The Kiwis have got out of jail against Samoa, scoring a late try to win 14-12 and avoid what would have been a shock loss.
The home side trailed for almost the entire match, and only a Shaun Kenny-Dowall try in the 76th minute rescued the Kiwis.
As much as the Kiwis were disappointing – and this was poor display from Stephen Kearney's men, several levels down on their effort last week – the Samoans were magnificent.
It was an even better display than they produced against England and better goal kicking (they missed all three conversions) would have seen them take the game.
If the game plan for the Kiwis was to deny the Samoans early momentum and belief, they failed.
With the home side hot on attack, Peta Hiku attempted a pass which didn't need to be thrown. It was intercepted by Tautau Moga, who sprinted 90m to open the scoring in the sixth minute.
The large group of Samoan supporters – more than 1,000 had made the journey from Auckland to join the local contingent – went ballistic.
After the Kiwis had bombed two early chances – just like last week, Jason Nightingale was again a culprit - they drew level on the scoreboard through Kieran Foran. The Manly five eighth showed great strength to force the ball near the posts, after good build up work from Isaac Luke.
This should have been the kick start for the Kiwis but they just couldn't get going. There was no momentum from the forwards and little fluidity in the backs; dare we say it, but this reminded of the 2013 World Cup Kiwis rather than the 2014 edition.
They made six errors in the first half alone – Samoa made just one – and compared to last week there was not the same impact from the bench forwards. Hiku gave a nervy display at the back and the powerful Samoan centre pairing of Tim Lafai and Joey Leilua overshadowed their highly rated Kiwi opposites for much of the match.
Not much was going right for the Kiwis while the Samoans were magnificent – possibly even better than last week against England. They deservedly regained the lead in the 18th minute, Daniel Vidot beating Manu Vatuvei to a precise Kyle Stanley grubber.
The Kiwis didn't do much right in the first half, though were bizarrely denied a try in the 33rd minute. The ball had ranged from side to side, with Manu Vatuvei eventually crossing in the corner
but the try was disallowed for obstruction several phases back in the movement. It seemed a harsh call.
The Kiwis were expected to lift in the second half but Samoa dominated most of it. They extended their lead in the 44th minute through Joey Leilua, the Knights centre showing astonishing strength to bulldoze through three New Zealand defenders.
The home side couldn't get going; whenever they threatened, they invariably made a mistake – but to be fair the Samoans were generally dominant.
Nightingale scored in the corner to give the home side a glimmer of hope in the 64th minute, but Shaun Johnson missed the conversion attempt from the sideline. It looked ominous for the Kiwis, before Kenny-Dowall's late, late score.
New Zealand 14 (K. Foran, J. Nightingale, S. Kenny-Dowall try, S. Johnson goal)
Samoa 12 (T. Moga, D. Vidot, J. Leilua tries)
Halftime: 6-8
By Michael Burgess in Whangarei
