World Champions New Zealand have defeated the Cook Islands 50-0 in a World Cup warm up match overnight.
New Zealand looked very sharp early on and really dominated the Cook Islands, who were probably not as bad as the scoreline suggests. Issac Luke was a stand out for New Zealand who gave a glimpse of their tremendous ball playing through the forwards and size out wide in the win.
Playing without Sonny Bill Williams, the Kiwi’s got everything they needed out of the hit out and looks good while doing it. Coach Stephen Kearney couldn’t have asked for anything more out of the contest.
While everyone is talking about Australia and England, the Kiwi’s are going under the radar very nicely.
New Zealand have the perfect draw in the World Cup, one that will allow them to build towards a likely place in the final very nicely.
While these warm up games are not really about the result, England showed us yesterday that you really need to put away these emerging nations if you consider yourself a true contender for the World Cup title.
