Kiwis coach switches lineup for Irish clash

Ireland’s star NRL half Luke Keary could be forgiven for having a restless night after the Kiwis’ surprise switch of Nelson Asofa-Solomona to the second row.

Kiwis coach Michael Maguire has made two tantalising tactical moves – naming the 2m 115kg Asofa-Solomona in the back row and regular second rower Briton Nikora as a starting centre – for the final Rugby League World Cup pool game against Ireland in Leeds tomorrow.

Asofa-Solomona has been, by and large, a middle forward since his NRL debut in 2015.

But Maguire saw something he liked when the Melbourne man deputised in the second row ‘‘at the back end’’ of the

Storm’s NRL campaign and has given him a shot on the Kiwis’ right edge.

‘‘He showed some real quality with the things he can do as a backrower and he moves really good for a big guy.’’

Switching Asofa-Solomona to the second row allows Maguire ‘‘to get some of the other guys within the squad to be in the middle of the park’’.

Maguire said Asofa-Solomona and Isaiah Papali’i, the Eels second rower who moves to the interchange bench, can alternate between them playing on an edge or playing in the middle.

‘‘Isaiah can do a good job for us [as an interchange forward]. He’s powerful and strong too when he’s got the ball and he can create good momentum in the middle, and Nelson can spend a bit more time on the field as well.’’

Asofa-Solomona said after his second row stint at the Storm he would like to have a long-term future there, and Maguire said he ‘‘probably surprised the people in Melbourne how well he went there’’.

Maguire expects opposition ball players to ‘‘try to go at a big guy like Nelson’’, but they could be in for a shock.