'We can actually give it': The confidence Australia have taken from England loss

Wallaroos captain Siokapesi Palu stated that her team were “super-stoked” at full-time of their 48-15 loss to England in Salford.

At half-time of their WXV Global Series 2026 opener against the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2026 champions, it was Australia who led 10-5. It was the first time that the Red Roses had gone in at the break behind their opponents since 2020.

A Samantha Wood penalty and converted Faliki Pohiva try handed the Wallaroos a midway lead, with England’s sole effort coming from player of the match Abi Burton.

Australia’s lead was also a result of their physicality. For the first 40 minutes, their more experienced pack made life tough in the loose and at the set-piece. It was a more than warranted lead.

In the second half, England did what they do best and scored seven tries to pull well clear of Australia.

“We’re super-stoked,” Palu said at full-time. “I don’t think that score’s a reflection of the game we produced.

“We didn’t finish the way we wanted to. We’ll take a lot of positives. That’s the first time England have had to trail since 2020, I believe.

“We’re going to take a lot of confidence. Against a world-class team like that, we can actually give it. For us, it’s just trying to string along the full 80-minute game so that we can actually compete.”

Australia’s confidence is well-founded. A year ago, when the two teams met at Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025, the Wallaroos did score first in Brighton but failed to land any sort of significant blow as the Red Roses ran out 47-7 winners.

For Australia, there is plenty of immediate improvement too. It was only a couple of weeks ago that the Black Ferns ran riot in Auckland to pick up a 66-19 win in the second Laurie O’Reilly Cup match of 2026.

“We responded so much better in that game than we did against the Black Ferns,” she said. “We know what to fix. We’ve just got to string it along.

“You could see glimpses of it in the first half. We really took it to them. For us, it’s just belief and just making sure that we can compete.”

Now both teams will go their separate ways. Next weekend, England have a Women’s Rugby World Cup final replay with Canada. The Wallaroos play France and then Scotland. They will also host the Scots for a two-Test series on home soil.