Key events
56th minute: This is starting to get nasty for Wales. It’s been all Australia since the second quarter of this match. Lydia Kavoa comes on for the Wallaroos. Piper Duck greets her with gusto. This is shaping as a great night for Australia’s women’s side. Strewth! Australia shoved Wales right off the ball in that scrum and almost won it against the feed. They’re celebrating but no, Wales get the whistle. “Driving up” is the call from the ref.
TRY! Australia 31-5 Wales (Tuinakauvadra 51’)
Tuinakauvadra has a double! The Wallaroos had the Welsh pinned on their line and sure enough they went fast and short to their big No 8 and she crashed over in the corner. Again Wood’s radar deserts her on the conversion and the kick sails wide.
5oth minute: We have a hardy crowd of 4561 crammed into this grand old gladiatorial arena and they are loving what they’re seeing from the Australians on the verge of their World Cup campaign later this month. There’s a little TMO delay here as they look at a deliberate knockdown from the Welsh. Sure enough Pyrs has been handed a yellow card and is off. Meanwhile, Australia have huddled up and look to be plotting a move…
48th minute: Desiree Miller is away down the sideline! She swerves one, bumps another , then fends a third before finally loosing a pass to Moleka but it goes to ground on the next offload. Thrilling run by the pig-tailed speedster from Sydney’s eastern suburbs!
TRY! Australia 26-5 Wales (Tuinakauvadra 45′)
Great try by Tabua Tuinakauvadra after her fellow forwards laid the platform. Even in the clutches of two Welsh defenders she couldn’t be stopped. Try in the cormer and it’s too tight and angle for Wood’s boot as the conversion is unsuccessful.
45th minute: O’Gormon and Pohiva thunder into contact for the Wallaroos. Ouch! Berthan Lewis reels out of the tackle. The Welsh are holding on but the gold chargers keep coming. How long can the visitors hang on here? Uh-oh, here comes the powerful Australian No 8 at speed. Tabua Tuinakauvadra is over!
42nd minute: We have word that Alex Callender won’t return to action after going down injured in the second minute of this Test. No word yet on the seriousness of the injury but fingers will be crossed across the nation the Wallaroos co-captain will still be able to make the flight to London next week. Meanwhile, Australia pick up where they left off, Desiree Miller and Georgia Friedrichs winning a turnover on halfway. Notch one up to the pocket rockets! This sets the home side up nicely…
The rain has stopped. Will the Wallaroos? Here we go with the second half…
HALF-TIME: Australia 21-5 Wales
After their shocker last week, Australia has rebounded brilliantly tonight. Despite a traditional Welsh welcome of driving rain and slush underfoot, the Wallaroos held their feet – and their nerve. All the early pressure was delivered by the Welsh but possession didn’t become points. Instead the gold wall held fast, repelling raid after raid (despite also gifting the Welsh penalties).
When finally they found themselves in the visitor’s half, the girls in gold made it count. Maya Stewart scored the first try out wide but the Welsh quickly responded with a try of their own to Jasmine Joyce. That one try apiece parity lasted a slender minute though. Australia charged up the middle and Faitala Moleka dummied and ducked over to make it 14-5. A try in the shadows to Katalina Amosa just before halftime made it 16-point margin and Australia’s game to lose.
It’s been a bruising encounter so far. Big second half coming up!
TRY! Australia 21-5 Wales (Amosa 41′)
Katalina Amosa has picked it up and touched it down! What a strike before the break. That try, after striong mauling and relentless pressure from the Australians, will demoralise the Welsh and put real confidence in the home side for a confidence-boosting victory before they fly to England for the World Cup. They weathered the early storm and then returned the blowtorch with interest, piling on three tries and making the most of every opportunity. Wood adds the extras.
40th minute: Wales have a scrum on their own line. They win it and Evans scampers a yard or two from the s scrum base. But she hits heavy traffic and the Wallaroos win a turnover from Samantha Wood who got that familiar black headgear over the ruck and her hands on the ball. One last shot for the Wallaroos in this first half…
38th minute: That was a weird option by the Australians to spurn another try when they had Wales rattled. The rain, which is now falling heavily again, conspired to make Wood’s penalty kick a damp squib. But the Wallaroos have the ball back now and are pounding it one out from the breakdown. They refuse to clear to the backline fanned to the left and pay for it as Wales win a turnover.
36th minute: Australia are back on top now but Wales have a scrum near halfway. They win it and wheel to the right but the Wallaroos have won a penalty through Tabua Tuinakauvadra who got a handf on it and won it back. Can Australia ram home the advantage with a third try? No they won’t. They’re going for the three. But Wood blots her copybook by putting it well short of the black dot.
