The Jillaroos have claimed a statement 10-4 win over the Kiwi Ferns in their Pacific Championships rugby league clash at Eden Park.
In a prequel to next week’s Pacific Cup final, the scoreline would suggest a tighter contest, but the Jillaroos dominated every statistical category, came up with the bigplays when needed most and will take plenty of confidence heading to Sydney next week.
While New Zealand will be disappointed with the loss, there were signs of improvement, coming off their come-from-behind 22-20 win over Fetu Samoa a fortnight ago, but they were ultimately their own worst enemies, highlighted by 12 errors and a 65% completion rate.
Kiwi Ferns coach Ricky Henry was pleased to see improvements, but concedes they must be better.
“We worked hard and [in] patches of the game, we probably could have conserved a little bit of energy,” Henry said.
Jillaroos fullback Abbi Church was electric in her test debut, running 197m, while halfback Jesse Southwell did a great job steering the team around the field. For the Kiwi Ferns, co-captain Georgia Hale was excellent again, making a game-high 50 tackles, along with 100 run metres.
The match was always set to be a physical battle, after the Kiwi Ferns laid down a strong haka, where they advanced to be within metres of the Australian players.
The Jillaroos lost Keeley Davis early in the match with an arm injury in the opening set and both sides were guilty of errors in the opening exchanges, but once the match found its rhythm, it was a enthralling battle.
It took the Kiwi Ferns nearly 25 minutes for their first real attacking opportunity where they managed to force a repeat set but couldn’t capitalise, and eventually the Jillaroos broke the deadlock in the 32nd minute when Jessica Sergis broke three tackles to dive over in the corner and give her side a deserved 6-0 lead at the break – the third straight game New Zealand have failed to score in the first half.
The Ferns made a strong start to the second half, forcing a repeat set, but it was the Jillaroos who extended their lead after Apii Nicholls spilt the ball and Church swooped on it to claim her first test try.
New Zealand eventually got the breakthrough they needed when Annessa Biddle made a break deep inside their half and outraced Australian captain Ali Brigginshaw to score, but Raecene McGregor couldn’t convert.
The try set up a thrilling finish, and New Zealand had one last throw of the dice but couldn’t make it count, meaning Australia will be firm favourites in the Pacific Cup final next Sunday.
Ben Francisis an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers breaking sports news.
