Five-eighths dilemma for Maguire
At a glance
Kiwis coach Michael Maguire has an interesting selection dilemma to make for this weekend’s test against the Great Britain Lions in Christchurch.
With Kieran Foran ruled out for what is believed to be a dislocated shoulder in Saturday’s 12-8 win over the Lions at Eden Park, Maguire has two options at fiveeighth.
He either goes with Shaun Johnson, who was dumped from the team after playing poorly against the Kangaroos on October 26, or with Kodi Nikorima, who answered an SOS call to play at hooker in Auckland after Brandon Smith was stood down.
‘‘It’s a great dilemma to have,’ Maguire told yesterday. ‘‘I’ve been trying to build the depths of what we’re trying to do here and the players understand that.
‘‘There will be some big decisions that are made over the next couple of days, but ultimately they’ve got to get behind each other and whoever steps out on the field, we’re still a squad of people trying to achieve something together.
‘‘We’ll go through that and I’ll talk to a number of players over a couple of days, then pick the team that I believe can do the best for us on the day.’’
With four quality halves, Benji Marshall being the other, it could be a tricky job for Maguire to manage them.
They’re all stars for their NRL clubs and don’t often have to deal with rejection, but Maguire says the strong bond within the team helps stop any ego issues emerging.
New Zealand 12
(Jamayne Isaako, Corey Harawera-Naera tries; Isaako 2 goals)
(Daryl Clark try; Gareth Widdop 2 goals). 2-2.
Britain 8
HT:
Great
‘‘It says a lot about your character and having an understanding of what we’re building here,’’ he said.
‘‘You’ve got to put all of those things aside and we’re playing for the country.’’
Foran went for scans on his shoulder yesterday and the severity of his injury won’t be known until the results come back. But it’s another blow in a career that has been besieged by off field issues.
‘‘He’s obviously got his club and everyone else ready to get behind him and help him get back,’’ Maguire said.
‘‘I’m shattered for him, because he’s a pro. You see him around the camp and he does everything possible to get himself right.’’
The Lions have been poor on this tour and it was only in the last 10 minutes against the Kiwis that they played to their potential.
But Maguire was unhappy the Kiwis gave Great Britain the opportunity to play like that.
‘‘We allowed that to happen through various things we did and that’s what the game of rugby league is,’’ he said.
‘‘If you do the certain things that we talked about, which we did for long periods of the game, then all of a sudden go away from that, you’re inviting the opposition to come back in.
‘‘At this level teams can come back at any moment of a game and we were fortunate to land on the right side.
‘‘It’s a Kenny Bromwich tackle [on Jermaine McGillvary in the last few minutes], compared a try
being scored against us.
‘‘You don’t want to put yourself into those positions too often,
but you’ve got to be prepared to go to the next level when those sorts of things happen.’’