Australia have topped their group at the Women’s World Cup, but in unconvincing fashion after scraping past the Kiwi Ferns 10-8 at York to set up a semi-final against the PNG Orchids.
The Ferns pushed them right to the end, and indeed, were only defeated on goalkicking. Brianna Clark’s missed attempt from in front of the sticks in the first half proved the difference in the end.
The Jillaroos were horrendous, making a hatful of errors and repeatedly squandering chances, while the New Zealanders played well above their weight, defending superbly and kicking well to manoeuver into attacking positions. They will be devasted to have lost, and now run into hosts England in the other semi.
Australia haven’t lost since 2016, but this is as close to defeat as they have come in that time. Coach Brad Donald was frustrated by the execution from his team, who struggled badly to build pressure and opened themselves up to counters from a motivated opposition.
Amber Hall, in particular, caused problems with bruising defence and hard carries that the Jillaroos never got on top of.
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Australia won, but beyond the mere fact of the result, it would be hard to draw many other positives. One might be their defence, which was good enough to keep the Kiwi Ferns at bay, but the attack never clicked and will be much more concerning ahead of a clash in the final with tonight’s opponents or a red hot England.
(Photo by Charlotte Tattersall/Getty Images for RLWC)
“That was a really tough game but in terms of defence a 10-8 scoreline shows what these ladies are capable of,” Donald said. “I said to the girls at halftime, ‘Hey, this is what we were after’.
“You can’t go into every game and expect to win easily and win a World Cup. You could watch the resilience (after) the drop in confidence with a few errors but I was really happy with how they bounced back.”
Hall’s efforts earned rave reviews from Kiwi Ferns coach Ricky Henry.
“(Hall) has been around for a while and has been one of the best players in the world,” Henry said. “I’m just pleased she’s on our team, she’s done some great stuff for us.”
The first 20 minutes saw the Jillaroos struggle to break their opponents down, aided by heroic tackling from New Zealand. Though Tarryn Aitken managed to open the scoring, the Jillaroos made five errors to finish the half and should have gone to the break level, with Clark’s missed conversion after Apii Nicholls try separating the teams.
A huge play from Hall broke the game open in the second. The Broncos back-rower effected a surprise ball steal in midfield, and while she didn’t have the pace to go all the way herself, New Zealand recycled possession out to Autumn-Rain Stephens Daly for a simple try.
The shock was on, and it would have been no less than the Ferns deserved. It was not to be, however, with Julia Robinson able to cross late and, despite late pressure, the Jillaroos held on.
WOMEN’S RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP SEMI-FINALS
Australia v Papua New Guinea, York, Tuesday 4am (AEDT)
New Zealand v England, York, Tuesday, 6.30am (AEDT)
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