Hastings expects GB improvement

Great Britain half-back Jackson Hastings is adamant there will be much improvement when they face New Zealand on Saturday. The Lions, on their first tour for 12 years, were beaten 14-6 by a Tonga invitational team in a disappointing performance on Saturday. They were 12-0 down at half-time and John Bateman’s try in the second half could not inspire them to victory in a lacklustre performance. Hastings was making his Lions debut after a stunning season for Salford Red Devils in Super League, in which he helped them reach the Grand Final and also won the Man of Steel award. Ahead of the first of two Tests against New Zealand in Auckland this Saturday, the 23-year-old says there were positives to take form the Tonga match but they must be more ruthless in possession. “When we broke it down on video and actually looked at where we were on the field and the positions we were getting to and the shape we had, it was pretty good to be fair,” he said. “When we actually got the ball in our hands and were running at the line me and Gaz (Gareth Widdop) were creating opportunities but there probably wasn’t enough times when we did that and that’s something we’ve worked on already at training this week.”