Mighty Tiger
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France 20 New Zealand 24
A LATE surge gave New Zealand victory in this rugby league Test today.
New Zealand had looked set for a surprise reversal at the hands of their hosts when they trailed 12-8 at halftime in rainy conditions at the walled medieval city in south west France.
France lead at the break through the efforts of scrum-half Maxime Greseque, the top scorer of the match, who singlehandedly accounted for 12 of his side's points.
Greseque put France on the scoreboard first with a try after six minutes, which he duely converted and then set up a second for teammate Claude Sirvent to touch down after 39 minutes.
New Zealand stayed in touch with two tries in the space of five minutes with centre Clinton Toopi touching down after 20 minutes and minutes later Shontayne Hape found gaps in the French defence.
Toopi claimed a second after 46 minutes but the hosts looked in control early in the second half with a stunning kick from Greseque that allowed Frederic Zitter to claim France's third try after 56 minutes.
But New Zealand captain Ruben Wiki then turned the match in the visitors' favour for the first time with 10 minutes to go with a try, which was then followed by another in the 76th minute from forward Ali Lauiti'iti which killed off any French hopes.
France 20 (Greseque, Sirvent, Zitter tries, Conversions - Greseque 3. Penalty - Greseque).New Zealand 24 (Toopi 2, Hape, Wiki, Lauiti'iti. Conversions - Paul 2) Attendance: 8000.
http://foxsports.news.com.au/story/0,8659,11363267-23214,00.html
A LATE surge gave New Zealand victory in this rugby league Test today.
New Zealand had looked set for a surprise reversal at the hands of their hosts when they trailed 12-8 at halftime in rainy conditions at the walled medieval city in south west France.
France lead at the break through the efforts of scrum-half Maxime Greseque, the top scorer of the match, who singlehandedly accounted for 12 of his side's points.
Greseque put France on the scoreboard first with a try after six minutes, which he duely converted and then set up a second for teammate Claude Sirvent to touch down after 39 minutes.
New Zealand stayed in touch with two tries in the space of five minutes with centre Clinton Toopi touching down after 20 minutes and minutes later Shontayne Hape found gaps in the French defence.
Toopi claimed a second after 46 minutes but the hosts looked in control early in the second half with a stunning kick from Greseque that allowed Frederic Zitter to claim France's third try after 56 minutes.
But New Zealand captain Ruben Wiki then turned the match in the visitors' favour for the first time with 10 minutes to go with a try, which was then followed by another in the 76th minute from forward Ali Lauiti'iti which killed off any French hopes.
France 20 (Greseque, Sirvent, Zitter tries, Conversions - Greseque 3. Penalty - Greseque).New Zealand 24 (Toopi 2, Hape, Wiki, Lauiti'iti. Conversions - Paul 2) Attendance: 8000.
http://foxsports.news.com.au/story/0,8659,11363267-23214,00.html
