It took a last second field goal to save Great Britain from the humiliation of succumbing to a 3-0 sweep by New Zealand. Otherwise, it was very much the same story as last week, with the British dominating the first half and the Kiwis running away with the second period.
Both Keith Senior and Daryl Halligan went close to scoring tries, but the only points of the first quarter came from penalty goals, first by Andy Farrell and then by Halligan. It was Great Britain that got the first breakthrough, with a try on 22 mins. A grubber kick by Tony Smith close to the New Zealand line, was fumbled by Gary Connolly as he attempted to gather, the ball went loose and Jason Robinson was first to pick up the pieces for an easy touchdown. The video judge was called into play and whilst it certainly looked as if Connolly had knocked-on, he gave him the benefit of the doubt and awarded the try. Farrell converted to give Britain a 8-2 lead.
A multi-player brawl erupted in the 32nd minute, after the Kiwis took exception to a spear-tackle by Paul Sculthorpe on Joe Vagana. When order was restored, Sculthorpe and Jarrod McCracken were sent to the sin-bin for a cooling down period. Another penalty goal from Farrell, on 38 mins, edged the British further ahead, but then Keith Senior was despatched to the sin-bin, for arguing with the referee and the home team was down to eleven men.
Just as in the 2nd Test, Great Britain had dominated most of the first half and were good value for their 10-2 halftime lead. Just what Frank Endacott gives to his men at the interval, is a closely guarded secret, but once again New Zealand came out for the second half with a completely different attitude. Their first try of the game came on 42 mins, as the Kiwis threw the ball around with gay abandon on the last tackle. Eventually, Henry Paul did a wrap-around with Sean Hoppe, to score in the corner, right where Senior should have been. Halligan added the extra points from the touchline conversion and also kicked a penalty goal on 50 mins, to tie the game up at 10-10.
It must have been a case of 'deja vous' as New Zealand ran in two more tries in quick succession, both courtesy of Robbie Paul. The first came after Richie Barnett collected a kick on his own 20m line. He combined with Kevin Iro to take the ball 50m downfield, before the British defence caught up with him. Stacey Jones then ran at the defensive line, made the half-break and off-loaded to Robbie Paul, for him to cross under the posts. Paul's second try came after the Kiwis toyed with the British defence, who were unable to complete a tackle and were allowing the ball to be thrown around as in a basketball game. Halligan hit the target with both conversions and the score stood at 10-22.
To their credit, Great Britain did not throw in the towel and hit back almost immediately. Sean Long caught the New Zealand defence off-guard and he scampered in for a try on 66 mins, which Farrell converted, to bring the game back to 16-22. Stacey Jones bought some insurance for the Kiwis with a field goal on 70 mins. The British looked down and out, but the Bulldog spirit prevailed, as Keith Senior and Francis Cummins combined to send Tony Smith in for another try, on 78 mins. Farrell converted and the scoreline read 22-23. Exactly one minute remained on the game clock as Farrell restarted play with a short kick-off, from which Britain recovered the ball. They took it towards the New Zealand line, where Farrell had a field goal attempt charged down. However, the ball was retained by Great Britain
and in the very last second of play, Tony Smith hit the target with another field goal attempt to tie the game up at 23-23.
Great Britain had saved the humiliation of a clean sweep by the New Zealanders, but there is no getting away from the fact that this is the first Kiwi team to leave these shores without losing a Test Match. The blame for this debacle must be laid firmly at the feet of coach Andy Goodway, whose team selection and match tactics have been severely criticised and he should do the honourable thing and fall on his sword.
Great Britain