New Zealand have overcome an early scare to see off a spirited Cook Islands in a highly entertaining Rugby League World Cup clash in Christchurch on Sunday.
Cook Islands winger Esom Ioka briefly silenced the home crowd with a stunning hat-trick inside eight minutes, but the Kiwis quickly steadied to overpower their opponents in an 82-16 result.
After trailing 16-12 midway through the first half, the Kiwis flicked the switch and piled on 70 straight points to run out comfortable winners.
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New Zealand will now round out the group stage against Fiji, which will likely be an all-or-nothing clash with a semi-final berth on the line.
The Kiwis made the perfect start to Sunday’s clash with Jamayne Isaako crossing in the opening minute before Ronaldo Mulitalo added another five minutes later.
But then Ioka turned the match on its head.
The flying winger ran the length of the field after a brilliant interception before quickly adding another minutes later.
He then produced another interception and breakaway try to incredibly put the Cook Islands in front.
But any hopes of a monumental upset were quickly put to bed by a rampaging Kiwis outfit.
Scott Sorensen put his side back in front, and they added another two tries before half-time.
It was all New Zealand in the second half as they seemingly scored on every attack, while the Cook Islands struggled to generate anything going forward.
They scored eight tries in the second half, including three in the final six minutes to put the finishing touches on a dominant performance.
The Cook Islands barely threatened but will still always remember Ioka’s brilliant first-half cameo.
More to come …
