rugby league

The 46-12 loss to the Raiders on Friday left Kearney feeling angrier than he could remember.

His team trailing 30-0 at halftime, the coach was captured by television cameras delivering a dressing down to his players in the shed which involved furiously kicking a stray towel. It would have hit Peta Hiku in the head if the centre hadn't taken evasive action.

Kearney was angry that after a run of six gritty showings, in which no game was decided by more than four points, his side failed to front in their first game in Auckland for a month.

According to Radio New Zealand (RNZ), the Vanuatu Association of Sports and National Olympic Committee (VASNOC) broke the news after an over subscription of seats was discovered for their charter flight to Samoa in July.

VASANOC’s chief executive Henry Tavoa reportedly said all National Federations were informed of the selection criteria for the Games back in October 2017.

"When push comes to shove then we would inform the associations this is the criteria we would be following," he told RNZ. 

The Kiwi NRL club has advised long-serving playmaker Johnson to test his value on the open market, even though there's a year to run on his contract.

The timing and public nature of the Warriors announcement was criticised by Nikorima, coming midway through New Zealand's three-Test series in England.

He said his room mate Johnson was caught off guard, days out from Sunday's second Test in Liverpool.

Thursday's match was Vanuatu's first of the tournament while Hungary had already had a victory over Greece.

The extra time on the field showed early on with the Hungarians taking a 12-0 lead before the Melanesian side gained some rhythm and found themselves in front late in the game.

However Hungary scored last, eventually winning 18-13.

Vanuatu plays Greece in their last pool match on Sunday.

In Thursday's other game, Niue defeated Malta 26-16 and will now play the Philippines on Sunday with the hope of making the cup semis.

It's been nine months since Mate Ma'a Tonga's memorable run to the World Cup semi finals, which included a famous victory over New Zealand in Hamilton.

The Kingdom's request for a rematch against the Kiwis in October was rejected by New Zealand Rugby League, who also vetoed Tonga's desire to host the Kangaroos in Auckland.

Woolf said despite both sides wanting the match to go ahead roadblocks keep getting in the way.

"Our first option was that we wanted to play against New Zealand but it was very clear early on that that was not going to happen," he said.

Williams is targeting next year's Rugby Union World Cup with the All Blacks but his future beyond that is undecided.

The dual international turns 34 next August and is weighing up ending an illustrious career spanning Australia, New Zealand, France, Japan, rugby league, rugby union and boxing.

Williams became a pariah in the 13-man game after his walk-out on Canterbury in 2008 over a contract dispute.

Major League Rugby completed its inaugural season last month with the Seattle Seawolves beating the Glendale Raptors in the grand final.

Former Fiji sevens captain Osea Kolinisau (Houston SaberCats) and 'Ikale Tahi first five Kurt Morath (Utah Warriors) were among the Pacific players to feature in the debut Major League Rugby campaign.

The competition's top try-scorer, Tonata Lauti, was born in Tonga before moving to Salt Lake City with his family in 1996.

The Warriors wilted in a 36-12 loss on the Gold Coast on Sunday after establishing a 12-8 lead at halftime.

A win would would have put them three victories clear of ninth with five games remaining.

Instead, they leaked five unanswered tries and miss a chance to consolidate their first NRL finals campaign since 2011.

It was a shock turn of events given they had won their past seven at Cbus Super Stadium, 14 of their past 15 against the Titans and seven of nine away games this year.

The Melanesian country have been drawn to play Hungary and Greece in Pool B and are one of a record eleven nations from Europe, Asia and the Pacific competing in the tournament.

"It's going to be a very tough pool but we're really looking forward to it though," said head coach Lionel Harbin.

"I think it's a great concept - this Emerging Nations World Cup gives these countries an opportunity to showcase rugby league and how far we've come in a short period of time so we're really looking for to it."

After establishing himself as arguably the form New Zealander of the NRL during the opening six rounds, the Wests Tigers' No.6 is still dreaming of ending his six-year exile from the national set-up.

On form, he is undoubtedly the leading contender to partner Shaun Johnson in the halves for the mid-year Denver Test against England and has consistently out- pointed the other leading contenders.