Following their heartbreaking exit from the Rugby League World Cup, a former Kiwi Test representative has pointed to a number of decisions by New Zealand coach Michael Maguire as the cause of the defeat after his team were up at halftime.
Tony Kemp, who played 25 Tests for New Zealand, told SEN Radio that Kemp's decisions โ including letting captain Jesse Bromwich start over Panthers prop Moses Leota โ ultimately cost the Kiwis the game, claiming โthis is one we let get away. We should have won it.โ
โThere were crucial decisions (to be made) on replacing players and starting players at the right time.
โLike starting Moses for Jesse. I think they would have got it.
โImagine that โ New Zealand versus Samoa in the grand final. Auckland would have come to a standstill.โ
While Maguire used his post-match press conference to claim that the result showed New Zealand was โfinally' on par with Mal Meninga's team, Kemp took umbrage with the suggestion.
โOne of the comments I really don't get is I heard Maguire say after the match that โWe're there now with Australia',โ Kemp continued.
โWe've been with Australia since 2008, not 2022. This hasn't happened in three years.
โWe had a really poor time under David Kidwell, the organisation was in turmoil, they were run by an average CEO who was making poor decisions.
โBut the Kiwis team have been next to Australia since 2008.โ
The lead-up to the game had also created frustration for the Kiwi team, with the news breaking that World Cup organisers had already booked their tickets home prior to the game.
Though it's often standard practice to help secure flights for teams that may be eliminated, the timing of the news was less than ideal and an issue that the Kiwi players took exception to both in the lead-up and after.
