League: Smaller England side give Kiwis a workout

WARRINGTON - Lance Hohaia limped from the field after rounding out a man-of-the-match display against England with a 78th-minute try that gave New Zealand a hard-fought 30-22 win.

Hohaia is expected to step into Stacey Jones' shoes for the remainder of the Tri-Nations, and coach for the day Graeme Norton was quick to dispel any fears over the halfback's fitness.

"He's okay, he'll be right for next week," Norton said. "He got through the whole 80 minutes and we are very pleased."

The Kiwis made hard work of seeing off a spirited England side, who scored first and twice regained the lead before finally falling behind to a Paul Whatuira try 12 minutes from time.

Hohaia's try, the Kiwis' sixth, made the game safe and was a fitting reward for a player whose kicking game tied the English in knots all afternoon.

England just about matched the bigger, more athletic New Zealanders but, just like the full Great Britain side in London two weeks' ago, they failed utterly to deal with the high ball.

The hosts were rewarded for an early spell of pressure when winger Mark Calderwood won the race to skipper Chris Thorman's sixth-minute grubber for a try that Thorman converted.

Whatuira was denied a try when the video referee spotted a knock-on in the opposite corner by winger Manu Vatuvei but the Kiwis did pull level when Vatuvei rose unchallenged to claim Hohaia's bomb in the 14th minute.

Hohaia nailed the touchline conversion but the Kiwis weren't level for long. Calderwood streaked past fullback Henry Fa'afili for a classic speedster's try.

Thorman could not convert from wide out but Hohaia was on song with his boot, drilling a second touchline conversion after Shotayne Hape had taken Ali Lauiti'iti's pass and shrugged off opposite number Ben Westwood.

Five minutes before the break, Thorman locked up the scores with a close-range penalty after Joe Vagana was penalised at the play-the-ball.

For once the Kiwis started a second half well, winger Jake Webster claiming another Hohaia bomb.

Two slick tries in the space of three minutes, from wing David Hodgson and prop Eorl Crabtree, put England back in front by six before the Kiwis lifted their intensity.

They closed to within two courtesy of Fa'afili's last-tackle try in the left-hand corner.

Thorman and forward Lee Radford then contrived to spill the ball back over their own line, and Hohaia pounced.

"It was a very tough game and it was nice that we showed the character to hold on for the full 80 minutes," Norton said.

The Kiwis play Great Britain in the fifth Tri-Nations test in Huddersfield on Sunday morning.

- NZPA