KANGAROOS captain Cam Smith yesterday accused the Kiwis of showing disrespect to the international game when they turned up 40 minutes late to the launch of the World Cup promotional campaign after a training session managed by Wayne Bennett ran over time.

With representatives of all 10 countries involved in the end-of-season tournament attending an Rugby League International Federation meeting in Sydney tomorrow, World Cup organisers wanted to capitalise on the interest in Friday night's Centenary Test and had invited a contingent from both the Australian and New Zealand camps to the function.

But after finally making contact with the Kiwis and being told they had gone from training at Moore Park to their Bondi hotel and were running very late, it was decided to start the launch without them.

"I was bitterly disappointed that they only turned up just as the event was finishing," RLIF and ARL chairman Colin Love told the Herald last night.

While he accepted that the Kiwis hadn't deliberately snubbed the launch, Love is expected to raise the issue today at a meeting with NZRL officials.

Smith, who declared it a great honour to be captaining Australia in the historic Test at the SCG, described the lateness of the Kiwis as "rude".

"It's not rude to us but it is probably rude to the international game because we are trying to promote the World Cup and we feel it is important to promote the international game," he said. "From the Australian point of view, it doesn't really bother us - but it's a bit of a shame. Leading into the World Cup, it's an important time."

New Zealand coach Stephen Kearney, who appeared genuinely embarrassed, apologised for his side's lack of punctuality and explained that their training session, in which Bennett had them working on defensive drills, ran longer than intended.

The Kiwis had planned to travel directly from the training ground to the function, but Kearney felt it necessary to send his players back to the team's hotel at Bondi for a recovery session before attending the function.

As it was, captain Roy Asotasi was the only member of the New Zealand side that will play on Friday night who attended, with the two players dropped from the 19-man squad, David Kidwell and Lance Hohaia, joining him, Kearney and former Kiwis skipper Ruben Wiki at the Opera House.

The decision to overlook Kidwell was made before his impressive display in Souths' first win of the season, against North Queensland last Sunday, and Kearney told the veteran back-rower last week in a conversation that began with his saying: "This is going to be a hard phone call."

"It was a tough decision, but you look at the guys who are in there and tell me who I leave out?" Kearney said. "I know what David brings to the table in terms of leadership and experience … it was a shame he had to miss out."

Rabbitohs hooker Issac Luke, Roosters utility Setaimata Sa and St George Illawarra winger Jason Nightingale will all make their Test debuts in a New Zealand team that will have more Test caps sitting on the sideline, in the form of Kearney, Wiki, fellow former great Stacey Jones and Kidwell, than on the field. Kidwell will be 18th man for the Kiwis.

Meanwhile, Kangaroos centre Justin Hodges (shoulder) completed a closed training session at Kogarah last night and is expected to take his place in the starting line-up on Friday night.

With Darren Lockyer pulling out on Sunday due to ongoing knee trouble, Smith will captain Australia for the second time, but he doesn't anticipate a night as easy as the one the Kangaroos enjoyed in Wellington.

"I think it's going to be totally different this time," he said. "New Zealand would be disappointed with what they dished out last season, starting with our match and the tour of England … so they are going to want to change the perception of New Zealand rugby league - and there is no better way of doing that than selecting a new coach and appointing Wayne Bennett in an advisory role."