Hinds the hero as Australia take down New Zealand after siren to reach SVNS Grand Final

Sun, Jun 2, 2024, 9:57 AM
Nathan Williamson
by Nathan Williamson
Tia Hinds converts after the buzzer to deliver a Grand Final spot at SVNS Madrid

Australia have produced an incredible finish, knocking out New Zealand 21-19 after the siren in the SVNS Grand Final semi-finals.

Tia Hinds kicked the conversion well after full-time to book their place in the Final after a remarkable comeback against the League Winners.

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The Australians have been consistent throughout the tournament, entering as the second seed after their defeat to the Kiwis in the Singapore Final.

However, the Black Ferns' defeat to Canada set up a grudge match in the semi-finals, unable to overcome a 21-0 half-time deficit in the group stages.

It was a physical first half as both sides traded opportunities before Mahina Paul opened the scoring with two minutes left in the first half.

As the half-time siren sounded, Faith Nathan sprinted past the defence from a scrum to give Australia a two-point lead at the break.

The Kiwis hit right back as Risi Pouri-Lane finished off a great counter from Jorja Miller at the start of the second half.

Portia Woodman-Wichliffe extended the lead after some bruising play to all but secure the win for the Kiwis before the Australians mounted a major comeback.

It started when Faith Nathan dived over to reduce the margin, put into a hole by Teagan Levi with 45 seconds to go.

They then regained the restart as Maddison Levi recovered Tia Hinds' kick to give them one final chance to attack.

Tim Walsh's side was patient and eventually spotted the gap as the younger Levi spotted superstar Charlotte Caslick into space.

She then found try-scoring wonder Levi to level the scores well after the siren, having broken the record for most tries in a season earlier in the weekend.

This presented the stage for playmaker Hinds to prove the hero, slotting the conversion to win the match.

"I was just thinking just make the kick; that's all that matters," Hinds said post-match.

"The team hung in there being down, that shows a lot of mental toughness and the Kiwis are such a tough side so to be able to come back and get the win, I'm really proud of the girls."

They will face France in the Final after they held on 19-17 against Canada.

The French had to deal with a yellow card in the second half but denied a late flurry from the Canadians three minutes into extra time.

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