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The defending world champions, New Zealand will play their final pool game against Group B opponents Papua New Guinea in what may be the last appearance by the Kumuls in this World Cup. Join us for live scores and commentary from 7am AEDT.
The Kiwis go into this game on the back of big wins against Samoa and France.
Coach Stephen Kearney has rested a few individuals but also wants to strengthen his combinations in the key areas.
Key members of the spine in Kieran Foran, Shaun Johnson and Issac Luke will be playing their third games of the tournament. Enforcers Jared Warea-Hargreaves and Frank Pritchard have been given the week off.
The skipper, Simon Mannering will also be rested in this game meaning Kieran Foran will captain his country for the second time.
This match will also see Sonny Bill Williams return to the New Zealand line-up along with Josh Hoffman, Dean Whare and Manu Vatuvei.
Papua New Guinea faced a setback just prior to the tournament starting when James Segeyaro was ruled out.
The Kumuls attack has suffered as a result of the loss of their key player and the Papuans have really struggled to score points in the RLWC.
In the two matches combined, Papua New Guinea have only scored 12 points.
They played well against France in the opener but were horribly poor against the Samoans in their last match.
Adrian Lam has named virtually the same squad as the last game and will be hoping that his team puts in a much more improved performance against the World Champions.
The Kumuls really have nothing to lose in this game and will no doubt throw the ball around and tackle hard, as pride in the jersey will ensure they give it their all.
New Zealand will be looking to simply get better as they have in each game heading towards the business end of the World Cup.
With players competing for spots in the team, New Zealand should have too much class in this match – Kiwis by plenty.
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