Wallaroos finish Rugby World Cup prep with clinical win over Wales

Australia will take plenty of confidence into the Women’s Rugby World Cup, bouncing back from last weekend’s shock loss to Wales with a scintillating 36-5 win over the same foe at North Sydney Oval on Friday.

At Brisbane’s Ballymore Stadium six days ago, the Wallaroos took an early lead before lightning struck, leading to a 35-minute delay. Wales took control from there, holding on for their first-ever win on Australian soil.

It was also Wales’ first win away from home in more than 800 days, with the Australians made to pay for costly mistakes in tough conditions. With that in mind, the weather forecast in Sydney might’ve had Wallaroos fans feeling a bit nervous ahead of Friday’s Test.

Cameron Dawson on scrummaging

Cameron Dawson on scrummaging

Intense rain poured down from the heavens as Australia and Wales warmed up, with fans making their way into the stadium in their thousands. While conditions calmed down by the time the Test got underway, it was a talking point pre-game.

Both teams managed the conditions well during the opening 40, with Jasmin Joyce flying down the left edge inside the first few minutes. Desiree Miller secured a turnover at the breakdown, but a poor clearance from Faitala Moleka kept the pressure on Australia.

Wales had lost one of their co-captains moments before that break, with No. 8 Alex Callender leaving the contest. Replacement Georgina Evans was injected into the Test, with Wales dominating possession early on.

The Wallaroos had 20 per cent of possession during the first 10 minutes. Wales came very close to scoring the opener during that period, but defensive brilliance from Michaela Leonard, Piper Duck and captain Emily Chancellor held a Welsh player up over the line.

Against the run of play, the Wallaroos were actually the first to strike on the scoreboard. After surviving relentless pressure on defence, the Australians made the most of their first real attacking opportunity – with Maya Stewart crossing out wide in the 16^th.

Fullback Caitlyn Halse threw a superb cutout pass to Stewart, who marked an important return from injury with a five-pointer. Samantha Wood lined up a shot at goal from the right sideline, and with a skip and a jump, added the extras to give the Wallaroos a hard-fought 7-nil lead.

There was a sense of déjà vu from there as Wales began to dominate possession once again, and this time it led to points. Milestone woman Jasmin Joyce made the most of a four-on-one overlap to score, running over Desiree Miller to crash over.

With the conversion missing the mark, Australia still held a two-point lead.

In their second entry into the 22, the Wallaroos scored again, this time through fly-half Faitala Moleka who stepped between two defenders en route to the try line. Wallaroos squad members in the crowd erupted, and they let out another cheer when Wood added the conversion.

Wood had another opportunity to add points soon after, lining up a long-range penalty attempt from about 40 metres. The scrum-half had been perfect off the boot up until that point, but this shot fell short of the uprights.

Australia still had the last laugh before the break, with Katalina Amosa crashing over just before the break. With the conversion from close range, the hosts took a commanding 21-5 advantage into the sheds.

The Wallaroos picked up right where they left off early in the second, with powerful backrower Tabua Tuinakauvadra adding more points to the home side’s strong lead. Wood missed the mark with the conversion, but only just.

Tuinakauvadra completed a double soon after, benefiting from some lead-up work from Miller. The winger raced down the left edge before bumping off a defender, but an intentional knock-on against prop Gwenllian Pyrs saw Wales go down to 14 players.

Australia opted for a scrum after the penalty was awarded. Wales’ scrum was significantly better this time around compared to last weekend, but there was no stopping Tuinakauvadra, who peeled off the back to score the Wallaroos’ fifth try in 50 minutes.

After controlling possession for practically 25 minutes, the Australians eventually scored again through Test veteran Ashley Marsters. With Miller failing to hit the mark from the kicking tee, the Wallaroos were one point short of equalling their record win against the Welsh.

But there’s still time left on the clock.

About three minutes.

It seemed Marsters had scored a historic try about three minutes into the red, but the score was ruled out by the TMO for obstruction.

Jo Yapp’s squad for the Rugby World Cup will be announced on August 4 in Sydney. The Wallaroos will take on Samoa, the USA, and tournament hosts England during pool play.