“[We] put ourselves in a hole early, they started red-hot, we were way too far off the mark,” said Johnson. “We regrouped at halftime and came out and actually did what we had spoken about doing all week. We put ourselves in a position to win but when you leave yourself a 24-point deficit, it is always going to be a challenge.”
In the two most recent games against Tonga, as well as last year’s meeting with Samoa at Eden Park, the Kiwis took the large Pacific crowd out of the equation with early points and a quick lead, then built on it. Saturday couldn’t have been more different, as Tonga got momentum from their first set and bombarded the Kiwis for the next half hour.
“As far as first halves go, it was probably as bad as we could have tossed out really but credit to the Tongan boys, they ran and played with a physicality,” said Johnson. “I mean if they show up and do that against Australia, they will be hard to beat again. We can sit here and talk about all the wrongs but they have some absolute weapons in their team.”
So Johnson’s absolute, final league farewell will come against the Kumuls – who he has faced just once, at the 2013 World Cup – rather than the expected 16th career meeting against the Kangaroos. It’s a shame but it’s sport and Johnson was again mostly happy with his output on Saturday, coming off a truncated build-up, as he kicked well and was involved in much of the Kiwis’ better offensive moments.
“I feel pretty proud of how I played again,” said Johnson. “I did my job, in that second half in particular and if I can have the mindset of continually wanting to improve and I do this week hopefully I can go out on [Sunday] and do the same thing.”
And despite the intense disappointment of the result for the Kiwis, the 34-year-old admitted that the free-flowing match, in front of a carnival crowd, had been a great spectacle, saying it was an “awesome contest to be a part of and one of the craziest atmospheres I’ve played in front of”. “When they were running red-hot in that first half it was mental and something I won’t forget any time soon. It was a cool night, I [just] wish we were on the other side of the scoreboard.”
The Kiwis and Papua New Guinea have met on 18 previous occasions, with the Kumuls achieving their solitary win in 1986, though there have been some other close contests.
Michael Burgess has been a sports journalist since 2005, winning several national awards and covering Olympics, Fifa World Cups and America’s Cup campaigns. He has also reported on the Warriors and NRL for more than a decade.
