New Zealand got their Rugby League World Cup defence off to a great start as they beat Samoa 42-24 at the Halliwell Jones Stadium this evening.
New Zealand opened the scoring with Josh Hoffman after ten minutes, while captain Simon Mannering followed up with another two tries to put his side into a commanding position.
The Samoans did hit back however as Ben Roberts scored a brilliant try having got through the Kiwi defence.
After the break New Zealand put themselves further ahead as Manu Vatuvei collected a high-floated kick to score a try for his team.
Samoa did their best to post an admirable total and they scored another great try as Joseph Leilua completed a fantastic run of passes to get over the line.
The underdogs soon posted another score following industrious work from Penani Manumeasili, as their response looked as though it could soon turn into a comeback.
However, New Zealand showed their class in the final stages as Vatuvei ended up completing a hat-trick of tries with the final score ending 42-24.
Christopher Dodd
