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.
Watch every match of Super Rugby Pacific ad-free, live & on demand on the Home of Rugby, Stan Sport
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.
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)
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.
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.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login