New Zealand - 48 Ireland - 10
FULLTIME - A brave effort from Ireland, while the Kiwis have plenty to work before next weekend's knockout stage. Click here for a full wrap.
79th min - TRY NEW ZEALAND to Joey Manu
The fullback carves a hole in the Irish defence to fire one final parting shot for the Kiwis.
72nd min - Wide pass to Mulitalo in wide open pastures but Brown's pass floats forward.
66th min - TRY IRELAND to Louis Senior
Mulitalo cleans up a kick but loses the ball in the tackle on his own line and Senior grabs his second try of the day. (Ireland 44-10)
63rd min - TRY NEW ZEALAND to Kenny Bromwich
Chamberlain makes a meal of Foran's kick and and the ball bounces up sweetly for Bromwich to claim a gift-wrapped try. Brown converts. (NZ 44-6)
60th min - TRY NEW ZEALAND to Jahrome Hughes
There goes that man again. Lightning right-foot step from first reciver and he darts under the black dot. That ends his day at Headingley. The Kiwis finally nail a conversion. (NZ 38-6)
55th min - TRY NEW ZEALAND to James Fisher-Harris
The hulking forward hits the line at pace and charges through, offering up one final 'don't argue' on his way over next to the posts. Brown somehow misses the conversion. (NZ 32-6)
53rd min - Another Irish mistake gives NZ a fresh set inside enemy territory.
51st min - Ireland cough up possession in the face of some swarming NZ defence. Unforced error ends the NZ attack.
Waerea-Hargreaves is back on the field from the bin.
46th min - TRY NEW ZEALAND to Jordan Rapana
Rapana freed on the right edge by some quick passing. He still had some work to do but was able to keep his defender at bay with a fend and place the ball just before sliding into touch. That's his second try of the day. Brown can't convert. (NZ 28-6)
46th min - Piggyback penalty for NZ. They'll launch from 30m out. Tackle reset, 10m out now.
42nd min - Hughes jinks past one on the last tackle, backhand flick doesn't quite come off and Ireland survive.
41st min - Dylan Brown gets us restarted at Headingly. Mistake Ireland and NZ have an early chance to strike here.
Second half underway...
HALFTIME
38th min - TRY NEW ZEALAND to Ronaldo Mulitalo
Dropped pass falls for Hughes. Links with Brown, who dummies to create some space and fires a pass for Muiltalo to gas his way into the corner. Brown doesn't convert (NZ 24-6).
38th min - Uh oh, Waerea-Hargeaves is in trouble here. Swinging arm up top collects the Ireland player across the grill. Referees conference underway, he'll escape with a sinbinning. JWH was a tad lucky there, could well have been a send-off offence.
36th min - NZ earn a set reset as they cross halfway. Hughes bombs for Rapana on the last tackle and the wing is well wrapped up.
Some thunderous defence from the Kiwis, driving Ireland back towards their goalposts.
33rd min - TRY NEW ZEALAND to Peta Hiku
You guess it, that man Hughes yet again. Carves open the Irish defence and finds Hiku in support to run in untouched. Rapana can't convert. (NZ 20-6)
29th min - TRY IRELAND to Louis Senior
Misscommunication in the NZ backline and Briton Nikora gifts Senior an intercept try. Easy conversion...and Chamberlain drags it badly. (NZ 16-6)
26th min - TRY NEW ZEALAND to Peta Hiku
All Hughes again here, bending a precision grubber behind a rushing defensive line for Hiku to hit in stride and go over next to the right-hand upright. Rapana converts. (NZ 16-2)
25th min - NZ exposed on the right edge again, but a stray pass kills off the Irish attack. NZ scrum, 40m out.
Offside penalty gives them another prime attacking chance.
23rd min - Myler does well to collect a high ball and endures a bone-rattling hit from Mulitalo for his troubles.
20th min - TRY NEW ZEALAND to Jordan Rapana
Hughes lays on a pinpoint crossfield kick to Rapana in acres of space. The wing collects it on the full and dots down untouched. Rapana can't convert his own try. (NZ 10-2)
19th min - NZ penalty. They'll launch another raid from 30m out.
15th min - TRY NEW ZEALAND to Jahrome Hughes
Lost ball, Smith pounces and sets on a trademark pinballing run. Hughes collects it at first receiver with no momentum but bangs off two lethal right-foot steps and dives over next to the posts. (NZ 6-2)
13th min - Irish defence has been off the line very quickly, putting NZ under pressure. They're looking quite disjointed here early.
10th min - Bromwich caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Ireland penalty, they'll take a crack at the posts from 40m out. Ed Chamberlain nails it and Ireland have the lead. (Ireland 2-0)
8th min - Fresh attacking set for NZ, 30m out. Rapana jinks past two defenders, dragged down just short. Sloppy play of the ball by the Raider, turnover for Ireland.
Offside penalty helps Ireland relieve some pressure.
6th min - Some jarring hits from the NZ defence. Keary fakes the kick and decides to run it, finds Senior with plenty of space but the ball drifts forward. Wake-up call for NZ.
4th min - Excellent Keary kick deep into NZ territory. Brown bombs on the last, well taken at the back by Myler.
3rd min - Irish defence holding on. Final tackle kick is off an Ireland hand, counts resets. Tapine drops it cold and the Irish survive.
