‘Embarrassing’: Kiwis humiliate Kangaroos in ‘staggering’ Pacific Championships upset

The Kangaroos have been stunned in the Pacific Championships final as New Zealand made the Aussies look completely second rate.

The Kiwis completely dominated the Kangaroos.

New Zealand have defeated Australia 30-0 in the final of the Pacific Championships, humiliating their arch rivals in a massive upset in Hamilton.

The Kangaroos claimed a comfortable win over the Kiwis last weekend but it was a completely different story in the final as the Aussies were completely outclassed and New Zealand completed a remarkable 48-point turnaround in the space of a week.

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Despite the return of Liam Martin, Payne Haas and Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, Australia’s forwards were dominated by the New Zealand pack, led by Panthers stars James Fisher-Harris and Moses Leota.

It is Australia’s heaviest ever defeat on the international stage and extends the Kangaroos’ streak of not being able to beat the Kiwis in New Zealand since 2012.

It’s New Zealand’s first win over Australia since 2018.

Greg Alexander said on Fox League: “It’s an embarrassing result for Australian rugby league for the side we put on the field.”

While New Zealand turned up to play free flowing footy, the Kangaroos looked completely out of sorts, conceding 50 missed tackles and managing just four offloads.

Wingers Ronaldo Mulitalo and Jamayne Isaako did most of the damage, scoring the first three tries before Matthew Timoko and Griffin Neame sealed the victory in the second half.

On the other hand, the Kangaroos never looked like scoring.

The Kiwis made the Kangaroos look completely second rate. Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)

4.25pm - NZ pile on the pain

Wow, this is turning into a massive upset.

New Zealand lead 22-0 after Matthew Timoko scored under the posts.

It would take a Nathan Cleary-esque miracle to turn this around, but the Panthers star isn’t playing for the Kangaroos.

4.10pm - Kiwis continue demolition, lead 16-0

The Kangaroos look complete out of sorts and will need a miracle to win after looking uninspired in attack.

New Zealand scored their third try thanks to a flying Jamayne Isaako in the corner.

Andrew Voss said on Fox League: “The most staggering thing is the Kangaroos are zero points through 57 minutes. This is extraordinary.”

3.49pm - New Zealand dominating Aussies

The Kiwis lead 12-0 at halftime after dominating the Kangaroos in the opening 40 minutes.

Jamayne Isaako scored on the right hand side, taking advantage of some free flowing football being played by New Zealand.

Steve Roach said on Fox League: “The Aussies look flat.”

3.17pm - Kiwis score first, lead 6-0

New Zealand have made the perfect start with winger Ronaldo Mulitalo scoring in the corner in the 14th minute.

After an uneventful start, Mulitalo made a line break before the ball found its way back to him on the left wing and he dove over for a try.

The Kiwis dominated the Kangaroos. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)

3.03pm - Abysmal crowd not a good look

The game is underway in Hamilton but there are more empty seats than spectators in attendance. FMG Stadium has a capacity of 25,000.

It’s an embarrassing sight for an international final, and rugby league fans slammed Hamilton and the tournament schedulers.

One fan wrote on X: “That crowd is abysmal. Where is everyone? And why would they choose to play the final in Hamilton, and not Auckland?”

A second said: “The stadium is pretty much empty…..? WTF?”

Another saiid: “Who’s decision was it to give Hamilton the Final? Terrible crowd, Rugby League shouldn’t be playing there again if they can’t even turn up to support their home country. Embarrassing!”

The criticism was overwhelming, with another viewer posting: “This crowd is a joke.”

Another added: “Great to see New Zealand supporting their team and an International final. Looks like there’s only a few 100 people there. Pathetic.”

Not a good look for an international final. Photo: Fox Sports.

2.40pm - Kangaroos recall big guns, star ruled out

The Kangaroos have brought some serious firepower into their forward pack for the final.

Payne Haas, Liam Martin and Tino Fa’asuamaleaui all return to the start side, bolstering a team that defeated New Zealand last weekend.

Cam Murray won’t play after being ruled out with a hamstring niggle. Nicho Hynes comes into the team on the bench.

Cam Murray is out of the Pacific Championship - Nicho Hynes comes in. Pat Carrigan in despite not finishing the captains run yesterday due to a cork. #PacificChampionship#nrl#nzvaus

— Jelisa Apps (@JelisaApps) November 4, 2023

2.15pm - Kiwis out for revenge

Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga said this week the Kiwis will be out for revenge after his side beat them earlier in the Pacific Championship and knocked them out of last year’s Rugby League World Cup.

“They’ll be biting at the bit to get revenge,” Meninga said.

“There’s no better feeling than revenge sometimes, so they’ll come out really hard and they’ll try to get ascendancy. All those sorts of things, we’ve got to counter that.

“They’ll come prepared. ‘Madge’ (Michael Maguire) is a great coach who will have them well prepared and ready to go. We’ve got to make sure we’re ready for that.”

The Kiwis are out for revenge on the Kangaroos. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)

Team line-ups

Australia

1. James Tedesco 2. Dylan Edwards 3. Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow 4. Kotoni Staggs 5. Valentine Holmes 6. Cameron Munster 7. Daly Cherry-Evans 8. Payne Haas 9. Ben Hunt 10. Tino Fa’asuamaleaui 11. Cameron Murray 12. Liam Martin 13. Isaah Yeo 14. Harry Grant 15. Lindsay Collins 16. Patrick Carrigan 17. Reuben Cotter 18. Nicho Hynes 19. Thomas Flegler 20. Selwyn Cobbo 21. Jake Trbojevic

New Zealand

1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 2. Ronaldo Mulitalo 3. Matthew Timoko 4. Joseph Manu 5. Jamayne Isaako 6. Dylan Brown 7. Jahrome Hughes 8. James Fisher-Harris 9. Kieran Foran 10. Moses Leota 11. Isaiah Papali’i 12. Briton Nikora 13. Joseph Tapine 14. Fa’amanu Brown 15. Nelson Asofa-Solomona 16. Griffin Neame 17. Leo Thompson 18. Naufahu Whyte 19. Wiremu Greig 20. Keano Kini

Originally published as ‘Embarrassing’: Kiwis humiliate Kangaroos in ‘staggering’ Pacific Championships upset