The Wallaroos have fallen to the Black Ferns in Newcastle to lose the Laurie O’Reilly Cup for another year, but it was far from a one-sided affair.
The 38-12 scoreline saw a strong second-half fightback from the hosts, with tries to Eva Karpani and Ashley Marsters headlining a strong performance from the Wallaroo set piece.
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So what did we learn?
The winning streak might be over, but the Wallaroos’ performance in front of 4,529 fans in Newcastle was night and day compared to Ballymore in July last year.
The growth of the side under Jo Yapp has been noted – but the benchmark was always going to be this match, and while the visitors still won, the hosts put in a much-improved performance,.
Tries to Ashley Marsters and Eva Karpani marked the first points scored by the Aussies against New Zealand on home soil since 2022, and they may have scored more, if not for a Georgina Friedrichs attempt that was deemed a knock-on by the TMO – with replays suggesting it might have been a try.
A second tough call in favour of Braxton Sorensen-McGee scoring New Zealand’s third try late in the second half – when replays suggested she may have lost control planting the ball on the line - had fans scratching their heads.
In the end, it might have changed the scoreline somewhat, but in the greater scheme of the Wallaroos growth, Newcastle has indicated a notable step forward in their level of competitiveness against one of the best teams in women’s rugby.
The growth of the Wallaroos since July last year was hard to ignore, and the second half saw three key areas of improvement – the level of physicality, speed and the mental game.
Unlike last year, which saw the Black Ferns break off tackles with ease and overwhelm the women in gold with sheer speed and numbers, the Wallaroos structure was markedly better – with the hosts able to match up in the contact and in the ruck, showing a much better approach to take the World Champions on directly.
The scrum and lineout also saw marked improvement, with both tries coming from well-orchestrated mauls.
While the three first half tries proved the difference for the visitors, the 19-12 second half scoreline points to much better signs ahead under Yapp.
While the gap has certainly closed, New Zealand has once again shown their class against their Trans-Tasman rivals.
A double in the first half to Ayesha Leti-I’iga and a third try to Braxton Sorensen-McGee saw the visitors open up a commanding lead.
While the hosts asked plenty of questions in the second half, the women in back showed great composure to see off the challenge.
Sorensen-McGee completed a dream debut with a second try on full time – and earning player of the match.
While several players stood up for the Wallaroos, arguably the biggest success was the encouraging start at flyhalf by Tia Hinds.
After enduring a tough opening half hour, the Sevens star showed great composure, growing in confidence as the game went on, combining well with Faitala Moleka.
It wasn’t a perfect performance from the backline, with both Georgina Friedrichs and Charlotte Caslick struggling to get input in the first half.
However, the growth in confidence in the second half saw the attack grow as well – which bodes well for the rest of the Pacific Four series.
While the Wallaroos were always outsiders coming into this clash, the same cannot be said for next week’s clash against the USA.
With the two sides set to meet in the World Cup pool stages, it might loom as arguably the most critical of the entire World Cup preparation matches.
The USA fell to Canada in their opening match 26-14, but several players loom as threats for the women in gold to neutralise – not the least of which being superstar Ilona Maher.
However, the Wallaroos should have good reason to believe a win is possible in Canberra, should they maintain their current growth and improvement.
All roads lead to the national capital next week.
