwell stressed the Kiwis had a great culture.

Lowe, who coached Wigan, Manly and the Queensland State of Origin side, said the Kiwis’ reaction was ‘‘ridiculous’’.

‘‘To disrespect the fans is unforgivable. I’ve never seen anything like it in my entire life.

‘‘I’m sure the Kiwis camp were distraught [at being eliminated], but they were absolutely immature and childish in their thinking.’’

Lowe said he never saw any signs of public or media antipathy to the Kiwis during the campaign.

‘‘There was fantastic support for the island nations, but there was no anti-Kiwi feeling that I could see.

‘‘People were really proud of the Kiwis. They [the Kiwis] have brought something into it that wasn’t there. It’s going to be hard to forgive some of that nonsense. It’s un-Kiwi.’’

Lowe was dismayed at Blair’s immediate after-match reaction.

‘‘Why he said what he said, the body language ... the whole thing was beyond comprehension.’’

Lowe said he thought the Kiwis played well at times during the tournament, but could not blame the fans or critics for their failure.

‘‘It’s a real simple game we are involved in. If you play well, you win, if you play poorly you lose, it’s as simple as that.’’

He said the Kiwis had talked before the quarterfinal about the need to be smart and tough.

‘‘But against Fiji, they weren’t smart and Fiji were too tough.’’

He said the ‘‘acid is now on the NZRL to show some leadership and courage’’ and give the game some direction.

‘‘I’m surprised it hasn’t been done yet. The game needs some leadership, it’s been a terrible year. The Warriors were diabolical, they had some of the worst performances we’ve seen and now the culmination of all this is what happened with the reaction at the weekend.

‘‘It seems to me like these guys think the game does owe them.’’ Graham Lowe, above

‘‘The whole thing was amateur hour. I honestly don’t know what to say. It’s something you would never expect to see in any sport.

‘‘It’s like they’ve forgotten that the game doesn’t owe any of us, we owe the game. These guys have forgotten that – it’s too easy for them.

‘‘It seems to me like these guys think the game does owe them.’’

Lowe said the Kiwis were all highly paid professionals.

Lowe said the NZRL needed to act immediately, not delay a World Cup review.

‘‘It needs to be done now. They’ve got to throw all the PC bulls..t out and fix the thing, or step aside and let someone who’s not afraid to do it.’’

He backed Kidwell’s decision to drop former captain Jesse Bromwich and Kevin Proctor from the World Cup squad after they were caught using cocaine during a night out after the Kiwis’ loss to Australia in Canberra last May.

‘‘That was a tough call for David Kidwell, but I think he handled it really well. He did the only thing he could do.’’

But he felt Kidwell’s ‘‘lack of experience caught up with him’’ at the World Cup.

Lowe said the NZRL needed to create pathways to encourage more New Zealand coaches.

He said former Kiwi Richie Blackmore had ‘‘done it all’’ on the local coaching scene and was the New South Wales Cup coach of the year with the Auckland Vulcans, but had never been in the mix for national positions.

‘‘He’s got a great pedigree, as a player. He would be an ideal Kiwis coach, although he might need a hand from someone.’’

Lowe also felt Stacey Jones could be considered, ‘‘with the right group of people around him’’.