TRY! Australia 14-5 Wales (Moleka 30′)
Quick reply from the Wallaroos! After a brilliant run from Faliki Pohiva they march downfield, commit too many Welsh to the ruck and then the Australian flyhalf does it all herself, tapping down close to the posts. Another great kick from Samantha Wood extends the lead to nine points
TRY! Australia 7-5 Wales (Joyce 28′)
Great try from Jasmine Joyce in her 50th Test. She had space to work with but two Wallaroos swamped her from either aside as she took the ball. But strength and experience got her over the line. The kick sails wide…
27th minute: The Welsh attack week was a revelation and they’re coming again, defying slippery confitions to keep the ball in hand. They go right now and Jasmine Joyce hits it at speed…
25th minute: Wales win their lineout with a neat play to the front. They rumble within five metres of the line and pound the line. Now they feed their backs and Carys Cox dives into contact and is tackled just short. The Wallaroos are desperate but they’ve erred again and Wales will go to the lineout again from five out. They muff the catch, knocking on under pressure from Leonard and Moleka clears to safety
22nd minute: Keira Bevan has knocked on at the base of the scrum and she thought she’d got away with it. But despiute the onfield ref having her back turned, the touchie has swooped on the fumble and Australia win the scrum. Faitala Moleka clears to the 22.
20th minute: That try was a great result for Australia after so little possession in the first 20 minutes of this game. But the Wallaroos made the most of their first foray into Welsh territory and it was the silky skills of Halse and Stewart who got them on the scoreboard. Unfortunately they’ve started the resumption with an offside play by Emily Chancellor and that gifts Wales the ball and puts them back on the attack. That ill-discipline won’t please Jo Yapp.
TRY! Australia 7-0 Wales (Stewart 17′)
Wonderful try for Stewart! She set herself up perfectly in space on the right and Halse sent a bullet pass her way and Stewart sped the 15-metres into the corner. A lovely kick from the sideline adds the extras in front of the famous Ken Irvine scoreboard.
16th minute: Maya Stewart, the Wallaroos highest tryscorer, still hasn’t had a touch in her return game. But the veteran has got the ball now via a ripped Halse pass to the right and she’s over!
14th minute: Australia are spinning it wide, left and right, but there’s no real gains. O’Gormon knocks on. But she’s been saved by a penalty against the Welsh. Halse will kick this into the corner and the Wallaroos will load up and launch an attack on the line.
12th minute: Finally the Wallaroos enter the Welsh half and they maul from the 22. They win the lineout and go wide. Michaela Leonard makes a half-bust and offloads as Australia close in. But they’ve spilt the ball and the Welsh have scopped up the crumbs.
9th minute: The Wallaroos are landing some heavy shots in defence but the Welsh are still in the red zone. First scrum of the night and the Wallabies have won a penalty for driving in. Wallaroos enforcer Bridie O’Gorman won that for the home side and her teammates mob her in appreciation.
6th minute: Wales are perched on the Wallaroos line. Michaela Leonard hauls down Keira Bevan as Australia hang on. Georgia Evans rumbles it within inches of the line. But just as the gold jerseys repel another advance and kick it clear, Wales win a penalty. Will that pressure turn into points? No, Wales are spurning three to chase five!
3rd minute: Oh no! Australia’s co-captain Alex Callender is down already. Months on She’s lasted just a couple of minutes. Callender is straight off the field and down the tunnels. Wales resume on the halfway and they are thundering into contact, Keira Bevan and Sisilia Tuipulotu leading the charges. They edge the ball up to the 22…
2nd minute: Some areial jousting to start as players guage the grip in the grass underfoot. Caitlyn Halse puts it high but ate Williams dents the line. Desiree Miller drags her down for the home side.
Kick-off
Here’s the kick-off… and we have lift-off in the Wallaroos last Test before the World Cup later this month.
Here come the players. Wales running on with heads high after claiming their first away win in 818 days last week. Now the Wallaroos… choosing to adopt a saunter. I’m no body language expert but that strut reeks of revenge for last week’s shock defeat.
And now for a rousing Welsh anthem…
As the Wallaroos return to the sheds after a vigorous warm-up in torrential rain, the skies have momentarily cleared and a few stars are poking through. North Sydney Oval is a grand old arena – home to the mighty North Sydney Bears in rugby league for 115 years – but the old grass is draining nicely with no evident pools on the field of play.
