New Zealand dominate Jamaica to secure Quarter Final berth

Embed from Getty Images

New Zealand Men v Jamaica Men

New Zealand have expectedly continued their cruise to the top of their group, a 68-6 win over Jamaica the latest installment in their quest for world cup glory.

It was an ambitious start for the Jamaicans, who went short on the opening kickoff and were able to regather in a trend that would continue throughout the match. They forced a goal-line dropout in their first set, but New Zealand would easily keep them away from the tryline. 

The Kiwis would go up the field easily in part due to some help from a set restart. Their class shone through as Joseph Manu threw a cutout pass to Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, who had an acre of open space in front of him and scored the try. 

There were some highlights for Jamaica over the next 5 minutes, another short kickoff regathered and a one-on-one steal among them, however New Zealand asserted their authority soon after, with DWZ assisting this one instead of scoring it, Peta Hiku finishing it off this time. 

Jamaica looked to be generating some momentum through second-phase play, but the Kiwis were simply too good after taking possession back. They again spread the ball to the right and DWZ had too much speed, going in for his second try in 15 minutes. 

The Dallin Watene-Zelezniak show continued, the winger again showing incredible speed to return a kick 75 odd metres past 2 or 3 defenders, securing a first quarter hat-trick. 

New Zealand became a bit sloppy from that point, going twelve minutes before scoring another try in a period which included multiple errors. Eventually, Marata Niukore took advantage of some tired and backtracking defence, scoring a simple try. 

It looked as though Jamaica had done enough to keep New Zealand to 24 points at the half, but some poor scrum defence close to the line allowed Seb Kris to score a simple try.

Jamaica abandoned the short restart in the final minute and it proved costly. Watene-Zelezniak again found space down the right-hand side before kicking back infield. Jeremy Marshall-King was there in support and he managed to stay inside the dead ball line and ground the ball. It meant the score was 34-0 at the half time break. 

It didn't take long for New Zealand to get things going in the second half, with Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad dummying his way over the line to extend the lead to 40. 

10 minutes later, New Zealand went bang bang with two tries in as many minutes. The first came when the two back-rowers, Bromwich and Nikora, combined, with Bromwich putting Nikora through a hole to score a relatively straightforward try. 

Off the (long) kickoff, New Zealand went the length, and it was a carbon copy of an effort from earlier in the match, with Watene-Zelezniak finding space down the edge once again and kicking inside for Jeremy Marshall-King, who scored his second try in eerily similar fashion. 

DWZ's night would finish during the act of scoring his fourth try, a "regulation" put-down in the corner. Brandon Smith would burrow his way over for two late tries from dummy-half, making the score 68-0. 

The moment of the match came in the 75th minute, when Jamaica finally crossed for their first ever Rugby League World Cup try. Brandon Smith was unable to hold onto a 5th tackle kick and the veteran fullback Ben Jones-Bishop was there to toe the ball ahead, pick it up and score. It was the last scoring play of the match, meaning the final result was 68-6 to the Kiwis. 

Next week, New Zealand will face off against Ireland before turning their attention to the quarter finals, while Jamaica will be playing for pride against Lebanon.