Rugby League: Kiwis on hiding to nothing

By PETER JESSUP

The Kiwis have little to win from the test at Ericsson Stadium in Auckland tomorrow afternoon, the French everything.

A strange thing to say, since there is a new Kiwi coach and several new players, and certainly all internationals should be taken seriously, regardless of how seriously you take the opposition.

The expectation is for a 30-plus points gap. Anything less is sure to incite a major post- mortem.

That denies the fact that the French are an international side, and were once one of the big forces in the game.

Former Kiwi wing Mark Bourneville went from the Mt Albert club on the 1985 Kiwi tour to Britain and France, and liked the latter so much he went back to play club football and finished up appearing for the Tricolors.

He was on the sideline at Grey Lynn Park yesterday when the 2001 French tourists, many of whom he played against, went through their pre-test training.

Asked for a prediction, he said: "The French are always the French - they could be red hot or stone cold on the day."

Their aim would be as it had been traditionally, Bourneville said, not so much to stop the opposition scoring as to outscore the opposition.

The training showed the poor state of the French game now, with the players in begged and borrowed jerseys and jackets, including NRL gear from the Warriors and others, and New South Wales State of Origin shorts and socks purloined from God knows where.

Former Perth Reds and Paris St Germaine coach Peter Mulholland was there, directing the also-rans in defensive patterns against the test side and telling the test players where they could make breaks.

What would the French bring to the match?

"Full-on enthusiasm. It's a solid side, a good mix," Mulholland said.

He has been conducting video reviews, instructing on the strengths and weaknesses of the Kiwi players, and getting the French up to the NRL style which the Kiwis and referee Tim Mander will bring to the game.

"They want desperately to be competitive," Mulholland said. "They want to play the best in the world and to learn and improve."

Artie Shead grew up on Auckland's North Shore, and took a punt on a professional career in France.

After three years with the Villeneuve club, the 22-year-old yesterday hooked a starting prop's role with the tourists after World Cup player Rachid Hechiche was ruled out with a neck injury.

Shead played with and against future Kiwis, including Monty Betham, in Auckland age-group teams, and would like to be on the other side.

"But there's a long waiting list for the Kiwis," he said.

His family will be out at Ericsson Stadium to see him in action.

"They'll probably be 50-50, maybe a bit on the winning side," he laughed.

The French game?

"Over there it's niggly" - and he shows a tackle-hidden uppercut - "but they know they won't get away with it here."

The French had plenty of talent, he said, and would not be disgraced.

French rake Vincent Wulf, 29, is also in the side, through a Mt Albert connection.

Kiwi coach Gary Freeman was pleased with the build-up, the attitude and an injury-free squad.

And he was less concerned with the French than what his side would do.

"We just need to make sure we are on our game," he said. With a commanding performance, players could secure a start against the benchmark Australians in the only other Kiwi assignment this year, in Wellington on July 13.