The build-up to this game hinted at a fierce contest and there were Fireworks before the first whistle as England faced-off to the Haka of New Zealand.
The Red Roses kicked-off proceedings but it was the Black Ferns with the first opportunity of the game. A simple slip of the mind saw the hosts penalised for being offside, allowing New Zealand to kick for touch, gather line-out ball and attack from inside the 22. They created space forcing England to dig deep in defence.
In the end, it was a simple run-in from Leti-I’iga within 6-minutes. The referee, however, called in the Television Match Official to check on the actions of the try-scorer: she had been tackled but failed to release the ball; opting to get back up and run on over the try-line. No try and the scoreboard was cleared.
The Red Roses were the first to score: New Zealand had stopped an attempted rolling maul in its’ tracks, forcing England to send the ball to Kildunne who lit up the Allianz Stadium before offloading to Claudia Moloney-Macdonald. She crossed the whitewash; her 26th try overall for the Red Roses. It was converted and England led after 14-minutes.
The Black Ferns, however, ran with ball in hand like a well-oiled machine; England had to stay alert as any slip of attention and New Zealand would break.
Just 12-minutes later and the Black Ferns kicked into space behind the defensive line; forcing a foot-chase. Amy Du Plessis beat Kildunne back to the ball and scored; unconverted, failing to take the opportunity to draw the scores.
Leti-I’iga, who had a try disallowed earlier, finally got her name on the scoreboard and pulled New Zealand into the lead; Sorensen-McGee adding the extra two after 32mins.
New Zealand would be the happier of the two sides going into half-time; they had the opportunities but failed to execute in the final 5-metres; England’s defence was much improved but they need more than a strong defence in the final 40-minutes.
Half-Time at Allianz Stadium in Twickenham: England 7 – 12 New Zealand
