- Australia will advance to the Pacific Championships final
- They exacted revenge on New Zealand on Sunday afternoon
Australia have exacted revenge on New Zealand for last year’s heartbreaking Pacific Cup final with a 22-10 win that propels the Kangaroos into the decider of this year’s tournament.
It comes as some have poked fun at returning Kangaroo Angus Crichton after he appeared to drop the ball as he looked to place it down for a try during the match.
Nearly a year after the Kiwis handed Australia their biggest loss, a try-scoring double to Zac Lomax saw off the chance of another defeat before a hostile Christchurch crowd on Sunday.
Regardless, the win over an admittedly understrength New Zealand helps vindicate a raft of changes made to the Australian team following last year’s 30-0 debacle in Hamilton.
Australia will meet the winner of New Zealand’s match against Tonga in the Pacific Cup final at Sydney’s CommBank Stadium on November 10.
Crichton had been roasted by many online and in the commentary box, with Matt Thompson expressing his disbelief over the moment.
Despite a career-best season, Crichton came up with one of the more staggering bombed tries in recent memory when he strolled over in the opening minutes.
Crichton had juggled Tom Dearden’s flat pass before planting the ball down to silence the Kiwi crowd after only four minutes.
Replays revealed the second-rower had dropped the ball only centimetres above the grass without a defender on him.
‘Don’t tell me he’s dropped the ball … oh he has,’ Thompson said.
‘Isn’t that what they teach you in under-9s? Don’t put it down with one hand.’
Andrew Johns went as far as telling the second-row what his punishment should be.
‘Is that the one where he’s only got half a finger? Blame that.
‘The punishment for that is you’ve got to wrestle the coach.’
Some online were much less forgiving of Crichton, who made his first international appearance since 2022 during the match.
‘Talk about the ultimate butchered try by Angus Crichton. #PacificChamps,’ one wrote.
‘Angus Crichton you are kidding me #NZLvAUS #PacificChamps,’ another added.
Angus Crichton made his Kangaroos return on Sunday evening but dropped the ball after crossing the try line
Fans took to social media to poke fun at Crichton after he dropped the ball over the line
The Kiwis were spirited as injuries took players including Jahrome Hughes, Moses Leota, Dylan Brown and Ronaldo Mulitalo out of Stacey Jones’s first game as head coach.
But the Kangaroos found success attacking their left side, where defensively weaker players Matt Timoko and Will Warbrick lined up next to makeshift five-eighth Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad.
Lomax had both his tries on the back of raids down that edge, first making good on Tom Trbojevic’s line break and then latching onto a Harry Grant flick pass midway through the second half.
The Kiwis threatened to make a game of it when Warbrick pegged one back on Lomax and reduced the deficit to six points as the final 15 minutes approached.
But down the same right side, fullback Dylan Edwards showed no sign of his troublesome knee injury as he dummied through the line and passed on to a flying Moses, who sealed the result.
Lindsay Collins helped his Sydney Roosters teammate save face by scoring the first points.
Lindsay Collins touched down for Australia to help Mal Meninga’s side claim a 22-10 win
Australia will meet the winner of New Zealand’s match against Tonga in the Pacific Cup final at Sydney’s CommBank Stadium on November 10
The big prop spotted Keano Kini defending in the frontline and burst through both the fullback and Phoenix Crossland on a 40-metre gallop to the line.
On his fairytale return from rugby league retirement, Kiwis fan favourite Shaun Johnson kicked superbly all afternoon as rival halfback Moses endured a mixed game with the boot.
Johnson forced back-to-back line dropouts with his short kicking game to signal a period of Kiwi dominance early in the second half after having a hand in the hosts’ opener.
The halfback sent the play to the right where Isaiah Papali’i and Kini each came up with quick passes to help Jamayne Isaako over.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .