KIWIS 18-36 ENGLAND
10:45am - For a match recap, click here. Thanks for tuning in.
FULLTIME - The game is over. England comes out on top in a 38-18 win over the Kiwis. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak was the best of the New Zealanders, while Elliott Whitehead was my man of the match. They dominated patches of the game and played smarter footy, and that showed due to the Kiwis lack of experience.
It felt like a prolonged game which seemed to drag on and on at times. It is hard to know how much altitude played a part in the match but there were times that players appeared to struggle. Time will tell though when the players return to their clubs for NRL and Super League action.
Just under 20,000 showed up which is a great result. I think there was a missed opportunity to promote the sport further. I think there should have been a curtain raiser match between the Toronto Wolfpack and Barrow Raiders. Those two teams are playing right now as I speak and with talks of an American club team entering the Super League divisions shortly, that could have been a chance to show off the sport even more.
79mins - TRY ENGLAND - John Bateman scores to end the match. He crashes over close to the line to put the final nail in the coffin. James Graham takes the conversion and it goes wide.
78mins - A poor Kiwis set comes to an end with a poor kick. That play has summed up there. In saying that, both teams are very hesitant to kick the ball.
76mins - England are starting to park the bus as they will get the win.
74mins - The Kiwis go close and kick on the last, but the ball travels dead.
73mins - Jared Waerea-Hargreaves gives away another penalty for a very high tackle that has hurt my face just watching it.
72mins - New Zealand is hot on the attack, but they lose possession after a poor pass goes to ground.
70mins - The conversion goes over and now New Zealand trails by 14.
69mins - TRY KIWIS - Dallin Watene-Zelezniak has his second. Is the comeback on?
69mins - Possible try to New Zealand which came from nothing. Issace Luke made a break and found his fullback in Dallin Watene-Zelezniak again who goes over for his second.
67mins - Another restart goes dead, and England has the ball deep in Kiwis territory.
67mins - Another conversion goes over by Gareth Widdop.
66mins - I think it is safe to say England have adapted to the conditions better than the Kiwis who started with a hiss and a roar.
65mins - TRY ENGLAND - New Zealand goes close to scoring but the ball is picked off by Elliott Whitehead who makes a break. After some razzle dazzle by Whitehead, Tom Makinson scores on debut. I'd say that is game now!
62mins - 19,320 fans are at Mile High Stadium for this match.
61mins - Play resumes for the final quarter of the match! England has scored 26 unanswered points after trailing 12-0 early in the contest.
60mins - DRINKS BREAK - Gareth Widdop lands the conversion, and now it's time for another drinks break.
59mins - TRY ENGLAND - The English are running away with it now as The plays started on halfway and Jake Connor makes a massive break and throws a big dummy to walk over the line.
57mins - New Zealand makes a break down the left wing, and they throw the ball back infield, but it is knocked-on.
56mins - PENALTY GOAL ENGLAND - Gareth Widdop lands the penalty goal and England extend their lead to more than a converted try.
55mins - New Zealand gets the match back underway and the ball is kicked dead for the second time. England penalty on the halfway line, and they are going for a penalty goal! This is almost video game stuff.
54mins - Gareth Widdop lands the conversion to give England a six-point advantage.
53mins - TRY ENGLAND - Elliott Whitehead scores his second after the Kiwis were caught napping. A beautiful set piece opens up some space, and Gareth Widdop puts a kick through, and Tom Makinson gathers and finds his second rower to score.
51mins - New Zealand are close to the line, they run on the last and the ball is turned over.
49mins - The Kiwis make a break down the right wing, and Jamayne Isaako stabs a grubber kick through, but Ryan Hall wins the race to the footy.
48mins - England with all the momentum right now. But they kick on the last and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, soars through the air, and he is taken out, so it is a penalty to the Kiwis.
47mins - PENALTY GOAL ENGLAND - After all that, the referees award Egland a penalty and they go for goal to tie the match up at 12-12.
47mins - Time is off for another injury, this time to Issac Luke who appears to have hurt his shoulder again :( There was also some handbags being thrown after Luke stood on the hand of one of the England players.
