Australia U18 Girls kick off Global Youth Sevens with win over New Zealand

Australia U18 Girls have kicked off the Global Youth Sevens with a win over their Trans-Tasman rivals, New Zealand.

The win showcased some mercurial playmaking and smart line-running for the Australians, while the Kiwis started with plenty of intent on defence, but didn’t have the execution to stay in the game, losing 27-21.

Crunching early defence from the Kiwis won possession back within moments of Emacyn Iermeia’s kickoff, and with just two passes the hosts made their first linebreak in centrefield through Asha Taumoepeau-Williams, who scored under the posts. Poppy Baxter added the extras.

Some lively running from the Australians made the most of their first true possession, with several darting jabs winning some momentum that carried them into the New Zealand half. The Kiwis disrupted play twice, but couldn’t control loose balls, and Australia maintained their attacking intent by taking play to the right wing, where Cobi Ryan-Last finished with a strong right-foot step. The effort went unconverted.

Koiatarau Edwards broke the Australian defence line directly off the restart, but could only reach the 22m line before getting chased down by Darcie Prosser-Shaw, who missed the initial tackle.

New Zealand’s defence again disrupted Australia’s attack, but Edwards knocked the ball on in the tackle, and Australia were awarded a scrum. A sharp line from Ryan-Last broke the line, and the speedster was up to the challenge of making it to the line. The conversion was missed.

A superbly placed short kickoff saw Australia win back possession on the restart, and Logan Lemusu ran a direct line to profit from some threatening playmaking in the centre field. Lemusu’s try under the posts gave Australia a 15-7 lead at the break.

The Australia kickoff went over the touchline, and in a repeat of the opening moments of the match, New Zealand made short work of the defence with Taumoepeau-William breaking the line to score. The hosts’ goal-kicking made it a one-point game, despite having one less try.

A gap in the Kiwi defence was exposed by Australia moments after play resumed, and a six-point lead was registered.

New Zealand made life more difficult for themselves with an unforced error, and Australia’s reserves injected plenty of pace into the match to extend their lead with their first converted try.

Both teams made breakdown steals in the dying minutes, but that was time New Zealand couldn’t afford to spend anywhere other than the tryline. A try to Hana Symes after the full-time whistle brought the scoreline to 21-27, but the Australian win was in the bag.