Matai injured as Kiwis trounce England

     

New Zealand centre Steve Matai suffered a potentially serious neck injury in a meaningless 36-24 World Cup victory over England at EnergyAustralia Stadium.

Matai was put in a neck brace, carried off on a stretcher and taken to hospital for precautionary scans complaining of neck and shoulder pain after he was squashed by teammate Greg Eastwood in a 29th minute tackle.

It proved the turning point that galvanised the Kiwis as they turned a 24-8 deficit around with five unanswered tries to claim the win in front of 15,145 fans.

Skipper Benji Marshall and fullback Lance Hohaia ran riot as winger Manu Vatuvei scored four tries - the first time in World Cup history - with his three in the second half all set up by the Kiwis' pair of playmakers.

But the impressive win was soured by Matai's injury as play was held up for several minutes in a dramatic moment of an action packed game.

The Manly star has battled serious neck and shoulder injuries for at least two seasons with bulging discs in his neck and chipped bones in his shoulder hampering his performances throughout 2008.

He put off shoulder surgery to play in the World Cup but this latest injury has raised serious questions about his immediate playing future.

The cruel twist for the Kiwis is that the win is likely to have no influence on their World Cup fate.

New Zealand and England are almost certain to meet again in a Brisbane semi-final next week unless Papua New Guinea execute an unlikely upset of Australia by more than two points in Townsville on Sunday.

While the loss of Matai will hurt the Kiwis, the glorified dress rehearsal would serve both teams well after confidence-sapping, heavy losses to Australia in recent weeks.

England - despite resting stars Leon Pryce, James Roby and James Graham - dominated the first half and led 24-14 at the break after a double to halfback Rob Burrow and superb individual four-pointers to hooker Mickey Higham and five-eighth Martin Gleeson.

But they went to sleep in the second half as the Kiwis took total control through Marshall, Hohaia, halfback Nathan Fien and "The Beast" Vatuvei.

Vatuvei's tries in the 47th and 55th minutes levelled scores at 24-all before Issac Luke milked a penalty in the 69th minute to give New Zealand their first lead of the game.

Fien sealed the result in the 75th minute with a try that resulted from Marshall putting Bronson Harrison into space before Vatuvei scored his fourth in the 78th minute.

Source: AAP

ENGLAND: Paul Wellens, Mark Calderwood, Paul Sykes, Keith Senior, Lee Smith, Martin Gleeson, Rob Burrow , Adrian Morley, Mickey Higham, Jamie Peacock (c), Jamie Jones-Buchanan, Gareth Ellis, Rob Purdham, Kevin Sinfield, Ben Westwood, Gareth Hock, Jamie Langley

NEW ZEALAND: Lance Hohaia, Jason Nightingale, Steve Matai, Jerome Ropati, Manu Vatuvei , Benji Marshall (c), Thomas Leuluai, Adam Blair, Nathan Fien, Evarn Tuimavave, Simon Mannering, David Fa’alogo, Jeremy Smith, Issac Luke, Greg Eastwood, David Kidwell, Bronson Harrison

New Zealand 36 (Manu Vatuvei 4, Lance Hohaia, Jason Nightingale, Nathan Fien tries;
Issac Luke 3, Jeremy Smith, goals) def. England 24 (Rob Burrow (2), Mickey Higham, Martin Gleeson tries; Rob Purdham 4 goals). Halftime: New Zealand 14 England 24. Referee:Tony Archer(AUS).Crowd: 15,145