46mins - England approaches the red zone, and they lose control of the ball.. Kiwis scrum? No actually, it is another penalty. They take the tap and play resumes.
44mins - Time is off after Dallin Watene-Zelezniak is hit around the neck area. After two minutes, play resumes.
42mins - The Kiwis are very close to scoring their third, but Elliott Whitehead reads the play correctly to force a mistake.
41mins - Late in the set, Issac Luke wins a penalty for New Zealand and they start the set in the red zone.
40mins - The second half has started at Mile High Stadium, New Zealand get first use of the football.
9:22am - If you want to read about the failed NZ anthem, click here.
HALFTIME - Gareth Widdop misses the conversion and that will be it to end the half. Both sides have scored two tries, but New Zealand hold a narrow 12-10 lead at the break.
39mins - TRY ENGLAND - And the English do score right before the break! Elliott Whitehead crashes over to score England's second of the game.
39mins - England win a penalty and will have one more chance to score before the break.
38mins - Last tackle and New Zealand runs from the middle to the right and back to the middle and then they dropped the ball. That was like an NFL running back just running around.
37mins - Time is off as Nelson Asofa-Solomona gets a talking too for a cheap shot. New Zealand keeps the ball and continues to attack the England line.
36mins - Issac Luke kicks the 40/20 and what a kick it was. It just goes out before the corner flag.... Can New Zealand score once more before the break?
34mins - Gareth Widdop lands the conversion so New Zealand's lead has been cut in half.
33mins - TRY ENGLAND - The try is given and finall, England get some points on the board. They finally break the Kiwi defence.
They just showed another replay and it looks like Hall actually dropped it but it had already been awarded so play continues.... So i better take back that Fusitu'a-esk putdown.
33mins - Ryan Hall goes over for England with the David Fusitu'a-esk putdown. It looks good, but it is going up the TMO.
31mins - Leeson Ah Mau goes close to scoring New Zealand's third of the game. He saw the line and went for it, but lost control of the ball in the process.
30mins - Penalty to New Zealand after a shoulder charge by Sam Burgess.
29mins - Jamayne Isaako kicks his second conversion of the match to extend the lead. Kiwis lead 12-0.
28mins - TRY KIWIS - Dallin Watene-Zelezniak goes over after Issac Luke makes a break down the middle of the field. Great supporting run by the fullback as he dives over under the posts.
27mins - England continues to attack the line, but they can't break this Kiwi goalline defence. They had an overlap on the right wing, but it comes to a scrappy end.
26mins - Guess who? Esan Marsters makes another break, and he throws the ball out to his winger in Jamayne Isaako who is in for all money, but the Broncos winger knocks the ball on.
25mins - NO TRY ENGLAND - Tom Burgess is tackled short of line and the ball bounces out and the Kiwis survive once more. The Kiwis lead 6-0.
25mins - England go over for a try. I think that is Tom Burgess that crashes over. But it is being checked by the TMO.
24mins - England is getting plenty of quick play-the-balls as they look to catch New Zealand napping but no luck so far. England kick to the sky on the last and there a is collision mid-air as the ball goes to ground and then kicked dead.
The referee says Jamayne Isaako knocked the ball forward and England have a scrum 10 out from the try line.
22mins - Elliott Whitehead goes over the line for England, but he is held up on fourth tackle.
21mins - Play is back on and straight away England wins a penalty after a high tackle by Jared Waerea-Hargreaves. Both teams have made their first changes of the game.
20min - DRINKS BREAK - Due to the heat and how none of the players have played at altitude before, there is currently a two-minute drinks break. The crowd celebrates but I think that is more because cheerleaders ran out onto the field, but hey, I could be wrong.
20mins - Esan Marsters is causing problems for the England defenders as he makes another break, but his offload drifts forward.
18mins - England are gifted excellent field position after a wayward offload is swooped up by Sam Burgess. Gareth Widdop attacks the line on tackle four and drops the ball cold.
16mins - First scrum of the game goes to New Zealand after England drop the ball close to the line.
