Pacific Championships: Shaun Johnson adamant Kiwis will bounce back from bitter Tonga defeat

Kiwis halfback Shaun Johnson says they left themselves too much to do in the second half of their Pacific Championship clash with Tonga. Photo / Photosport

Shaun Johnson is determined to end his Kiwis career on a high note, even if it is not in the arena that was expected.

The Kiwis won’t get a chance to defend their Pacific Championships title, achieved in memorable circumstances last year, when they stunned Australia 30-0 in Hamilton. Instead of being in another final, they will be part of the new promotion-relegation playoff, needing to beat Papua New Guinea on Sunday to remain in the top-tier competition in 2025.

That’s the net result after their 25-24 defeat to Tonga in Auckland on Saturday, which was a bitter blow. While not as much of a shock as the loss to Tonga at the 2017 World Cup, it still stings, as the Kiwis were the favourites on home soil. Now they need to regroup quickly, to play in a match that no one really wants to be part of – but Johnson is adamant they will be ready to go.

“100 per cent,” the retiring halfback said. “[Saturday night] hurts. But in my mind, the only way we can somewhat soften it is by preparing to win a game of footy [this week]. It’s a test match and test matches are an absolute privilege to play in ... we will be ready for it.”

The Kiwis also need to make the most of the opportunity, given they are currently restricted to only three matches a year, since the axing of mid-year representative football. But the Tonga defeat was hard to take, as the Kiwis dropped well below their individual and collective standards set over the last few years in a chaotic first half, to trail 24-0 after 33 minutes. The subsequent comeback was impressive – to get back to 24-24 with 20 minutes to play – but they couldn’t take the final step.

“[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.