1st min - Ireland kick offf and NZ start with ball in hand. Steady set and the clearing kick pins Ireland at their 22m. Knock on in tackle two. Uh oh.
Monster four-player drive from the Kiwis forces the ball loose.
We're underway...
7:28am - Anthems complete. The Kiwis are set to launch into their haka, then we'll be into the action.
Peta Hiku leads a fearsome haka. Game on.
7:22am - The final messages beding delivered in the changing rooms, before the teams take to the hallowed turf at Headingly.
7:15am - After two comprehensive wins against lowly opposition, the Kiwis enter their third and final group match against the struggling Wolfhounds, who are coming off a 32-14 loss to Lebanon.
This will be the first time New Zealand have ever played Ireland in international rugby league.
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Kia ora and welcome to our live updates of NZ Kiwis' final group match of the Rugby League World Cup against Ireland from Leeds' iconic Headingley Stadium.
With top place in Group C essentially locked up, the match will serve as nothing much more than a warm-up for the Kiwis for their upcoming quarter-final, which will likely be against Fiji.
For the Wolfhounds, defeat against Lebanon last week assured they'd be heading home before the knockout rounds, with one final opportunity to depart with some pride in a test against the international heavyweights.
We'll have all of the action from 7:30am (NZ time).
TAB betting odds:
New Zealand - $1.001 Ireland - $21.00
Team line-ups:
New Zealand: 1-Joseph Manu, 2-Ronaldo Mulitalo, 17-Briton Nikora, 4-Peta Hiku, 5-Jordan Rapana, 6-Dylan Brown, 7-Jahrome Hughes, 8-Jesse Bromwich, 9-Brandon Smith, 10-James Fisher-Harris, 12-Kenny Bromwich, 16-Nelson Asofa-Solomona, 13-Joseph Tapine
Interchange: 11-Isaiah Papali'i, 14-Kieran Foran, 18-Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, 20-Isaac Liu
Ireland: 1 - Richie Myler, 20 - Louis Senior, 3 - Ed Chamberlain, 4 - Toby King, 5 - Innes Senior, 6 - Luke Keary, 7 - Joe Keyes, 17-Dan Norman, 16 - Brendan O'Hagan, 10 - Jaimin Jolliffe, 11 - James Bentley, 12 - Frankie Halton, 13 - George King 9 - Josh Cook, 14 - James McDonnell
Interchange: 15-Harry Rushton, 22 - James Hasson, 18 - Henry O'Kane, 21 - Ronan Michael
No bad blood between NZ Kiwis teammates Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Nelson Asofa-Solomona after NRL rivalry
By Alex Powell
NZ Kiwis enforcers Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Nelson Asofa-Solomona harbour no bad blood, as they move on from their NRL club feuds at the Rugby League World Cup.
In August, the pair of Kiwi props went head to head in an ugly clash between Melbourne Storm and Sydney Roosters, with both Asofa-Solomona and Werea-Hargreaves sent to the sin-bin for their roles in several incidents.
With club rivalries on hold during New Zealand's quest for a second World Cup crown, the pair have buried the hatchet for the greater good, with both players happy to bury their animosity.
"It's seamless," Waerea-Hargreaves said. "What happens away for your club [happens], as soon as you get into a camp like the Kiwis.
"For years, we've spoken about the brotherhood - you leave your ego wherever it is.
"You come into a camp like this and you want to make each other better. We train hard, we train at an intensity where you've got to hit each other.
"It is what it is, you leave that sort of stuff back in Australia - whatever it is. You move on.
"It's been sweet as."
For Waerea-Hargreaves, 33, the World Cup has so far been one to forget. The Sydney Roosters front-rower is yet to play a game, after being suspended by the NRL for dangerous contact in a tackle on South Sydney Rabbitohs rival Tom Burgess.
After serving a three-game ban, Waerea-Hargreaves will almost certainly appear for the Kiwis on Saturday (NZ time), when New Zealand finish pool play against Ireland at Leeds.
Watching from the sidelines, as the Kiwis secured victories over Lebanon and Jamaica, Waerea-Hargreaves has been itching to return to the field, after weeks confined to the training paddock.
"You come away and all you want to do is play," he continued. "You get so used to getting in the rhythm of playing footy.
"[I've] accepted the three match ban. I came away knowing it was going to be a long time before being in the mix again.
"It's quite frustrating. You come away in a 24-man squad, you do fitness most days. You do extra work away, knowing it's going to benefit yourself and the team, but there's no real light at the end of the tunnel, other than 3-4 weeks away.
"It was a bit frustrating, but I'm happy I'm in the mix again. I trained with the team today - other than just running the ball up and getting bashed 20 times - being that guy.
"It was really exciting to be back and knowing that I'm playing on Friday."
Saturday's clash will also see a reunion between Waerea-Hargreaves and Sydney Roosters teammate Luke Keary, who has opted to play for Ireland over chasing a spot with Australia, as one of several players representing a second-tier nation.
"It'll be good to see him," Waerea-Hargreaves added. "We've spoken a few times on tou, and tried to catch up in the past.
"Back end of the season for club, we had a few jokes about playing against each other.
"I'm really looking forward to seeing him on Friday. He's been playing some good footy, so I'm looking forward to getting out there and giving it a good test."