15mins - Martin Taupau extends the play with another good offload which finds Esan Marsters who makes a break down the middle. Some razzle by the Kiwis as Issac Luke kicks for himself but the ball rolls dead.
14mins - A steady set to back up the try by the Kiwis who make 60 metres before launching the ball into the heavens.
12mins - Jamayne Isaako lands the conversion, and New Zealand leads 6-0.
11mins - TRY KIWIS - And New Zealand does make England pay for the lucky bounce as Kodi Nikorima makes a break down the wing and finds Esan Marsters who scores in his test debut.
10mins - England kicks early in the set looking for a 40/20... It is heading into touch before boucning the other way.... Lucky break for New Zealand.
9mins - No penalty for the late hit and play resumes in Denver... The Kiwis are 20 out from the line and Kodi Nikorima goes for a run and then kicks it... I think players are too scared to kick due to the small in-goals.
8mins- Time is off as Jonny Lomax is down after being hit late. Some players already appear to be struggling with hands on hips.
7mins - A massive run and some take breaks by Martin Taupau gets the Kiwis into the 'red zone' for the first time in the game. They get to the final tackle, and Esan Marsters goes for a run but is tackled short of the line.
5mins - The big Kiwi forwards are struggling with England's quick play-the-balls, and they are on the front foot. The English go close again, but New Zealand holds them up short of the line.
3mins - England starts another set inside their half. They get to the 10m line and drop the ball... The Kiwis survive again.
2mins -The Kiwis complete their first set and England run the ball back, and then win a penalty for being inside the 10.
1min - England is 10 out from the line early on due to that penalty... They attack the line, but strong defence by New Zealand prevents their opponents from scoring.
1min -Issac Luke kicks off, and the ball goes about 10 metres over the dead ball line. It will take a while to adjust to kicking distances with the altitude and also the small in-goals.
KICKOFF - We are underway in Denver. New Zealand gets the match started in Colorado.
8:09am - Commentator Glen Larmer said that is the worst rendition of the anthem he has heard.... I might have to agree.... Anyways it is Haka time.
8:07am - The lady singing the New Zealand national anthem is not doing the best job I must admit. She is not in time with the music, and it sounds bizarre but good on her.
8:05am - Time for the national anthems. The England national anthem is first.
8:03am - Both teams are walking out onto the field as I type this to a roar from the crowd.
8:01am - The game-day ball has been delivered on the field at Mile High in exciting style.
7:59am - Plenty has been made about playing this test at high altitude... The video below is from when the Glasgow Warriors played in at high altitude in South Africa, and it makes me wonder if we will see any of this today.
7:53am - Issac Luke is describing this match as a "special occasion" for all the players involved.
7:50am - The crows is starting to build up inside the stadium... I've seen England fans, New Zealand fans, Broncos fans (of course) and even Springboks fans.
7:42am - Both teams are out on Mile Hgh stadium warming up for this encounter. Right now it is 29 degrees in Denver so there will be drinks breaks every 20 minutes.
Kia ora and welcome to live updates of the New Zealand Kiwis facing England in a one-off test at Mile High Stadium in Denver, Colorado.
Seven players will make their test debuts for New Zealand, while two players will represent England for the first time.
We bring you live streaming written commentary, (BE SURE TO REFRESH YOUR BROWSER), and all the action.
Commentary will start around 7:40am. In the meantime, watch the video above as Martin Tapau talks about what it means to play in the historic test.
Lineups
Kiwis: 1-Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, 2-Jamayne Isaako, 3-Esan Marsters, 4-Peta Hiku, 5-Ken Maumalo, 6-Te Maire Martin, 7-Kodi Nikorima, 8-Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, 9-Issac Luke, 10-Nelson Asofa-Solomona, 15-Ray Faitala-Mariner, 12-Joseph Tapine, 13-Martin Taupau
Bench: 11-James Fisher-Harris, 14-Slade Griffin, 16-Herman Ese'ese, 17-Leeson Ah Mau
England: 1- Stefan Ratchford, 2- Jermaine McGillvary, 3- John Bateman, 4- Tom Makinson, 5- Ryan Hall, 6- Jonny Lomax, 7- Gareth Widdop, 8- James Graham, 9- James Roby, 15- Thomas Burgess, 11- Sam Burgess, 12- Elliott Whitehead, 13- Sean O'Loughlin
Bench: 11- Scott Taylor, 14- Jake Connor, 16- Chris Hill, 17- Mark Percival
Head-to-head
Kiwis $2.25 England $1.60
Pre-match banter: Sam Ackerman: Stop bashing the Kiwis vs England Denver test
International rugby league - and the Kiwis in particular - have been an easy target over the past few months.
