Kiwis rampage past France
New Zealand winger Sam Perrett scored a hat-trick of tries as France crumbled in the second half for the second successive week.
Last Updated: 01/11/09 11:44am
New Zealand winger Sam Perrett scored a hat-trick of tries as France crumbled in the second half for the second successive week.
A patched-up French side were well in contention when James Wynne scored their second try early in the second half to cut the deficit to 16-12 to the delight of a crowd of more than 12,000 in Toulouse.
But the Kiwis cut loose to secure their first win of the tournament with eight second-half tries. That sets up a winner-takes-all meeting with England at Huddersfield next Saturday for a place in the Four Nations final.
France were without six members of the side that lost 34-12 to England after leading at half-time, including swine-flu victims Dimitri Pelo and Clint Greenshields, but again were fiercely competitive in the first half.
The Kiwis raced into a 10-0 lead courtesy of tries from skipper Benji Marshall and Perrett, plus the first of eight goals from Bryson Goodwin, who finished with 22 points.
But Catalans prop forward Sebastien Martins, who made a big impact from the bench, gave the French hope when he took four defenders over the line with him for his side's first try.
The Kiwis extended their lead with a try from full-back Lance Hohaia against the run of play just before half-time for a 16-6 interval lead, but Bobbie Goulding's men struck back when Wynne followed up Bosc's high kick to touch down.
Wilted
Bosc's second goal cut the deficit to just four points but the French, who conceded 30 points without reply in the second half against England, wilted for the second week in a row.
Perrett produced a strong finish to claim a second try and second rower Jared Waerea-Hargreaves added another on 55 minutes to put the game beyond doubt.
It was all one-way traffic in the final quarter as young prop Frank-Paul Nuuausala made it two tries in two appearances, Hohaia added a second and Perrett completed his hat-trick.
Goodwin also got in on the act with the Kiwis' 10th try and Waerea-Hargreaves grabbed a final try the hooter.