Kiwis must learn from mistakes
As awful as it was, forget about the video referee’s howler at Anfield. Ben Thaler had a shocker – again. And it will be interesting to see if George Burgess is cited by the match review committee after Thaler and on-field official Gerard Sutton missed an apparent eye-gouge on Dallin Watene-Zelezniak.
The Kiwis had the second test there for the taking yesterday. In fact, they should be celebrating with the Baskerville Shield as we speak given all the opportunities they had over the last two weeks.
But Michael Maguire’s side only have themselves to blame.
For all the talk of learning from their mistakes in the opening test, the Kiwis did the exact same thing in Liverpool.
They dominated possession and territory in the first half but, like just like last week, failed to build and sustain enough pressure on England’s line.
Their lack of execution again came back to their haunt them, with misdirected passes either handing over possession or giving England time to reset in defence.
Shaun Johnson hasn’t exactly made the Warriors regret their decision to allow him to test the open market.
Goalkicking aside, the mercurial playmaker failed to stamp his mark on the contest, giving more ammunition to his critics who claim he goes missing in big games.
Johnson didn’t receive much help from Kodi Nikorima, with both halves failing to force a single dropout.
And try as they might, the Kiwis just couldn’t nail the big moments over the last two weeks.
If you include the win over Australia, they have now conceded tries on the stroke of halftime in three consecutive tests.
They are momentumswinging plays and while New Zealand started the second half strongly at Anfield, when the hosts ramped up the pressure in the final 20 minutes they couldn’t respond.
One does wonder if, after a gruelling NRL campaign, some of the Kiwis may have clocked off mentally after the upset over the Kangaroos, particularly given the way they have fallen away at the back end of both tests.
However, any such attitude is likely to be quickly rooted out by Maguire, a renowned disciplinarian.
The Kiwis are not miles off the pace and there are positives.
Dallin Watene-Zelezniak continues to vindicate the coach’s decision to appoint him as captain.
The inspirational fullback was guilty of a couple of mistakes in the second half but he could not have tried harder to get his team back into the match.
And in Melbourne livewire Brandon Smith, the Kiwis have found their longterm hooker. His absence at dummy-half was clearly noticed when he was given a spell and the sooner Maguire gets him playing 80 minutes the better.
Going the distance is something England have mastered.
Wayne Bennett has had this squad for a few years now and they have the super coach’s stamp all over it.
Defensively, they refuse to go away and showed a ruthless edge yesterday, relentlessly targeting injured wing Jordan Rapana’s edge and punishing the Kiwis’ errors in the second half.
Perhaps most of all, Bennett has instilled a belief in the English players that they can do more than just compete against Australia and New Zealand.
The Kiwis are only just beginning under Maguire and they still have much to learn.