And rightfully so, after the trainwreck that was New Zealand's World Cup campaign.
But the hate that's been directed at the Denver test has been over the top. This test is a good idea.
The Aussies decided they don't want to play mid-season tests anymore, so bye-bye Anzac Test. The options for New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) were simple - find another opponent or only play at the end of the year.
A representative weekend was set up to allow other nations to play and for State of Origin to get a Sunday spot in the calendar. Can you imagine the reaction if everyone else played this weekend, but NOT the Kiwis?
Let's deal with the obvious - absolutely a test against Tonga, Samoa or Fiji would be fantastic and preferable.
But for that to happen, NZRL would essentially have to fund the event.
Given the current mood around the national team, would you be prepared to bankroll a match in New Zealand and need to rely on a big crowd just to break even?
We're talking about the cost of hiring a venue, paying for the teams and support staff, covering insurance for NRL teams to release their players, promotion and advertising, accommodation…
Honesty check - outside of the rugby league purists, who would be excited about attending a game between the rebuilding Kiwis and England on our shores?
People struggled to show up to watch the New Zealanders at the World Cup last year - just over 11,000 attended the shock quarterfinal loss to Fiji.
Sport is a business and this is a business decision.
This weekend's Denver test is being funded by Moore Sports, who are also bringing the 2025 Rugby League World Cup to the United States. Anyone who gives a toss about rugby league should want that tournament to be a success.
What are the odds of it going well if 14 teams just rock up there in seven years, without exposing the American audience to the sport? Yeah, nah.
I don't expect the United States to suddenly embrace league as its new national past-time, but I also think the 13-man code has a better chance than rugby union. The rules are easier to understand, the comparisons to American football are closer and it's a more collision-based sport than union.
The Kiwis get the chance to be at the forefront, and with things like the haka and the fact they're not England, there's a chance to build a bit of a following in years to come.
Critics love to rip rugby league (again, with good reason) for not having enough international reach and credibility.
So what happens when the sport tries to improve both? It gets slammed for trying.
Hopefully, the Kiwis will have a stronger line-up to choose from in October, when they're set to host Australia on home soil. That is a rare occurrence and I know which test I'd rather NZRL ensured was played in front of a Kiwi audience.
Another reason it's a good thing? NRL clubs flexed their muscle and didn't get their way.
This is a step towards maturity for the sport.
There was a genuine chance the test would be called off, as franchises bristled at the idea of releasing their players. We still have players like Shaun Johnson and Gerard Beale being withdrawn from consideration by the Warriors, with the likes of Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Tohu Harris making themselves unavailable.
But in general, the clubs have conceded to allow their players to go.
This is a big step forward. Teams that aren't Australia have been hamstrung time and time again as clubs come up with factitious injuries or excuses to hold players back from representing their country.
State of Origin is a much bigger risk to player welfare - some players backing up to play within 48 hours.
New South Wales and Queensland players miss more football than anyone involved in Sunday's American expedition will, yet we hear coaches going to great lengths to talk up their players' selection chances for that arena.
If you have a problem with the Denver game, you better be as vehemently vocal about the next time the All Blacks play games that don't involve the host nation in the US or Japan. Where's the furore about the ABs playing the Wallabies in Yokohama in October?
The Kiwis have a new coach, plenty of new players, and the chance to rebuild their style and culture. Getting the chance to do that first-up away from the national spotlight isn't a terrible thing either.
There is one clear and present way to make sure there are more tests played in New Zealand in the future - show up, put your backside on a seat and show you're prepared to put your money where your mouth is.
That's the one action that never gets ignored.
Newshub.
