Great Britain 20
Kiwis 14
KEY POINTS:
HUDDERSFIELD, England - New Zealand coach Gary Kemble hailed his young Kiwis after a battling performance in the first rugby league test against Great Britain.
Their 20-14 defeat in Huddersfield was a vast improvement on the record 58-0 defeat by Australia two weeks ago, although Kemble has demanded more from his inexperienced squad during the rest of the three-test series.
Both teams scored three tries, the difference being Great Britain's man-of-the-match half-back Rob Burrow, who kicked all four of his attempts, while recalled Kiwi stand-off Lance Hohaia kicked one from three.
The Kiwis led twice with Shontayne Hape and Paul Whatuira tries giving them a 10-8 half-time lead, while Samoan-born forward Maurie Fa'asavalu scored on his Great Britain debut.
But the British fought back in the second stanza, with Gareth Raynor and 18-year-old debutant Sam Burgess touching down before Hape claimed his second try.
"We've improved out of sight over the last seven-eight days in regards to the team unit and the group," Kemble said.
"The team is very young and I thought they really came on by putting on a good battle on foreign ground, which is always tough.
"And we'll improve on this," he added.
"We'll have a look at the (video) tapes, work on a few things and make sure we're ready for the next test because we have to win it."
The Kiwis' hopes of getting the series off to a winning start were dealt a blow as debutant back-rower Hame Lauaki and winger Tame Tupou were struck by injury.
Lauaki is expected to miss the second test in Hull next Sunday (NZT) with a calf strain, while Tupou, himself a late call-up as a replacement, could be out of the tour with suspected cruciate ligament damage.
Kemble has already seen four of his initial squad ruled out and was pleased with the way his side soldiered on despite the latest injury setbacks.
"I was very impressed with our effort," Kemble said.
"We were down to 15 men for most of the second half and I thought our commitment was good.
"I think our defence was good but our rhythm got upset with losing those two players and we lost our shape a bit in the second half.
"I thought we did really well in the first, our completion rate was over 90 per cent, whereas in the second it wasn't, and I think that was a telling factor, too."
Sam Perrett was the other Kiwi on debut and an otherwise impressive performance was spoilt by an error for Great Britain's second try.
The Sydney Roosters full-back misjudged Burrow's grubber kick into the in-goal area, allowing Raynor to touch down and put the hosts back in front.
"He had that one blue, as full-backs always do, but there was a bit of luck involved there too," said Kemble.
"I thought he had a great game for his first game up and he'll just get better from it."
British prop Burgess, who rocked the Kiwis with a couple of big hits, was put on report for a high tackle on Fuifui Moimoi.
- NZPA
