“It was a tough battle, probably a little bit left out there, but for our girls it’s just about learning from this game and taking it into next week.”
There were promising signs for the Black Ferns. When they strung a few phases together they were able to build pressure, make good metres and slice through the Wallaroos’ defence, and they were strong at the breakdown to secure turnovers.
There were some moments of individual efforts paying off too. Right wing Ayesha Leti-I’iga scored an early double as she took advantage of a lack of urgency from the Wallaroos at the breakdown, Braxton Sorensen-McGee showed her ability with ball in hand to score a couple of tries on debut, while loose forwards Kaipo Olsen-Baker and Layla Sae got through a massive amount of work on both sides of the ball.
But there was plenty on which they will look to improve in the weeks ahead.
At times their scrum looked immense, at others they conceded free kicks in that area. The lineout was an area of particular concern. They struggled throughout the match with wayward throws as the Wallaroos challenged them there. The Black Ferns finished the match with a 55% success rate at the lineout, according to Rugby AU stats, and when they were finally able to set up a lineout drive from an attacking lineout, they didn’t execute and conceded a penalty.
The Black Ferns got off to a strong start, defending their line well as the Australians dominated the early possession. When the visitors did get the ball in their hands, they were able to make good metres.
Leti-I’iga opened the scoring after 12 minutes after some smart play to get up and go again after initially being tackled but no Wallaroos came to contest the breakdown.
It was a similar case again in the 26th minute when she was again able to get through the middle from close range after some quick ball.
Sorensen-McGee had to do plenty of work for her first test try in the 39th minute. With a massive numbers advantage, halfback Maia Joseph threw a long pass that cut out four teammates before fortunately bouncing up for Sorensen-McGee, who had to dive to get the ball down – maintaining contact with it as it appeared to be falling from her grasp in the put down.
With a 19-point lead at halftime, the Black Ferns extended through a close-range effort from prop Chryss Viliko, before the Wallaroos hit back to score two well-deserved tries.
However, late points through Sylvia Brunt and Sorensen-McGee meant the Black Ferns pushed the scoreline out, as they retained the Laurie O’Reilly Cup and now turn their attention to Canada in Christchurch next weekend.
Black Ferns 38 (Ayesha Leti-I’iga 2, Braxton Sorensen-McGee 2, Chryss Viliko, Sylvia Brunt tries; Ruahei Demant 3 cons, Hannah King con)
Wallaroos 12 (Eva Karpani, Ashley Marsters tries; Faitala Moleka con)
HT: 19-0
