Australia won the toss. They tapped off running towards the stadium. 2 good drives and a couple of switches and they were at the 5 meter. Aussie went through from dummy half pass off to #9 Claire Winchester try.
NZ took a while to get any rhythm together but once they did there was better control.
NZ finally got down to the Australian line only to see #14 Emily Cherry intercept a long ball from NZ and run 70 meters to score Australia 2nd try. 2 nil Australia.
Debutants Janelle Cavanagh and Kahurangi Watene really got into the game and handled the pressure well.
Australia drove back down to the NZ tryline with Bo De La Cruz breaking the line and creating a overlap for #10 Louise Winchester to score In the corner. 3-nil Australia
14th min NZ created a overlap and #13 Kahureremoa Peina scored in the corner. 3- 1 halftime to Australia.
NZ tapped off and drove to the line but Australia’s squeeze defence was too good and kept them out. Australia regained the ball and drove back down the line. 5th and final touch No:7 Bo De La Cruz scooped from dummy half, ran a dummy switch with No: 2 Nicole McHugh, then passed off to her after the switch for Nicole to score. 4 – 1 Australia.
7th minute in the second minute NZ had 3 consecutive sets of 6 with the ball on the line, but Australia’s defence again was very tight and they could not break the Australian line. Tension was building because it took Australia 3 consecutive sets of 6 to get over their own half. Once they did No: 3 Jessica Drummond scooped from dummy half, threw a long ball to winger no: 2 Kahurangi Watene who unfortunately drops the ball.
This was a frustrating game for NZ with plenty of missed opportunities, if they can capitalize on opportunities like that tomorrow the outcome will be different.
For Australia, a game of incomplete sets of 6 and easy turnovers will have caused them concern and frustration, something they will want to work on tomorrow.
Overall a great start for all the new debutants from both countries, and plenty of things for both teams to think about overnight.
Last Modified on 22/01/2010 19:50