Thurston rises above tragedy to crush Kiwis

It was all too easy for the world champions as Johnathon Thurston overcame family tragedy to contribute to the demolition of the Kiwis yesterday. The scrum-half's uncle was beaten to death in a Brisbane park on Saturday, but Thurston decided to play the day after.

Along with his captain, Darren Lockyer, and the live wire full-back, Billy Slater, he was too much to handle for a New Zealand side who defended enthusiastically but offered absolutely nothing in attack.

Thurston kicked four goals and should have had many more shots if Australia had not squandered a wealth of chances.

Two of those goals, plus a try from Greg Inglis, gave them an early eight-point lead, before a try for Sika Manu brought a moment of hope for the Kiwis.

Joel Monaghan scored on his debut to make it 14-6 at half-time, and some extravagant handling after the break brought two tries for the young prodigy Israel Folau and one for the brilliant Slater.

The closest New Zealand came to a reply was when Slater kicked the ball out of the hands of Jerome Ropati as he dived over the try-line. The British-based referee, Ashley Klein, could have awarded a penalty try, but opted not to do so.

It would have made little difference to the outclassed Kiwis, who are likely to look to make changes for their match with Papua New Guinea next Saturday. One could be forced on them, with Steve Matai on report for a high tackle on Paul Gallen.

The biggest concern for a dominant Australia was an injury to their winger Brent Tate. That was described as "a nasty concussion", rather than a recurrence of the neck injury that has plagued his career.

Austrialia: Slater; Monaghan, Inglis, Folay, Tate; Lockyer, Thurston; Price, C Smith, Civoniceva, Laffranchi, Stewart, Gallen. Substitutes used: Gidley, Kite, Tupou, Perry.

New Zealand: Hohaia; Perrett, Matai, Ropati, Vatuvei; Marshall, Leuluai; Cayless, Fien, Blair, Mannering, Manu, J Smith. Substitutes used: Halatau, Eastwood, Sa, Rapira.

Referee: A Klein (England).

*Scotland's first World Cup campaign began with an honourable 36-18 defeat by France in Canberra.