KEY POINTS:
A record 58-0 thrashing at the hands of the Kangaroos yesterday left the Kiwis with a lot of soul searching to do as they prepare for a four match rugby league tour of Britain and France.
The Kiwis, who spent the majority of the match with only 12 players after centre Steve Matai was red carded for a careless tackle, were powerless to stop the Australians, who ran in 11 tries in front of 16,600 stunned league fans at Wellington's Westpac Stadium.
Injuries added to the pain for new Kiwis coach Gary Kemble but he admitted there were not many positives to be salvaged from the match.
"First of all we made too many errors in the first half, we were a little bit flat. But no excuses, even with 12 men I thought we could have played a little bit better ... "
Matai got his marching orders after crashing into star Australian centre Mark Gasnier with a flying arm.
Gasnier was carted from the field as concerned teammates looked on and Kangaroos coach Ricky Stuart said the tackle had knocked him senseless.
"He's not good mate", Stuart said after the test. "At half time he couldn't open his eyes - he actually thought he was in Melbourne."
Kemble had little to say about the tackle, which immediately earned Matai a two match ban - likely to apply to pre-season NRL games next year - but questioned referee Steve Ganson's decision to give him a red card.
"Usually they go on report and that's the end of it ... that's an experience I will learn from," he said.
Stuart was not so forgiving. "It was late and it was a cheap shot, and it's in his game," he said. "Late and cheap like that, it's not good for the game."
The Kiwis also missed wing Luke Covell, who went off with a dislocated elbow within the first few minutes of the game, and fullback Krisnan Inu, who played part of the game with a shoulder injury until it forced him off in the second half.
There were hopes from Kiwis supporters that new players in the team would step up and be a handful for the Australians but that was largely not the case.
Kemble said there would be a lot of assessing going on in the next few days before the team departs this month to play three tests against Britain and one against France.
"They've got a lot of work to do and we'll be addressing their deficiencies over the next week and a half," Kemble said.
"The players are disappointed, they're playing for their country ... They're a close-knit bunch so they will really take it to heart."
Meanwhile, Stuart said the Kangaroos had prepared well and performed clinically on the day.
He praised the swag of players who made their international debut yesterday, including 18-year-old double try-scorer Israel Folau.
"There are not many 18-year-olds that can do what he's done this year", he said of the prolific Melbourne Storm try-scorer.
"I think it showed what quality young guys we've got in Australia and I think that's healthy for our team moving forward."
Kangaroos captain Cameron Smith said anyone could have captained his team yesterday and the performance would have been top class.
"Such quality players and very good coaching staff behind us, so it's one day that will be in my mind forever."
- NZPA
