NEW ZEALAND head coach Stacey Jones says his side will continue to strive to improve throughout the next week after booking their place in the World Cup final with a 34-10 victory over Tonga at Newcastle’s McDonald Jones Stadium.
The Kiwis headed into the break with a narrow two-point lead, with tries from Briton Nikora and Dane Gagai both being converted, while Isaiya Katoa only added the extras from one of Jojo Fifita’s first-half double.
Following the restart, Casey McLean, Jahrome Hughes, Xavier Willison and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad all went over to strengthen the advantage, with New Zealand claiming the first spot in the final at Suncorp Stadium next Sunday.
“The boys have done an outstanding job of just getting themselves right – preparing every week in every training session, chasing improvement,” Jones said.
“We will need some improvement from that performance in certain areas, but they’re a really good group when it comes to going after things and making sure they’re better next time.
“Our tackling was a bit off, but they’re a good team – they’ve got players that can hurt you. It was an area we needed to tidy up, but the boys handled the conditions really well in the first half.
“You could see from the box how tough it was. In the first half we toughed it out, and then we kicked really well in the second half – we didn’t give them too many opportunities like seven-tackle sets. Our last-play options were really good.
“All of these teams playing in the semi-finals, anyone can beat anyone. They’ve got world-class players, and we’re just happy we’re in this position now to go to the big dance.”
