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29 October 2000 |
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N-Zealand |
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LEBANON |
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Tries
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| Jones 2, Carroll 2, Barnett 2, Swann, Jellick, Vainikolo 2, Talau 2 | |
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Goals
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| Jones 6, Paul 2 | |
MATCH REPORT:
New Zealand boss Frank Endacott was concerned before the match that his side would be a bit rusty in their first World Cup outing . As in turned out, he had nothing to worry about.
The Kiwis simply crushed a gutsy Lebanon side in a 12-try romp in abysmal weather at rain-swept Kingsholm.
New Zealand never looked back after Willie Talau dived over in the corner early on and the only black spot came when Henry Paul limped off with a recurrence of an ankle injury.
The quality of the opposition was the telling factor for the Lebanon, who had been tipped as the tournament's dark horses before the World Cup.
That tag may now seem overblown but with the same effort and resilience, they should be more than a match for Wales in what is tipped to be a group runner-up decider at Llanelli on Thursday.
Endacott said afterwards: "That certainly tested us and I thought we handled the conditions nigh-on perfect.
"I was very happy with the result and the way we played. Lebanon impressed me with the way they started off. They went out there with plenty of gusto and they finished the same way."
Endacott was glad to report that Paul had not suffered any major damage and he expects to be able to select him for New Zealand's next match against the Cook Islands on Thursday.
Tonie Carroll, who marked his debut for the Kiwis with two scores and the try of the match in a 60-metre run, said: "It was a great start to my career with the team.
"I didn't know the Haka beforehand and that was pretty embarrassing.
"I've had to learn it, but the boys are joking that I'll be leading it before the end of the competition."
Lebanon coach John Elias admitted that his team were out of their depth at times.
He said: "New Zealand were too good for us, but we can only learn from that.
"That was a big step up in class for some of our boys."
Lebanon's star player Hazem El-Masri added: "We never lay down and that was the main thing.
"We've never played in conditions like that before. The players were shivering out there."
Source: BBC