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‘Women’s rugby is only getting bigger’: Tahs gear up for Blues clash

By Finn Morton reporting from Sydney
Desiree Miller of the Waratahs poses with the '2025 Player of the Final' trophy afterthe Super Rugby Women's Final match between NSW Waratahs and Queensland Reds at North Sydney Oval on April 12, 2025 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

NSW Waratahs winger Desiree Miller is ready to show the world once again that “women’s rugby is only getting bigger” with the Rugby World Cup just around the corner. Miller starred in the Super Rugby Women’s Grand Final, but the Tahs have their sights set on another trophy.

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After a hard-fought 43-21 win over arch-rivals the Queensland Reds on Saturday afternoon, the Waratahs have turned their focus to a historic Women’s Super Rugby Champions Final against the best side from New Zealand’s Aupiki competition.

The Waratahs will take on a star-studded Blues side at North Harbour Stadium on Thursday, with the Aupiki champions boasting a roster that includes Black Ferns Maiakawanakaulani Roos, Ruahei Demant, Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, and Katelyn Vahaakolo.

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It was a thrilling Grand Final victory for the Blues on Saturday, who got the better of Matatu 26-19 at Auckland’s Eden Park. Woodman-Wickliffe was named the Player of the Final, but just like Miller and the Waratahs, the Blues are chasing a slice of history.

As the Waratahs celebrated their second-successive Super Rugby Women’s crown, Miller spoke about the importance of this week’s clash with the Blues – the Aupiki Final hadn’t finished yet when the winger previewed the fixture.

“It’s definitely important not only to compete with the New Zealand side, because that’s where we want the comp to head, we want that merge, but to show Australia and New Zealand and potentially the world that this is where it needs to be and this is where it needs to grow,” Miller told reporters at North Sydney Oval.

“Women’s rugby is only getting bigger and we’ve got to jump on the ride to propel it forward.

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“You’ve got to work for your opportunity and I think we’ve shown that now. Hopefully, next year we s a little bit of a change and we can see that cross-Tasman competition.”

With less than 20 minutes to play in last weekend’s big dance, the Waratahs held onto a slender eight-point lead over a Reds side that refused to give up. Arabella McKenzie converted a penalty to extend their advantage beyond a converted try.

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The match took a twist as replacement prop Seneti Kilisimasi was shown a yellow card, seeing the Waratahs reduced to 14 players for a decisive 10-minute period. But some more heroics from Miller, who had been superb up until that point, all but sealed the win.

With Wallaroos coach Jo Yapp watching on from the sidelines, Miller sliced through the Reds’ defensive line to score a long-range runaway try in the 62nd minute. Emily Robinson and Georgina Friedrichs also scored late tries as the Tahs secured the win.

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“I didn’t even know the buzzer went when it went and everyone was getting around each other,” Miller reflected with a smile.

“It’s a really great moment, back-to-back, not only for us but for me, my second championship and almost better than the first.

“No, God no,” she added when asked if she was expecting to be named Player of the Final. “It was a massive team effort.

“There were mistakes but we came back from it and we showed a lot of resilience so it was a team effort there and I think everyone deserves this trophy.”

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Flankly 40 minutes ago
Late Makazole Mapimpi try earns the Sharks win away to Edinburgh

Jake White described this as the strongest Sharks lineup ever. There is no doubt that it is at least an impressive roster. They did win, which is obviously an achievement against a good Edinburgh side. However …


For much of the first half Edinburgh seemed easily able to create 2 on 1 opportunities on both wings, with the defensive wingers biting in on the inside runner and cover defence being AWOL. Conversely the Sharks showed little ability to get behind the Edinburgh defensive line, with the sole exception of a nicely-exploited Am mismatch against a second row (which led to the Fassi try).


In general the Sharks, with their full complement of Bok firepower, do not look that dangerous in attack, and while tackling was good on the whole and goal line defence was impressive at times, they were exhibiting surprising breakdowns in open play defensive structures.


Also, the Sharks continue to be inaccurate, with material impact on the scoreboard. Missing two very kickable penalties is not the way to be the best. It looked to me like the Sharks contestable kicks were not well enough executed, and were too hard to recover.


Not sure what the running attack was trying to do, but my guess is that they were trying to pull off a Harlequins-style bash-and-offload game off of 12 (Esterhuizen). That’s not a terrible idea with the personnel available, but it would require creativity and a precision on second phase that was not in evidence.


Lastly, you have to have better discipline. It’s great that the team can cope with a 13 vs 14 period (of almost 10 minutes), but smart teams a avoid cards.


Having said that it was great to see the win. I thought that Edinburgh were cynical and niggly. Always hanging around on the wrong side of the breakdown, lots of intentional obstruction, illegal dummying at the base of the ruck, etc. They played a dirty game and the ref tolerated it. Always good to see that not succeed.


Overall the “best Sharks lineup ever” scraped the win, but under-performed their Bok-laden potential. Again.

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