Rugby League: Harsh international welcome for Lolohea

James Graham is tackled by three Kiwis players during the first test. Photo / Getty

Tui Lolohea looked a slightly stunned man in the KC Stadium corridors on Sunday night, in the wake of the Kiwis 26-12 loss to England.

It had been a harsh welcome to test football for the Warriors utility; there was no gentle easing in - more like a full on whack in the face.

Lolohea and Peta Hiku formed the most inexperienced halves combination the Kiwis have put out for many a year - probably since an 18-year-old Thomas Leuluai and converted centre Nigel Vagana confronted the Kangaroos at North Harbour Stadium in 2003.

They did some things well - and both made a bright start - but like the rest of their team faded as the match went on. It's always difficult to play behind a pack that is going backwards, but as play makers Lolohea and Hiku needed to provide some organsation and structure in the second half, to steady the ship when the Kiwis got a little ragged. They couldn't. Unfortunately they both came up with some individual errors and couldn't provide the kicking game to shift the New Zealand side out of their own territory.

Speaking after the match, Lolohea was still coming to grips with the intensity of the 80 minutes he had just experienced.

"It was pretty hard -it's another step from NRL," said Lolohea. "It's a big step in my career. You have a lot of experienced guys around you, which makes it a bit easier...but it didn't go the way we wanted it to go."

It was always going to be a harsh learning curve for the 20-year-old, who is still finding his feet at NRL level, with only 26 matches under his belt. He impressed for the Warriors at times this year but it's one thing facing the Dragons, Titans or Raiders it's another going up against England, with a capacity crowd baying for blood.

"The Leeds crowd was outstanding and [today's] was just the same," said Lolohea. "They love their footy over here and full credit to England they played some good footy."

The Kiwis had talked up a strategy that centred around Issac Luke on attack, with the hooker providing the direction and setting the tempo, and Lolohea and Hiku feeding off that. That plan started to unravel towards the end of the first half and didn't function in the second; Luke was worn down by his defensive efforts in the middle of the ruck - as the English aimed runners at him all night - and couldn't replicate the influence he had last week at Headingley.

But there was enough in the first half hour to provide a few signs of hope. Lolohea looked dangerous as he ran the ball and put in a couple of handy short kicks. And he was also part of a right edge defence that stayed solid for most of the night, with only one of England's tries occurring down that flank.

"[As a combination Peta and I] were better [on Monday] than last week and we will get better next week," said Lolohea. "It was really hard...[as a team] we kept giving the ball away too much, particularly in our half. [But] everyone's got improvement in them."

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