League: Kiwis win Four Nations opener

Benji Marshall of the Kiwis is tackled by Gareth Ellis of England. Photo / Getty Images

Kiwis 24
England 10

New Zealand have one foot in the Four Nations rugby league final while England have one foot on a plane home to London Heathrow after the Kiwis eased to a 24-10 win in the tournament opener tonight.

A blowout beckoned at 18-0 but England hinted at an unlikely comeback win with two tries in two minures midway through the second half.

It was not to be, however, as the Kiwis held their nerve and delivered a knockout blow when captain Benji Marshall showed his acrobatic skills to dive over in the corner after he had sent Jason Nightingale away down the right wing.

The victory came at a cost with giant wing Manu Vatuvei suffering a confirmed forearm fracture inside three minutes.

The Kiwis outclassed a youthful English side for most of the match.

They played the game at pace and shifted the ball wide as much as possible, finding plenty of space.

An astute kicking game from halves Marshall and Nathan Fien, and hooker Thomas Leuluai, was a feature, as was their bone-jarring defence and the ability to offload in the tackle, with Frank Pritchard and Frank-Paul Nuuausala particularly effective.

It was almost too easy at times but they got a wake-up call when England narrowed the gap to 10-18, dummy half James Roby gathering his own grubber kick to score and fullback Gareth Widdop finishing off a lovely backline move, which started at their own 20m line and featured a bust by centre Michael Shenton.

England must now beat Australia in Melbourne next Sunday to have any chance of making the final.

If they don't, it will be a New Zealand-Australia affair at Brisbane on November 13, provided Papua New Guinea don't chip in with a miracle win.

It was a mixed start for the Kiwis.

They lost dangerman Vatuvei when the big wing made a tackle on Shenton, which forced a reshuffle for the home team with Junior Sa'u moving one spot wider to the wing, versatile second rower Simon Mannering to the centres, and Pritchard into the second row.

But as Vatuvei trudged toward the bench, the Kiwis opened the scoring through Sa'u.

Fien and Leuluai switched roles to create it, Leuluai providing a beautiful cutout pass after Fien had made the right call to go down the blindside from the ruck.

New Zealand stamped their dominance on the rest of the half without cutting loose.

Some poor final-tackle options from the visitors and a pin-point kicking game and good completion rate from the hosts meant most of the play was in England's half.

Centre Shaun Kenny-Dowall and Sa'u crossed the line but were denied, Kenny-Dowall held up and Mannering's final pass to Sa'u ruled forward by the narrowest of margins.

It took until the 34th minute for the Kiwis to add to the score, and it was the play of the match.

An offload inside his own half by Nuuausala put Marshall clear, the standoff boosting away before flicking an inside ball to Nightingale who in turn found fullback Lance Hohaia backing up on the inside.

Kenny-Dowall showed why he was regarded as the best centre in the National Rugby League this season with a brilliant show of strength to score early in the second half, the Roosters centre beating four players from a standing start and crashing over in the tackle of the fifth and sixth to make it 18-0.

New Zealand 24 (Junior Sa'u, Lance Hohaia, Shaun Kenny-Dowall, Benji Marshall tries; Marshall 4 goals) England 10 (James Roby, Gareth Widdop tries; Gareth Widdop goal). Halftime: 12-0.

- NZPA