By Josh Graham at MKM Stadium

New Zealand coach Michael Maguire admitted the pressure got to his side before they rallied to pip Fiji 24-18 in a captivating quarter-final contest.

Jordan Rapana’s late show booked a scintillating semi-final showdown with Australia on Friday night after the Kiwis recovered from 18-6 down to avenge their last-eight defeat to the Bati five years ago.

Maika Sivo and Fiji skipper Kevin Naiqama put the underdogs 12-0 up before Ronaldo Mulitalo closed the gap at half-time and when Naiqama crossed for his second shortly after the break, the world’s No.1 side were on the brink of a shock exit.

Tries for Briton Nikora and the talismanic Joey Manu levelled the tie, before Rapana’s penalty edged the Kiwis ahead and he brought the curtain down on the game of the tournament so far with a try at the death.

Maguire heaped praise on Fiji for flying out of the blocks but conceded that his side will have to work through the gears to challenge the Kangaroos after at times being their own worst enemies in Hull.

The moment New Zealand secured their spot in the RLWC2021 semi-finals!#RLWC2021 | @BBCSport | #NZLFIJ | @NZRL_Kiwis pic.twitter.com/dGbRMt6gBo
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He said: “It was a close game, that’s what it was. Full credit to Fiji they were able to put a bit of pressure on us and we probably created a fair bit of pressure ourselves at times.

“There were [some anxious moments], they aged me a bit. As I said to the players, we’ve got through now.

“We will get a fair bit out of that. It probably wasn’t the style we would have liked to play but I’m pleased they stuck to the plan and that is what got them through.

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“They had to dig in, Fiji came at us and they put pressure on and we pushed a few passes we probably wouldn’t normally push.

“We need to be better in areas of our game, you can see that. They jumped us a little bit at the start and we put pressure on ourselves and you can’t do that against the teams we are playing.

“We can’t give away cheap loose ball, errors or penalties. At the start of the game we gave away a few penalties and the pressure came on and we just didn’t handle that as well as we have in the past but they are good lessons for us leading in to next week.”

It's that man Kevin Naiqama again!

What a start to the second half from Fiji, they lead by 12 again.#RLWC2021 | @BBCSport | @fijirugbyleague | #NZLFIJ pic.twitter.com/le1Ut3nuXU
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Maguire’s mercurial full-back Joey Manu once again collected the player of the match gong but the Kiwi boss insisted he will not be tempted to shift the Sydney Rooster to his club position of centre to cover the rip-roaring Australian left edge of Latrell Mitchell and Josh Addo-Carr.

He added: “Joey is doing a great job for us out the back, what he did tonight got us out of trouble quite a bit so we will leave him there.

“We will be alright, we will just get our forwards up and going and make sure they do their role as well as they can and that will help out that edge.”

Maguire confessed his side felt the absence of experienced prop Jared Waerea-Hargreaves who copped a one-match ban for a high shot on his return from a previous suspension against Ireland.

The 33-year-old played an active part in the preparations for Fiji but is set to be available to face the Kangaroos, along with fellow front-rower Moses Leota, with Maguire expecting a full contingent for a colossal clash.

He explained: “When you’ve got players of that quality sitting on the sideline it does play a part. Jared has been very strong in the background though, getting around the players.

“It’s all about getting your most experienced players out there as well, but we will be alright we’ve got a few coming back this week.”

The Rugby League World Cup promises to be the biggest, best and most inclusive event in the sport’s 127-year history with men’s, women’s and wheelchair teams competing in 61 games across 21 venues throughout England. Tickets are available via rlwc2021.com/tickets