League: Kiwis fired up to atone for 'dumb' decision-making

LEEDS - Cutting out "dumb" decisions will be a prime concern for the Kiwis tomorrow morning when they end a disappointing Tri-Nations campaign with a test against Great Britain at Hull.

With Australia and Great Britain putting the accent on mistake-free football on their way to qualifying for the final, errors have been the New Zealanders' major weakness.

After an opening round draw with Australia in Auckland a month ago, they have fallen to both the Kangaroos and Lions in England after holding halftime leads.

Bradford skipper Robbie Paul, who will be appearing in his 28th test for New Zealand, said the Kiwis knew they had to hold on to the ball.

He said New Zealand probably had more attacking ability than the other sides in the competition, but that had also been the source of their problems.

"These guys are freaks - they can come off both feet, they can carry the ball in one hand," he said.

"But that can get away from us. Our decision-making at times has been dumb. We've overplayed too much.

"We need to marry the two - being patient and allowing that free-flowing backyard rugby to come through. When we play at our best, that's when we get the marriage right."

Both teams will be changed from the last time they met, at Huddersfield two weeks ago, when the Lions won 22-12 on the back of three quick tries early in the second half.

The Kiwis will be without their most experienced player, skipper Ruben Wiki, and their most dominant attacking force, lock Sonny Bill Williams, because of injury.

Great Britain coach Brian Noble will rest frontline forwards Paul Sculthorpe and Jamie Peacock. Also on the sidelines will be hooker Terry Newton and interchange forward Ryan Bailey, who are nursing injuries that are not expected to keep them out of the final in Leeds next weekend.

Paul, who will start on the bench, as he did in his two other appearances at the tournament, said people who thought the Kiwis had nothing left to play for at KC Stadium were wrong.

"It's the opposite. We've got everything to play for. We've got our names, our pride, our nation to play for, because there's a feeling within this team that we let this tournament slip."

Paul said he was not expecting any let-up from Britain, referring to Noble as being from the old school, where all tests were there to be won.

THE LINEUPS

Hull, 7am tomorrow

* New Zealand (starting lineup): Brent Webb, Francis Meli, Nigel Vagana, Clinton Toopi, Shontayne Hape, Vinnie Anderson, Thomas Leuluai, Jason Cayless, Dene Halatau, Paul Rauhihi (c), Logan Swann, Ali Lauitiiti, Louis Anderson. INTERCHANGE: Robbie Paul, Ray Asotasi, Nathan Cayless, Wairangi Koopu. 18th man: Alex Chan.

* Great Britain (from): Paul Wellens, Brian Carney, Stuart Reardon, Paul Johnson, Martin Gleeson, Keith Senior, Chev Walker, Danny McGuire, Sean Long, Iestyn Harris, Mickey Higham, Matt Diskin, Andy Farrell (captain), Adrian Morley, Stuart Fielden, Danny Ward, Gareth Ellis, Stephen Wild, Sean O'Loughlin.
- NZPA