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New Zealand stretched their unbeaten dominance over Australia to 23 wins but not before the Wallaroos gave the World Cup hosts a massive scare at Eden Park.
The Black Ferns’ class ultimately showed as they roared back from conceding three early tries and a 17-0 deficit in the first half to win 41-17.
At 17-all with 51 minutes gone Arabella McKenzie hit the post with a penalty attempt. Within two minutes Australia had Ivania Wong and skipper Shannon Parry yellow carded and the Kiwis stepped on the accelerator.
They scored two tries with the Aussies off the park, and jumped to a 31-17 lead. The exhausted Aussies were never going to bridge the gap.
“We were more than competitive, especially in that first half and then a bit of ill-discipline from us and not sticking to our structures obviously cost us a fair bit in that second half,” said Wallaroos coach Jay Tregonning.
He said the yellow cards made the job a tough one.
“We were trying to obviously to get them to stay in the fight and work hard off the ground. Leave the ruck alone as you do when you’re a couple of players down. Full credit to the Black Ferns. They showed their skill out there and exposed us when we were a couple of players down.”
With Eden Park a sellout and a record crowd for a women’s match in attendance the Kiwis started like the occasion might too distracting. After a passionate haka, they let the Aussies pile on three tries, a double to Bienne Terita and one from Wong inside 28 minutes.
“We were a bit overwhelmed I think by everything in the first half,” said New Zealand coach Wayne Smith.
“We knew that we had to calm down. The halftime talk was pretty calm, thanking them for their physicality that they showed at the end of the half. Just to replicate that going forward.
“We saw a couple of tactical things that we could do. But I’m really proud of the way they come back. It’s not easy when you’re getting out-physicaled like that by another team and you’re down points.
“It’s not easy to come back. So hats off to the women.”
Wallaroos star Em Chancellor said the game was a “whirlwind”. “We gave it our absolute all in the first 20 and we did everything we could to hold on. But they play such a fast game, and played better than us by the end of it.”
Claudia MacDonald scored four of England’s 14 tries as the Rugby World Cup favourites demolished Fiji 84-19 on the opening day of the tournament at Eden Park.
The Fijians had been in touch at 24-14 down at halftime before the English ran riot with ten second-half tries.
England have never scored more tries or points in a World Cup match and extend their record winning run to 26 Tests.
England’s previous highest World Cup score was 82 against Kazakhstan in 2010 and they scored 13 tries against Sweden and Canada in 1998.
Auckland’s Eden Park was sold out for the opening day and is expected to be full for the final fixture between hosts New Zealand and Australia, with an attendance of 40,000 set to surpass the record of 20,000 set at the 2014 World Cup.
Halfback Laure Sansus has scored two tries as France underlined their title credentials with a bonus point 40-5 victory over South Africa in the opening match of the tournament earlier Saturday.
The match was the first in a triple-header at the spiritual home of New Zealand rugby on Saturday, where a record crowd for a standalone women’s sporting event in the country is expected before the day is out.
Only a smattering of fans gathered in the 50,000-seat arena at the start of the first Pool C clash, but they were treated to some fine early tries as France, who finished third at the last two World Cups, took a 19-0 lead after 17 minutes.
Sansus ran through a gaping hole in the defence off the back of a rolling maul, centre Emilie Boulard latched onto a chip ahead from flyhalf Caroline Drouin and winger Gabrielle Vernier ran in an intercept for the third score.
South Africa, playing in their first World Cup since 2014, had some good moments in the scrum and at the maul, but it was not until 10 minutes after half time that they got on scoreboard when winger Nomawethu Mabenge finished well in the corner.
That charged the 11th ranked South Africans with confidence and they repelled attack after attack from the French until a quickly-taken penalty allowed Sansus to breach their line for a second time in the 68th minute.
Four minutes later and the French were in again after number eight Romane Menager made a break up the middle of the park and found Drouin inside her with an offload, allowing the playmaker to race away and cap her fine performance with a try.
Drouin was not finished yet and her crosskick gave debutante winger Joanna Grisez the simplest of finishes for the sixth try in the last few seconds.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.