LEEDS – Adam Doueihi was sent off as New Zealand overcame a first-minute try from Josh Mansour to start the World Cup with a 34-12 win over Lebanon at Warrington.
The Cedars looked like they were set for an ambush after crossing within seconds, but were eventually hauled in by the Kiwis, with Joey Manu showing all his quality to turn the game around.
Doueihi was dismissed midway through the second half in strange circumstances. The game was halted by referee Grant Atkins and the Wests Tigers man could be seen trudging to the sideline while the commentators struggled to grasp what had happened.
It is not yet known what Doueihi said, but a send off will almost certainly rule him out of Lebanon’s next two fixtures, including their crunch match with Ireland next Sunday in Leigh.
“The World Cup hasn’t given us any footage, we have asked for it,” Cedars coach Michael Cheika said.
“We’re all a bit in the dark. It’s a shame we can’t make that decision now because they’re unable to find that footage with the audio on it.”
It was a sorry end to a solid effort, with New Zealand rocked by a strong Cedars side that looked more than capable of causing a shock.
After Mansour’s opener, the Kiwis were forced to work hard to assert authority, with Kenny Bromwich – from an outstanding Manu offload – and Nelson Asofa-Solomona, from close range, able to reverse the early deficit.
Peta Hiku got another from dummy half before Abbas Miski opened the second half by pulling one back. With the score 18-12 and the result in doubt, Manu again injected himself, carrying the ball in one hand to make a break and finding Dylan Brown on the inside. If that wasn’t enough, he then chipped and chased for himself to grab another.
Doueihi was then dismissed and Jordan Rapana scored at the corner – another Manu assist – to cap a hard-fought victory for the Kiwis.
(Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
Manu’s masterclass left Kiwis coach Michael Maguire in awe.
“He has shown throughout his career that he can come up with those plays,” Maguire said, adding his side needed to be better at sticking to script. “We put a bit of pressure on at times but we just didn’t stay at it long enough to be able to put (more) points on.”
Luke of the Irish as Keary far too good for Jamaica
Luke Keary put on a clinic as Ireland powered past Jamaica, running out comfortable 48-2 winners at Headingley Stadium.
The Roosters half was far too good for a largely part-time Jamaica side, mesmerizing them to create several breaks and run for 134m from five eighth. Whenever he touched the footy, Jamaica looked terrified.
Ireland were never truly challenged, with the battering ram wingers, twins Innes and Louis Senior, building the platform for Keary to work off, with the star turn able to retire after 60 minutes with his work done.
“It was awesome just to put the jersey on, it’s been a special night,” Keary told the BBC. “We had some rust with the ball but it was exciting to share the field with Jamaica in their first game in the tournament.
“It steps up next week against Lebanon – we know they are going to be a tough task. They’ve got a class backline with Adam and Mitch, it’s a big test for us.”
Louis scored twice, Innes got one, Ed Chamberlain touched down after a sublime Keary assist and there were tries for hooker Brendan O’Hagan and both King brothers, Toby and George, and late efforts for James McDonnell, James Bentley and Frankie Halton.
Wigan prop Liam Bryne, Titans forward Jaimin Joliffe and former Raiders backrower Harry Rushton dominated a big Jamaican pack, who battled hard but could not compete with the strength and stamina.
Jamaica, on World Cup debut, were backed vociferously but failed to seriously threaten the line. Their only points came courtesy of a Kieran Rush penalty goal, from an infringement after the halftime siren.
It was hard to judge the ability of the Ireland team, who always seemed to have gears they could move into, against this opposition. Next up is Lebanon, who will offer a much sterner challenge.
Jamaica will face the Kiwis next: that could be any score.
Maizen hat trick sees Italy cruise past Scotland
Sunshine Coast Falcons star Jake Maizen has made a name for himself at the World Cup by scoring the tournament’s first hat-trick in Italy’s shock win over Scotland at Newcastle.
Yet while the second-half treble for the flyer was the undoubted highlight for the Azzurri, it was a bona fide NRL luminary, Nathan Brown, who pulled all the strings in their dominant 28-4 upset win at Kingston Park on Sunday.
On his Italy debut, Maizen looked to have missed his chance of a glorious bow when he spilled a great opportunity to go over in the first half.
But he made up for it after the break with a treble that was sealed when he raced away from 80 metres out to score in the 77th minute.
Maizen was joined on the scoresheet by his Falcons’ teammate Luke Polselli and 31-year-old Sydneysider Dean Parata, a London Broncos hooker.
It was Brown, though, who proved the dominant figure just two weeks after he featured in Parramatta’s NRL grand final loss.
“It’s a privilege to captain my country and a proud moment for Italian rugby league,” said Brown, who has Italian heritage on his mother’s side and played for the Azzurri alongside Australia’s captain James Tedesco at the last edition.
“We had a good preparation and all the boys believed we could do it. We said all week we wanted to play for our families, and for each other and we did that.”
For the Scottish Bravehearts, though, it was a calamitous afternoon as they never got going and managed only one try from another Australian, Lachlan Walmsley, in the dying stages.
Quarter-finalists in 2013, Scotland had gone into the game as favourites but are now set for the wooden spoon following a lifeless display in front of a 6,206 crowd.
And the really bad news? Nathan Graham’s side next have to play Australia in Coventry on Friday night.
They had no answer to the ball-handling skills of man-of-the-match Brown, who did most to evoke memories of Italy’s shock triumph over Wales in the opening game of the 2013 World Cup in Cardiff.
Graham was able to call on six players from Super League and the Dolphins’ Euan Aitken but they were outplayed by a side which didn’t even have a warm-up match.
Polselli just managed to latch on to Radean Robinson’s grubber with inches to spare to score the first try on nine minutes before Parata dummied his way over for their second midway through the first half.
Scotland made it even harder for themselves when skipper Dale Ferguson was sin-binned four minutes before halftime for foul play, which helped Maizen go over for his first try in the 44th minute, before he then notched his second after a defensive blunder.
