Under new rules introduced for this World Cup, nation-swapping is not only possible, it is virtually encouraged. And like the cheeseburger spring rolls at Allianz Stadium on Thursday night, it’s a culture clash that delights as many people as it offends. But based on the intensity of last night’s Cup opener, it’s players and fans who are the winners.
Allianz Stadium was lit up like a Las Vegas casino. This was intended to be a bold new era for rugby league. They had rejigged the tournament format to distil the talent pool, reducing the competing nations from 16 to 10 and boiling down the number of matches from 31 to 18.
Last night’s Trans-Tasman clash was a sell-out and the 40,000+ arena was bristling with fans in black jerseys, keen to watch an all-star Kiwis side stomp the hosts and stamp themselves as the true favourites to take the trophy. And despite Australia winning nine of the last 10 Cups, their victory last night was truly a great escape. The Kangaroos met the James Fisher-Harris-led haka in a boomerang formation, hoping to capture the throat-slitting menace of the Maori war dance and send it back on their TransTasman foes.
Instead they got mugged straight out of the gates, Casey McLean scoring one of the all-time great Cup tries with an aerial twist touchdown. New Zealand were boasting their strongest ever squad, bolstered by a Knights duo. Dane Gagai had defected after seven Tests for the Kangaroos in 2017-18 thanks to his Māori mother Tania, and Kalyn Ponga, a junior Kangaroo in 2019 was making his international debut in the black, by virtue of his Māori descent through father, Andre.
Although he later finished with a broken arm that will rule him out of the tournament, Ponga rose to the storied occasion with an extraordinary individual performance. He created havoc every time he touched the ball, ghosting behind the lines, slipping and sliding out of tackles, picking up where he left off from his grand final heroics. Ponga scored two tries and should have had a third but for an incredible last-gasp tackle.
The man who made that tackle was every bit Ponga’s equal. Kangaroos coach Kevin Walters had controversially given Reece Walsh first jump at the No 1 jersey over Clive Churchill medallist and premiership-winning captain, James Tedesco. Despite the diamond-eyed Broncos dynamo being sidelined two months, the gamble paid off in spades.
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