Weather was a key factor last week in Brisbane with an electrical storm sending the players scurrying to the sheds in the first quarter. It proved a crucial intervention from on high. The Wallaroos lost all the momentum they’d established early while Wales regrouped and came out much stronger after the break.
There’s a healthy crowd trickling in given the rain bomb that is hitting Sydney at the moment, many wearing the red of Wales and the British & Irish Lions, of course. We are on Cammeraygal land tonight and a Welcome to Country is underway…
And here’s how the visitors lineup…
WALES (1-15): Gwenllian Pyrs, Carys Phillips, Sisilia Tuipulotu, Gwen Crabb, Abbie Fleming, Kate Williams (co-c), Bethan Lewis, Alex Callender (co-c), Keira Bevan, Kayleigh Powell, Lisa Neumann, Courtney Knight, Carys Cox, Jasmine Joyce, Nel Metcalfe. REPLACEMENTS: Molly Reardon, Maisie Davies, Jenni Scoble, Alaw Pyrs, Georgia Evans, Meg Davies, Lleucu George, Catherine Richards
To continue the spirit of revamp, co-captain Kate Williams returns to the side tonight in the back-row. Wales have also selected elected to field a brand new front-row with Gwenllian Pyrs, Carys Phillips and Sisilia Tuipulotu all starting.
There’s also a late change as Hannah Dallavalle replaces Lleucu George in the 23. And congratulations to Welsh winger Jasmine Joyce who wins her 50th cap tonight.
WALLAROOS (1-15): Faliki Pohiva, Katalina Amosa, Bridie O’Gorman, Kaitlan Leaney, Michaela Leonard, Piper Duck, Emily Chancellor (c), Tabua Tuinakauvadra, Samantha Wood, Faitala Moleka, Desiree Miller, Trilleen Pomare, Georgina Friedrichs, Maya Stewart, Caitlyn Halse. REPLACEMENTS: Tania Naden, Lydia Kavoa, Alapeta Ngauamo, Ashley Fernandez, Ashley Marsters, Layne Morgan, Tia Hinds, Waiaria Ellis.
The headline inclusion for Australia is winger (Wallaroos’ all-time leading try-scorer) Maya Stewart who returns from knee surgery in May. Stewart starts on the right wing in one of five changes by coach Yapp.
Stewart’s return shifts Waiaria Ellis to the bench while Faitala Moleka and Samantha Wood form a new-look halves combination, starting at flyhalf and scrumhalf respectively. Tia Hinds and Layne Morgan move to the reserves alongside last week’s starters Lydia Kavoa and Ashley Marsters, with Western Force’s Alapeta Ngauamo also on the pine to replace the injured Eva Karpani (back) and Bree-Anna Browne (leg).
Former captain Michaela Leonard and Piper Duck both come into the starting pack while Faliki Pohiva has overcome a hamstring injury and will start in the front row. Wallaroos centre Trilleen Pomare will notch her 40th Test cap, becoming the second player to do so in history, while captain Emily Chancellor will reach her 30th milestone.
Preamble
Good evening and welcome to live coverage of the women’s rugby international between Australia and Wales at the beautiful (but very soggy) North Sydney Oval.
This is the second clash between these sides after Wales got the chocolates in game one last Saturday, upsetting the Wallaroos 21-12 in stormy Brisbane. That clash was the first ever between these sides on Australian soil and the home side were expected to boss the visitors as they had done in seven wins across the last eight matches.
Since Australia’s 37-5 victory last year, the odds against Wales had lengthened even further. Indeed, the tourists went into the first Test with a new coach, new captain, three debutants and seven players under the age of 21! Yet, after leaking an early try to Annabelle Cody, the women in red rallied, going to half-time leading 14-12 after a Nel Metcalfe double. Post-oranges they quickly crossed the stripe again through Hannah Jones, then bravely held the Wallaroos scoreless for the final 38 minutes of the game.
The result was huge for Wales and a disaster for Australia. Jo Yapp’s side take a 2025 win-loss of 2-4 into this game. Encouraging victories over the Fijiana and USA in May have since been undone by heavy losses to New Zealand (twice) and Canada before last weekend’s boilover to a side ranked four slots below them in the world rankings. Since the Brisbane boilover Wales have risen from 10th to 9th and Australia have slumped from 6th to 8th.
So there’s plenty on the line tonight for both sides, particularly given this will be the last Test before the Rugby World Cup in England. Australia will announce their 32-player squad on 11 August ahead of a first pool match against Samoa on August 23. The Wallaroos then face the USA in York (Aug 31) before a monster match with England at Brighton on 7 September.
Kick off tonight is 7pm (or 10am BST) and I’ll be back shortly with the team lineups.
