Kiwis coach Michael Maguire is nearing his holy grail.
When he was appointed four years ago, the Australian was adamant he could take the Kiwis back to the top of international rugby league.
That seemed a long way away – after the disastrous 2017 World Cup campaign – but Maguirehas never wavered from his convictions.
He had the perfect start – with the win over the Kangaroos at Mt Smart in 2018 - and has also achieved victories over England, Tonga and Great Britain.
More importantly, he has restored pride in the jersey and improved the culture and environment, no small feat given the Kiwis didn’t play for more than two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
But judgement day is coming, with the World Cup semifinal against Australia on Saturday (8:45am).
Toppling the Kangaroos is the benchmark for all great Kiwis teams, from 1983 and 1985, 2005 and 2008 and the threepeat between 2014-15.
Maguire has rich resources, especially in the forwards. There is also potentially a wonderful spine, though perhaps not the flair in the outside backs of other great Kiwis teams.
But the biggest issue is combinations and cohesion. Whereas previous Kiwis team have relied on a collective output well beyond the sum of their individual parts, this squad has yet to fully click, like a car constructed of expensive components but lacking oil.
“I do think we’ve got a lot more in us,” said Maguire. “But I’ve seen passages of play where I’ve been really pleased and the style of how we want to play the game has been set. So what better time to make sure that we get our best game, going into the semifinal against Australia.”
The Kiwis have had promising patches but nothing yet that has marked them out as potential champions.
But Maguire feels the team are ready to peak and said the tough quarter-final against Fiji was a blessing.
“We had to dig in a fair bit in that last game to come out the other end and facing adversity says a lot about a group,” said Maguire. “That was something we’ve shown at times throughout the tournament. It hasn’t been plain sailing the whole way through.”
Kiwis head coach Michael Maguire speaks to the players during a training session. Photo / Photosport
The Kiwis are underdogs, with Australia heavy favourites across bookmakers. It’s partly history – the last time the Kangaroos didn’t make a World Cup final was the first one, way back in 1954 – and partly form, with their effortless progress so far and numerous attacking threats.
“That seems to be the case everywhere I’m going,” said Maguire of the talk about Australia. “But I’ve got a really good group of players and a great group of men. We’ve spoken about how we want to be as a team. This is our next step now, obviously wanting to achieve the things that we’ve spoken about.”
Maguire read the riot act after the Fiji performance – both with individuals and in a group meeting - but saw that as a reminder of the standards that had been previously set.
The short week, with just one full training session, doesn’t seem ideal given the running repairs needed but Maguire assured it had been productive.
The key selection decisions in the 19-man squad saw Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad preferred to Marata Niukore at centre while prop Moses Leota comes into the pack.
Niukore was available, but his lack of match time after injury counted against him.
“It was a big decision,” conceded Maguire.
Veteran prop Jared Waerea-Hargreaves (hamstring) wasn’t considered fit enough, but will be available next week, should the Kiwis progress.
“It’s definitely been tough for Jared,” said Maguire. “It’s just obviously just an unfortunate pathway that he’s gone down [previous suspensions].
Maguire has studied Australia but was reluctant to go into details. He admitted hooker Harry Grant was a major threat, but said intelligence from his Melbourne Storm teammates in the Kiwis would help their preparations.
Overall, they won’t lack for motivation.
“The expectations from the team have been set,” said Maguire. “We’re playing in a semifinal in a World Cup against Australia and the players are aware of what they need to do.”
Now they have to deliver. The Kiwis squad are one of the most hyped to leave these shores but the final verdict is not far away.
“We’ve got to show everyone that we can be that team,” said Maguire. “It doesn’t matter what people might think about us, but it’s what we do. That’s going to be the telling factor of us as a group.”
