Kiwis run riot as two sent off on Gold Coast

New Zealand winger Ronaldo Mulitalo and Fiji halfback Brandon Wakeham were sent from the field at Cbus Super Stadium on Saturday as the Kiwis tuned up for the semi-finals with a 78-0 smashing of the Bati.

With the Kiwis cruising at 48-0 the match exploded in the 52nd minute when Mulitalo shot in off his wing and made high contact with Ronald Philitoga, who was ruled out of the rest of the game.

Wakeham came in to remonstrate with Mulitalo and threw a punch, leading to him being marched.

With both sides down to 12 men the Kiwis ran in five more tries, with gun centre Casey McLean bagging four to take his record to 15 tries in seven Tests.

While Mulitalo faces a nervous wait for Sunday's judiciary charges his team-mates will revel in the comprehensive nature of the victory that sends an ominous warning to their World Cup rivals.

Chasing their first World Cup title since 2008, the Kiwis' 13-try romp was started and finished by Keano Kini, who racked up 260 run metres and seven tackle breaks.

The clash at Cbus Super Stadium was a shootout for a semi-final berth but in the end the Bati simply had no answers as the loss of Api Koroisau (jaw) and Semi Valemei (head knock) in the first half left them rattled.

By the time the half-time siren sounded the Kiwis had racked up a 48-0 lead as Kini, McLean and Mulitalo broke tackles at will and Naufahu Whyte continued to enhance his reputation as one of the game's elite big men.

Skipper James Fisher-Harris got in on the action with his first Test try since the 2023 Pacific Championships against Samoa, trailing through to pounce on the ball after Mulitalo had tapped back a Jahrome Hughes bomb.

Hughes finished the day with three try assists as he tuned up for the knockout stage of the tournament where the Kiwis are a chance of welcoming back superstar Kalyn Ponga from a broken arm.

Ponga suffered the injury in the tournament opener against Australia on October 15 and most expected he was done for the campaign but the Knights No.1 has worked tirelessly on his rehab and looms as a real X-factor for the Kiwis next week.