Rugby League: Freeman's patience helps Kiwi revival

HULL - Monty Betham says there was no anxiety in the Kiwis camp as they made a stodgy start to their tour of Britain and France, finally clearing out to a comfortable 28-11 win over Hull.

Betham was steeling himself for a blast from Gary Freeman after the team bumbled through the first half to trail 6-7.

But at halftime the coach personified the composure that eventually wore down Hull's stout resistance before a passionate crowd of 12,093.

"After such an ugly half of football I've never seen anyone so calm and collected," Betham said. "I was expecting a bollocking."

Instead Freeman preached patience, urging the team to keep calm in a pressure-cooker atmosphere. The approach paid off as the Kiwis ran in four second-half tries and held Hull at bay until the 80th minute, when wing Paul Parker signed off the scoring at the 107-year-old ground.

Given that some of his team had not played for several weeks and the demise of the ground made for an emotional atmosphere, Freeman was not envisaging a sublime opening.

But the error rate alarmed him as a fired-up Hull side forced the Kiwis into mistake after mistake.

The Kiwis were almost exclusively camped in their half for the first quarter but staunch defence limited the home side to one try, from makeshift centre Richard Horne.

Despite having difficult with a greasy surface and the interpretations of referee Robert Connolly, the Kiwis cranked into gear in the closing 10 minutes of the half when fullback David Vaealiki jinked over from close range.

Either side of that try, a Francis Meli attempt was ruled out by an earlier forward pass from Lance Hohaia while the video referee correctly adjudged Motu Tony lost control of the ball as he lunged for the line.

Veteran Australian centre Graham Mackay closed the half with a booming 50m drop goal.

The Kiwis were clearly dominant after the break. Wing Henry Fa'afili (twice), Meli and centre Nigel Vagana all scored to seal the contest entering the final quarter.

Freeman singled out Michael Smith's debut off the bench for special mention.

"We knew they were going to come out strongly in the first 20 to 40 minutes but the game was going to be won in the second half - we never doubted that."

Hull coach Shaun McRae said the Kiwis now had a solid platform ahead of next month's three-test series. "They showed how physical they're going to be on this tour."

The Kiwis have a pool recovery session in Leeds today.

They will resume training tomorrow before the team to play St Helens on Saturday morning (New Zealand time) is named.

Stacey Jones, Jerry SeuSeu, Ali Lauiti'iti, David Solomona and Robbie Paul will have a role against the Super League champions.

- NZPA