The Wallaroos finished the year in style with another win over Scotland in a match in which they said farewell to Cecilia Smith and Emily Chancellor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A gritty yet compelling WXV Global Series encounter ended with Australia securing a 38\u201331 win over Scotland, in what ended up being a bittersweet farewell for Cecilia Smith, who was sent off in the final minutes. It didn’t take long for the Wallaroos to go ahead, as Amelia Whitaker crossed the whitewash after a series of quick phases. Samantha Wood claimed the extras in an energising start for the locals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scotland came close to drawing level, but Tania Naden nailed a sensational turnover just a few metres from the line to deny the visitors any points. On the next play, the Australians got their second from opposite winger Maya Stewart, who had to rush to the in-goal area after a Faitala Moleka pass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a difficult first 15 minutes, Scotland finally had their moment in the sun, managing to score their first try through captain Rachel Malcolm, who dived over from close range. From then on, Scotland felt more comfortable and pushed the hosts, who were on the back foot, conceding several penalties and getting boxed in inside their 22.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With a handful of minutes to the break, Cecilia Smith and Waiaria Ellis were sent to the sin-bin after a high tackle and a cynical foul, and Scotland used the player advantage to take the lead. First, Holland Bogan steered a driving maul to glory, with Katie Buchanan dotting down the third and Helen Nelson added the conversion to give the visitors a 17-14 lead at half-time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The restart didn’t bode well for Scotland, as they lost Chloe Rollie to the sin-bin and conceded a try from Moleka, who ran an astonishing line to ground the ball next to the goalposts, giving Wood an easy conversion. Eva Karpani was brought in a few minutes later, earning her 50th cap for Australia, with the experienced prop helping her side find the whitewash once again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From a quick lineout, the Wallaroos ran a smart play that unleashed Piper Duck out wide for the flanker dove in the corner. As Wood converted another kick, the locals led 28-17 with half an hour to go. Scotland looked to be back in contention when Meryl Smith unleashed an overhead pass to set up Rhona Lloyd in the corner, but the Australians swung back again from a try by Siokapesi Palu Sekona and a penalty and conversion from Sammie Wood’s tee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the Wallaroos went back to 14 after Eva Karpani was yellow-carded for a high tackle, Scotland did all they could to turn the tide, but their attempts were thwarted by a defence that gave up no space inside the 22. In the final six minutes, Scotland were down to 14 players when Rhona Lloyd was sent to the sin bin after a series of penalties. However, the home side collected another sin-bin when Cecilia Smith received her second yellow, reducing Australia to 14 players until the final whistle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scotland managed to squeak out their fifth try through Malcolm, but it wasn’t enough to overturn the Wallaroos’ lead, who nailed a jackal on the final play to keep their winning streak going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Canada went two-for-three as the hosts delivered another stellar performance to beat England 31-22 at Ottawa’s TD Place Stadium, finishing the test-match season on a high. Canada could’ve landed the game’s first hit, but missed their chance to make the most of a 22-metere lineout, with England regaining possession and setting up the groundwork to reach the Canadian in-goal area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following an offside penalty, the Red Roses went for a lineout, and after several phases winning the gain-line, number-eight Maddie Feaunati crashed over the line to give her team their first lead. Zoe Harrison was successful from the tee. Despite the cold start, Canada would mount a sensational comeback, scoring two tries in under 10 minutes. Julia Omokhuale went first, with the flanker claiming the fruits of a spectacular teamwork play that pushed England back for ten consecutive phases. De Goede added the extras and, one minute after the restart, clinched her side’s second finish, which started with a brilliant pick-up from Gabrielle Senft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The tourists had a handful of excellent chances to level the score, but a run of handling errors ultimately ended England’s ambitions and gave Canada some breathing space. Despite both teams coming close to the whitewash, the scoreline stayed the same, and match official Aur\u00e9lie Groizeleau sent the teams to a 15-minute break with the home side leading 12-7. Alysha Corrigan, Sophie de Goede and Julia Omokhuale led the locals in the first 40 minutes, injecting morale, ambition and aggression at every turn. As for the world champions, Sarah Bern, Maddie Feaunati and Lilli Ives Campion were keeping England in the contest with several clinical tackles and a firm belief that a turnaround was on the cards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Early in the second half, England immediately put points on the board through Zoe Harrison, as the fly-half converted a straightforward penalty kick to cut the home side’s lead to two points. England began to gain a foothold in the physicality battle, bossing the hosts around with their set-piece dominance before finally breaking through the Canadian blockade to score their second, this time from Amy Cokayne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just when it seemed the Red Roses were in control, Canada fought their way back into the contest, with Olivia Apps and Florence Symonds carving open the English defence. From a ruck, Sophie de Goede caught the opposition off guard, running unopposed and triumphantly all the way to the try line. England\u2019s lack of discipline kept racking up penalties, rolling out the red carpet for Canada to strike again, which they eventually did from a driving maul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DaLeaka Menin dived from close range, and even if De Goede couldn’t get the ball through the posts, the locals were building a comfortable lead that would grow again in the 63rd minute. After a turnover, Taylor Perry spotted Savannah Bauder on the wing and sent the ball her way; the winger ran more than 50 meters, beat Emma Sing, and crossed the try line. As Canada upped their intensity, England needed their set-piece to deliver something concrete, but unfortunately for the World champions, it misfired at the worst time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
England still managed to grab their third try with no time left on the clock, but it wasn’t enough to overturn Canada’s lead, as the hosts wrapped up the entertaining affair with a 31-22 win. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Wallaroos finished the year in style with another win over Scotland in a match in which they<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16995,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[72],"class_list":["post-16990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","tag-rugby"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t