Kiwis upset Aussie Invitational XIII
Date: 15/10/05
By Adrian Proszenko
All eyes were on big-name halves Scott Prince and Trent Barrett in the Tri Nations curtain raiser, but unheralded half Jeremy Smith was the standout in New Zealand A's surprise 40-16 win over the Kangaroo Invitational XIII at Telstra Stadium.
Smith, who guided Parramatta's Premier League side to grand final success against the Sydney Roosters from five-eighth, was just as effective from halfback, scoring a try and setting up several others.
Clive Churchill medalist Prince and Dragons captain Barrett had few opportunities to push their Test claims after the visitors dominated possession and field possession.
The match, which was reduced to 35-minute halves, was an opportunity for fringe Test candidates to impress national coaches Wayne Bennett and Brian McClennan, with Bulldogs pair Willie Mason and Mark O'Meley and Dragons centre Matt Cooper the Australian players most likely to press for the main team.
Both Mason and Cooper crossed for tries in a well-beaten side, but the high-profile Australians were otherwise well-handled by the Kiwi defence.
Cronulla winger Luke Covell, who was selected for Country Origin this year, got the visitors on the board first with a try in the left-hand corner in just the fifth minute. The score remained 4-0 after Parramatta junior Kris Inu missed with the conversion.
The Kiwis went further in front after Newcastle flyer George Carmont accepted a beautiful pass from Smith to stroll over for a try in the 14th minute. Covell's conversion extended the lead to 10-0.
Smith was involved in the next two tries, scoring one in the 19th minute after some clever lead-up work from North Sydney hooker Billy Ngawini, before putting hard-running Penrith backrower Tony Puletua through for a try five minutes later with a brilliant inside ball. Covell's conversions gave New Zealand an imposing 22-0 lead.
The Australians finally got onto the scoreboard just before halftime, with controversial Test omission Matt Cooper's converted try narrowing the gap to 16 points at the main break.
But the game was all but over when Carmont grabbed his second in the 44th minute. Both teams traded tries in the second half, the best a barnstorming effort by Tigers youngster Bronson Harrison right on the fulltime buzzer, with New Zealand never seriously threatened.
http://seven.com.au/news/sport/113848
