The Wallaroos have been no match for world champions New Zealand, crashing to a 50-0 loss to open their Pacific Four women’s rugby series campaign.
Any hopes that the Australians were bridging the gap on their trans-Tasman rivals was erased early at Brisbane’s Kayo Stadium on Thursday night with the visitors dominating every aspect of play.
The tournament also involves Canada and the USA, who the Wallaroos face next with two games in Ottawa.
They could be without exciting young fullback Faitala Moleka, with the 18-year-old suffering a leg injury while attempting to stop Alana Bremner’s 74th minute try.
Wallaroos stand-in captain Michaela Leonard, replacing injured flanker Piper Duck in the role, said her team let themselves down with poor execution.
“It was the execution of the little skills – it definitely wasn’t the performance we wanted and definitely not the performance we trained for this week,” the Western Force lock told Stan Sport.
“We’ll head back to training and work out our attack shapes and execution of our catch-pass.
“We’ll definitely come out firing for the next two (games).”
Mererangi Paul is congratulated by teammates after scoring during the Black Ferns’ big win over the Wallaroos at Kayo Stadium on June 29, 2023 in Brisbane. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Former elite netballer Mererangi Paul bagged a double on debut while teenage centre Syliva Brunt, named player of the match, also crossed twice for the Kiwis.
The Black Ferns kept the Australians on the back foot with some physical defence while they showed silky skills in attack to quickly end home hopes of a breakthrough victory.
New Zealand have now won 24 straight against Australia, continuing to ride high under new coach Allan Bunting who took over after their home World Cup triumph last October.
Australia five-eighth Carys Dallinger, playing her first Test against her country of birth, struggled to make an impact with the Wallaroos’ flat attack easily picked off by their opponents.
The game was effectively over by halftime, with the visitors leading 26-0 and making ground at will through the middle and dominating the ruck.
Brunt, 19, showed her footwork to dot down in the 23rd minute, and then again 10 minutes later.
Prop Tanya Kalounivale opened the scoring when she charged over off a set move from a line-out while debutante Paul scored either side of halftime, the winger chipping ahead to score her first Test try.
The Wallaroos embrace for their national anthem during the Pacific Four Series & O’Reilly Cup match between at Kayo Stadium on June 29, 2023 in Brisbane. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
The 24-year-old played netball with the Northern Mystics in New Zealand’s ANZ Premiership before taking up Sevens rugby in 2022 and then 15-a-side last year.
Arabella McKenzie replaced Queensland playmaker Dallinger early in the second half and straightened the attack.
But the Black Ferns were relentless at the breakdown and kept the pressure on the brave Wallaroos, adding four tries before the final whistle.
New Zealand co-captain Ruahei Demant praised the work of the six debutantes.
“There’s definitely been a change of personnel and myself, the girls and the coaches are proud of our debutantes tonight,” the five-eighth said.
“We have changed some players but haven’t changed the Black Ferns style that we want to play.”
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jcmasher
Roar Rookie
Unfortunate result and shows the lack of development by RA over the preceding years. let’s hope the development continues and the ladies continue to improve. Individually some good play especially from Hamilton and Learney and if they’d managed to control the ball more they would have been better. A tough game but it will provide them with some motivation against Canada and USA. Good luck moving forward
moaman
Roar Guru
Yep Bremner was top notch. AM-T just needs some more experience i reckon, Coker. She has a better passing game than Kendra and is a lot quicker so there are pros and cons. Ayesha Leti-l'iga is still in the wings and there are a couple of very good forwards on the injured list. So building some nice depth and overall a very youthful squad.
BeginAgain
Roar Rookie
Thanks for the article and those that posted against it. I found the handling errors a little frustrating but there were some genuinely enjoyable moments which kept me watching to the end. Will share more on those moments after my second watch. Just wanted to say thanks for the article and those commenting. Hopefully this grows over the course of this tournament.
Coker
Roar Rookie
Agreed. Although personally I thought Alana Bremner was the standout. Just as effective as Mikaele Tu’u on defense, she was also the BFs primary source of reliable lineout ball, and she scored a spectacular solo try. But certainly some of the passing and handling was poor — the BFs #4 seemed to have a bucket for hands. And the new halfback doesn't look to be remotely in the same league as Cocksedge.
Muzzo
Roar Rookie
Nice write up Melissa & yes IMO there is still a little work to be done, especially in ball handling & passing. Yes there were 6 debutants in the match day 23 but although Ruahei was happy some parts were sloppy. I actually thought Amy Du Plessis also had a very good game, & when the other Amy came on ( Rule ) didn't that front row look good. Yes a very good win, but, no doubt I still think our Wahine Toa can take this tournament out.
moaman
Roar Guru
So glad you posted a piece on last night's game Melissa. I was afraid the Roar was ignoring it because of the poor result. Very disappointing performance from the Wallaroos because this Black Ferns team was a shadow of the team that played the RWC Final. As well as having a host of big name players missing so to was the accuracy of pass, and the handling was atrocious. One player stood head and shoulders above the rest in my view and it was the industrious number 8 Liana Mikaele Tu'u. She typified the efforts NZ made in both defence and at the breakdown-the two areas that set the teams apart. I don't think McKenzie is the answer at 10, she is big and strong but quite ponderous and perhaps that isn't an ideal spot for her. The first 20 minutes Australia put together against a superior side to last night's iteration at Eden Park last year was light years ahead in terms of performance. This Wallaroos team could do worse than go and look at the tape of that game and see where they can improve.