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They may have lost the Pacific Four Series, but the Black Ferns bounced back in style from their loss to Canada, continuing their dominance of the O’Reilly Cup with a thrashing of the Wallaroos at North Harbour Stadium.
The 67-19 victory equals the highest number of points the Black Ferns have ever inflicted on their Trans-Tasman rivals, equaling their 67-3 loss in 2016 – and stretches out their winning streak to 22 matches.
The result sees Jo Yapp’s side finish bottom of the Pacific Four ladder in 2024, meaning they will fail to qualify for the WXV1 series later this year in Canada.
Instead, they will drop down to WXV2, which will take place in September in South Africa and will see them take on the already-qualified Springboks Women, Italy and Scotland – and they will be joined by a European play-in winner (Wales or Spain), and the winner of the Asia Rugby Women’s Championship, which concludes in June.
The loss also means their qualification pathway for the 2025 World Cup will change significantly.
Despite the heavy loss, several players stood out in a tough afternoon for the visitors: an improved team performance in the second half was spearheaded by Arabella McKenzie, who confirmed her stranglehold on the flyhalf position with two tries and plenty of moments that stretched the Kiwi defence.
Bridie O’Gorman also leaves North Harbour with her stocks firmly raised, immediately improving the Wallaroos scrum upon her arrival in the second half.
Incredibly, the match is also the most number of points the Wallaroos have ever scored against the Black Ferns, beating their 45–17 loss in 2018. Unfortunately, the points conceded could not make up for it.
Despite the second half being a notable improvement, the match was well and truly over by that point, with Jo Yapp’s side exposed defensively around the ruck, and in post-contact metres, as many Kiwi opportunities coming off players not being held.
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Most concerningly, the Wallaroos conceded a monster 47 missed tackles – further adding to concerns about their level of physicality this season and leaving Jo Yapp under pressure for results, with goals to secure a second WXV1 berth up now in smoke.
For the Black Ferns, it was a stunning return to form following their shock loss to Canada, with many new exciting prospects standing up.
The match started out with both sides trading tries early in the opening twenty minutes.
However, the Black Ferns kicked on in the final twenty minutes of the first half, stretching the Wallaroos by going wide. The results were tries to Katelyn Vahaakolo, Kaipo Olsen-Baker and a hattrick to Mererangi Paul, seeing the scoreline stretch out to an ugly 45-7 at halftime – and threatening to become the Wallaroos worst ever loss.
The second half however saw a much-improved performance from Australia, with the reserves stemming some of the flow through an improved scrum, and Maya Stewart scoring a vintage meat pie after threatening all game.
However, despite the resilience and never-say-die attitude shown by the visitors in the closing stages, the result was never in doubt, with Black Fern co-captain Kennedy Simon capping off the demolition with two tries to bring the home side’s final tally to eleven in front of a strong home crowd.
Kennedy Simon (obscured) of the Black Ferns celebrates with teammates after scoring their teams eleventh try during the 2024 Pacific Four Series Round 4 & 2024 O’Reilly Cup 1st Test match between New Zealand Black Ferns and Australia Wallaroos at North Harbour Stadium on May 25, 2024 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Fiona Goodall – World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images)
“It was frustrating,” said Wallaroos coach Jo Yapp post-match.
“The area that really let us down today was the breakdown – the attack breakdown.
“When we managed to keep hold of the ball and we recycled it, we got in behind them.
“But at one point we were just turning over the ball way too easily.
“The second half we got hold of the ball and were able to keep the ball for longer periods, which allowed us to get some points on the board.
“We held our own in the set piece and the girls got back into it as the game wore on.
“But a big focus for us is the breakdown and that ability to exit. We just couldn’t exit on our terms and put pressure on ourselves.”
The Wallaroos will head home to prepare for their next clashes in early July, which will see them face Fiji in Sydney, the Black Ferns again at Ballymore for their final home match of the season, before travelling in September to face Ireland in Belfast ahead of the start of their WXV2 campaign.
with AAP
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