Great Britain suffer series defeat to New Zealand

Great Britain’s re-appearance after a 12-year absence is turning into a shambles after they suffered a third straight defeat.

Beaten 14-6 in their opening game by a Tongan Invitational XIII, the Lions went down 12-8 in the first Test to New Zealand and, after producing their worse performance in Christchurch, were beaten 23-8 on Saturday to lose the series 2-0.

The whitewash piles the pressure on coach Wayne Bennett, whose contract is up at the end of the year and leaves Britain looking for consolation when they round off the tour against Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby next Saturday.