"It would have been great to have Roger out there, there's no doubt about that," coach Stephen Kearney said. "But I don't think having him out there was going to stop Cameron [Smith], Cooper [Cronk], Johnathan Thurston and their forward pack play the way they did."
The Kiwis were lucky they didn't lose their other wing Manu Vatuvei after he went crashing into the advertising hoardings and got his arm trapped. Vatuvei was bundled down one of the steep banks that surround the playing surface at Old Trafford after trying to slap a kick back into play and crashed heavily.
Players were concerned about their safety before the game, especially after Luke Lewis' World Cup campaign ended a month ago when he banged into an advertising hoarding and seriously injured his shoulder and knocked himself out. Thurston called for extra padding in the leadup to the game but the commercial realities meant it didn't happen.
The in-goals at Old Trafford were only 4m long - they're usually at least twice that in the NRL - and the ground dipped away sharply after the deadball line. Australia's Brett Morris was also in a bad way after scoring a try and slipping off the pitch into the hoardings.
"It was too dangerous, but you've got to play with it," Vatuvei said. "I am honoured to play on this historic field. I came out all right."
