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Red Roses claim debut WXV1 victory in Wellington
By Ned Lester
It was an historic night for rugby with the WXV1 kicking off in Wellington. The Wallaroos faced the mountainous task of tackling the world’s number-one-ranked team, England.
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A Player of the Match performance from first five-eighth Holly Aitchison drove England around the park with creative and skilful distribution from both hands and off the boot.
England were determined to make their mark on the defensive side of the ball early, putting in several heavy hits and a couple of (legal) tip tackles for good measure.
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The famous English lineout was employed as a decoy on the first strike play of the game, drawing in the Australian forwards with Hannah Botterman peeling around the back. The prop ran through three defenders to finish the try just five minutes into the contest.
More aggressive defence and superb lineout work from England rejected the Wallaroos’ early opportunities. Still, Australia’s midfield was keen to return the favour and stripped Tayana Heard to spark some ambitious attack.
The ball was spread from sideline to sideline with each of the Wallaroos’ wingers proving difficult to contain and chewing through metres in the wide channels.
England’s handling let them down but patient and clinical work around the breakdown and in the scrum saw them keep control of the Test. Meanwhile, on attack, their kicking game consistently found gaps for Abby Dow to chase and the speedster’s work rate saw the ball retained more often than not.
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Halfback Ella Wyrwas was the next to strike for the English, finishing a dynamic strike in the corner.
Maya Stewart went down after heavy contact in the 17th minute, handing Desiree Miller extended minutes in her debut.
Both sides proved dangerous with ball in hand, but it was England’s execution deeper into phase play along with their varied kicking game and lineout dominance that saw them profit on the scoreboard for their efforts.
A yellow card to Wallaroos lock Annabelle Codey for head contact was followed by a lineout drive try to English captain Marlie Packer.
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Australia finally got an attacking set piece in England’s 22 30 minutes into the match, but another lineout steal by England deprived the Wallaroos of the chance to capitalise. It was again the English lineout that provided the space for Jess Breach to score the fourth try of the contest just before halftime. A 28-0 scoreline was registered at the break.
England’s lineout nous again dominated in the second period, ensuring territorial gain from Australia’s indiscretions was realised and denying the Wallaroos any reward for their hard-earned turnovers.
That was until the 53rd minute, when the pressure from Australia’s tireless attack finally gave Ashley Masters the ball five metres from the line after a quick tap from Layne Morgan. The utility forward took contact and powered through to claim Australia’s first points of the match.
The celebrations were short-lived as Australia took a double blow just moments later, conceding a try to Megan Jones as well as another yellow card, which subsequently called for red as it was again Annabelle Codey found guilty, this time of a late hit.
Before long the Wallaroos lost another player as Carys Dallinger bravely walked from the field after sustaining a knock.
The defensive screws had tightened later in the third quarter and England’s phase play struggled to find the gain line. For the first tie in the match, the world’s top-ranked team were forced to make a kick that wasn’t on their terms. Wyrwas opted to put the ball high, which Australia accepted.
Sniffing momentum, the Wallaroos’ energy lifted. Some niggle entered the fray and the game settled in England’s half. Time was running low and facing a 35-point deficit, the Wallaroos were playing for consolation points.
Relentless effort from both sides in the dying moments went ultimately unrewarded but the late push will have given Wallaroos coach Jay Tregonning plenty of positives to draw on for the schedule ahead. Fulltime score: 43-7.
