The win hardly anyone saw

Man-of-the-match Shaun Johnson felt the small crowd for Saturday’s tripleheader in Auckland was disappointing, but not surprising.

No official figure has been released for Saturday’s league test, but it’s understood there were about 13,000 spectators.

Those who turned up were rewarded with an incredible try by Chanel Harris Tavita in the Junior Kiwis’ 40-24 defeat to the Junior Kangaroos, an entertaining game between the Kiwi Ferns and Jillaroos and a blockbuster where the Kiwis upset the Kangaroos 26-24.

Johnson hopes the day will encourage more to come along next time, and also restore the public’s faith in the Kiwis.

‘‘I hope it gets that path in motion,’’ Johnson said.

‘‘We saw with the crowd that there were a few diehards there, but in my eyes it was a bit disappointing. We had three tests, with the Junior Kiwis, the women’s and then the men’s.

‘‘In Auckland, the hub of rugby league, I thought there would be a bit more interest, but maybe that just shows where New Zealand Rugby League is at, at the moment.

‘‘We understand that we’ve put ourselves in this position and it’s only going to take effort and performances like [Saturday] night to rebuild that trust with our league community.’’