Send off mars Kiwis’ thumping Fiji win to secure semi
Ed Jackson |
New Zealand’s Ronaldo Mulitalo faces a nervous wait on his future in the Rugby League World Cup after being sent off in the second half of the Kiwis’ thumping 78-0 win over Fiji.
The Kiwis were unstoppable at CBUS Super Stadium, running in 13 tries to none with Casey McLean scoring four and Keano Kini a double – with all 13 converted by Jamayne Isaako – to secure a semi-final spot in comprehensive fashion.
But winger Mulitalo’s dismissal in the 52nd minute for a shoulder charge will have him nervously awaiting the judiciary charge sheet.
In the wake of the shot on Ronald Philitoga, Mulitalo was confronted by angry Fiji players with Brandon Wakeham also receiving his marching orders after he punched the Kiwi in the head in the melee.
New Zealand coach Stacey Jones refused to speculate on his plans should Mulitalo receive a ban, which could possibly end his tournament even if New Zealand reach the November 15 final in Brisbane.
“We’ll wait and see what it looks like, and then we’ll go from there,” Jones said. “But it’s still early stages yet, so we’ll have a look at it.”
Philitoga was one of three Fiji players who would fail HIAs in the thrashing, including skipper Api Koroisau who came off in the 10th minute and was sent to hospital with a suspected facial fracture.
By the time Koroisau was ruled out, Fiji were already down 12-0 and things didn’t get better from there as the Kiwis backed up their 82-0 flogging of the Cook Islands with another imperious display.
“They were red hot, I thought, and especially in the first half,” Fiji coach Mick Potter said, admitting his side had simply been outclassed by the Kiwis across the park.
“They were uncompromising and their attitude to the game I thought was special.
“They’ll give the competition a shake.”
Such was the Kiwis’ dominance, Jones was able to give halfback Jahrome Hughes and hooker Jeremy Marshall-King early marks, taking both off halfway through the second half.
Fiji’s Jacob Saifiti said the Kiwis possessed one of the best forward packs ever assembled, a statement backed up with Naufahu Whyte delivering a player of the match performance in coming off the bench to record 200 running metres.
In total New Zealand racked up 1670 run metres to Fiji’s 779 with 12 line breaks to nil while Fiji notched a whopping 46 missed tackles.
The Kiwis will face the winner of Sunday’s clash between Samoa and Tonga in next weekend’s semi-final.
Jones said fullback Kalyn Ponga is a chance to feature in that game after returning to training just two weeks after breaking his arm in the Kiwis’ opener against Australia.
“He trained this week and we’ll see where he’s at next week,” Jones said. “Again, just wait and see.”
AAP