Wigan coach, John Monie with skipper, Ellery Hanley
A powerful Wigan outfit, coached by Australian, John Monie, proved too strong for the touring Kiwis at Central Park in front of a crowd of 15,013.
New Zealand skipper, Hugh McGahan from Easts in Sydney, did his best to rally his men after Wigan led 12-8 at halftime, but the home side had far too much pace and imagination for the tourists, finishing with four tries to their rival’s two.
Wigan’s try scorers were backs, Joe Lydon and Ged Byrne; and forwards, Andy Platt and Australian, Les Davidson. Another Australian, Phil Blake, kicked four goals.
Halves, Gary Freeman (Balmain) and Kelly Shelford (Auckland) were the best of the Kiwi backs, with Freeman and winger, Mark Elia (Canterbury Bankstown) the try scorers while Shelford (two) and Phil Bancroft from Auckland landed goals.
Referee, Dave Carter from Widnes allowed play to flow, much to the delight of Wigan’s new coach, Monie, who wanted his side to play an open style. It was back to the drawing board for NZ coach, Tony ‘Tank’ Gordon.
The Kiwis’ second defeat in three games (they had been beaten by St Helens in the tour opener, before managing a narrow win over Castleford), damaged the Kiwis’ credibility, with the first Test against Great Britain a fortnight away. The three Test series was sponsored by British Coal.
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