The Kiwi Ferns defeated the world champions 12-6 in Melbourne on Saturday afternoon, earning their first win over Australia in seven years thanks to a valiant defensive effort.
Leianne Tufuga scored her first Test try with seven minutes remaining in a match that saw them spend much of the match defending their line and having few attacking opportunities. This ended New Zealand’s seven-game losing streak against their trans-Tasman rivals.
In the second of their two-game Pacific Championships series, which saw the Jillaroos win 16–10 in the first game, the Kiwi Ferns continued to do what they had been doing for the entire game: they toughed it out off the ball. This denied Australia the chance to respond. The game took place at AAMI Park.
With the exception of Jaime Chapman’s first goal on minute 10, the Jillaroos controlled possession and appeared to be the stronger team on the ball from the start. However, they were unable to penetrate the unyielding Kiwi defence.
Australia went into the sheds tied at 6-6 despite controlling all of the major statistical categories for the first 35 minutes of play. Tamika Upton’s later-ruled-out claim was the only action following Chapman’s try that went wide.
Dominant as they were, Brad Donald’s side continuously shot themselves in the foot with errors which saw them complete under 40 percent of their first-half sets.
It was a one-on-one strip from Tiana Davison, who had just entered the field from the bench, which gave the Kiwi Ferns possession to send Mele Hufanga over in the final minute of the half.
Another Jillaroos turnover looked to have led to a go-ahead try for New Zealand, but Apii Nicholls’ effort was ruled out when the Bunker found obstruction in the lead up.
As Australia continued to boss time on the ball, New Zealand continued to come up with big plays in defence and turn their rivals away, with the best of them coming 16 minutes from full-time when they rallied to deny Jakiya Whitfeld a try on debut.
Then with seven to play they finally got their breakthrough at the other end, spreading wide for Tufuga to score, with McGregor nailing the sideline conversion.
It ended New Zealand’s seven-game losing streak against the Jillaroos and was their first victory over Australia in the women’s game in seven years.
In 18 Test matches, it was Australia’s first defeat.
Midway through the second half, Raecene McGregor had an HIA, which she overcame to return for the last 14 minutes of play.Mele Hufanga was forced to leave the pitch for a head injury after Kezie Apps made contact with her head with her shoulder in the 57th minute.
In the 61st minute, Olivia Kernick was placed on report for a dangerous tackle.
Georgia Hale led New Zealand in both tackle count (44), as well as run metres (134).
While New Zealand completed seventy percent of their 37 sets, Australia only completed 53 percent.
Compared to New Zealand’s one offload, the Jillaroos recorded 14.
Winger Jakiya Whitfeld and hooker Emma Manzelman made their debuts for the national team, while Jillaroos co-captain Kezie Apps played in his 15th Test match.
the game’s gameplay
Mele Hufanga in a one-on-one near the line is the most dangerous play in women’s rugby league right now, as the 2023 NRLW season and the Pacific Championships have demonstrated. After Tyla Nathan-Wong put her under just before the half, the Broncos star was inevitable to score because Tamika Upton had no chance of stopping the explosive centre.
Even though we made mistakes, we persisted in showing up. Rugby league is an interesting game; you can have complete control and everything else will work against you, but if you put in enough effort, things will eventually work in your favour. We can build on this effort in the future, and we are incredibly proud of it.” Coach Ricky Henry of the Kiwi Ferns
What Was Spoken
“We were strangers when it came to ball play, but we were supportive of one another on defence. Regarding the girls’ defence, there is some merit to the work they put in. Bravo to the Ferns; they simply refused to let us in at the last minute, even though they kept showing up. It’s difficult to accept. – Brad Donald, Jillaroos head coach
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