Tapine's Kiwis narrowly fall to Australia in opening match of the World Cup
- Author
- Timestamp
A dazzling debut hat-trick from Jack Bostock helped the Kangaroos to a 24-22 win over arch-rivals New Zealand in an epic World Cup opener at Allianz Stadium.
With flashy fullbacks Reece Walsh (206 run metres, 9 tackle breaks) and Kalyn Ponga (253 run metres) producing incredible highlights and three tries between them, the record crowd of 41,255 was royally entertained.
Ponga's second try in the 60th minute looked to have the Kiwis on track for a memorable victory but he was forced from the field 10 minutes later with a suspected broken arm in a huge blow for the Kiwis.
Dolphins flyer Bostock ran for 231 metres to go with his hat-trick and capped his night by collecting the man of the match award. He is the first Kangaroo to score three tries on debut since Campbell Graham against Scotland at the 2022 World Cup.
Jack Bostock Try
The Kiwis struck first in the fourth minute when Jahrome Hughes went to the air and the ball came down off Ronaldo Mulitalo to Isaiah Papali'i who offloaded for Casey McLean to set sail for the corner.
McLean did a remarkable job to get the ball down with his whole body over the sideline and Mitch Moses desperately trying to deny him.
The conversion from touch by Jamayne Isaako gave the Kiwis the early 6-0 advantage and they threatened again five minutes later when Mulitalo again chased a Hughes bomb and the ball spilled into the in-goal where the Kiwi winger grounded it but replays showed he had knocked on in the contest.
Kalyn Ponga 2nd Try
The Kiwis continued to hold sway until the 20-minute mark when Bostock intercepted a Hughes pass and raced 88 metres to score the Kangaroos' opening try of the tournament. Reece Walsh's conversion attempt hit the upright to leave the scoreline at 6-4.
Come the 26-minute mark and Isaako extended the margin to four after Walsh put a line dropout out on the full and the Kiwis received a penalty right in front.
With the Kiwis mounting more pressure on the left edge in the 31st minute it was Tom Trbojevic picking off a McLean pass and sprinting 85 metres to put Australia in front despite having just 41 per cent of possession in the opening half-hour.
Five minutes before the break the sold-out crowd was brought to its feet when Ponga exploded into space and took on Walsh but the Kangaroos No.1 came up with a superb cover tackle to take him into touch.
Kotoni Staggs sent to the bin
The Kangaroos went down a man just before half-time when Kotoni Staggs was sin binned for a professional foul after dragging back Kodi Nikorima as he chased a Hughes grubber. Isaako banged over the penalty goal and the Trans-Tasman rivals went to the break all locked up at 10-10.
A blow for Australia in the 42nd minute with Moses hobbling from the field with a calf injury and replaced by Tom Dearden.
With Staggs just moments away from returning from the bin the Kiwis cashed in on the left edge when Papali'i delivered the final pass for Ponga to score in his maiden Test in New Zealand colours. Isaako nailed the conversion to take the Kiwis out to 16-10 with 32 minutes to play.
Match: Australia v New Zealand
Round 1 -
home Team
Australia
away Team
New Zealand
Venue: Allianz Stadium, Sydney
The Kiwis looked to have gone further ahead in the 56th minute when Trbojevic made a meal of cleaning up a kick, McLean pounced and sent the ball on to Mulitalo who streaked away to score but replays showed Papali'i was offside on the chase and came inside the 10 metres.
Just a minute later the Kangaroos hit back when Bostock made it a double on debut when he came up with a trademark leap off a pinpoint Cameron Munster kick. Walsh nailed the conversion to lock us up again at 16-16.
Cometh the hour mark cometh the man as Ponga came up with a solo special after leaving Munster in his wake on the 40-metre line and then putting a sizzling step on Walsh to dot down next to the posts.
Reece Walsh Try
In the battle of the gun No.1s it was Walsh who struck next with an 80-metre special after taking a superb offload from Bostock and beating three defenders on a charge to the line. Latrell Mitchell stepped up to take the conversion from wide out but couldn't guide it home.
With the Kiwis clinging to a 22-20 lead, Bostock produced another magical moment as he out-jumped Isaako and brought the ball down to complete his hat-trick with four minutes to play.
From there the world champions hung on to open their title defence in style as they racked up a 19th successive victory at World Cups.
The Kangaroos head to Brisbane in Round 2 to face Fiji at Suncorp Stadium while the Kiwis will lick their wounds and head home to Christchurch to take on Cook Islands.
There were plenty of positives for the Kiwis despite the defeat with Hughes' kicking game superb throughout the night and forwards Naufahu Whyte and James Fisher-Harris racking up 302 run metres between them.
