Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
In 29 games of women’s international rugby, Australia has never beaten New Zealand.
But a gripping clash between the most dominant rugby franchises on both sides of the Tasman has spawned hope new talent can invigorate the rivalry.
The NSW Waratahs thoroughly spooked the Auckland Blues in the showdown of Super Rugby champions at Sydney’s Leichhardt Oval on Saturday.
The firm underdogs, and having been thumped 36-5 in their last meeting, the Waratahs dominated lengthy passages of play and walked off the field only seven points in arrears (24-17) to hand the Blues their second straight title.
The match doubled as a last chance for players of all stripes to impress their national selectors, who are expected to announce Wallaroos and Black Ferns squads within days.
The cross-ditch rivals will meet again August 22, the New Zealanders having never lost a match-up since the teams first met in 1994.
But, amid the devastation Saturday’s defeat had wrought, Waratahs captain and Wallaroos stalwart Emily Chancellor had found a silver lining.
“This isn’t a walkover game for them,” she said.
“We don’t have any idea how they came over thinking it was going to go, but I’m so proud to be able to say that it was a genuinely entertaining game of rugby.
“And I hope that it decides what’s coming in the future from an international and domestic perspective.”
Scrum-half Tia Hinds – imported from rugby sevens – and halfback Waiaria Ellis were breakout stars for the Waratahs during their seventh successful Super Rugby Women’s campaign.
“She’s always had the talent, she’s always had the skill set,” Waratahs coach Michael Ruthven said of Ellis, who will be hoping to build on her six Test caps as the Wallaroos will be flung headlong into a slew of clashes.
“The way she embeds in the team, the way she drives certain messages … she’s maturing really well at the moment.”
Those halves combined beautifully with 19-year-old Amelia Whitaker, named NSW player of the year, and rusted-on Wallaroos winger Desiree Miller to build a try-scoring machine within the Waratahs outside backs.
Whitaker and Miller were sidelined with injury shortly before Saturday’s fixture against the Blues, but Ruthven was confident they could be fit in time to pull on a gold jersey if selected for the national side.
The nail-biting skirmish also gave players on both teams hope for a merger of women’s Super Rugby tournaments.
Australian, Fijian (Super Rugby Women’s) and New Zealand (Super Rugby Aupiki) teams play in separate competitions, with the Waratahs and the Blues the only teams from each conference to have met on the field at the two champions finals.
“I’m all for it,” Blues coach Willie Walker said of a future trans-Tasman contest.
“There needs to be more integration … it can help Australian rugby, it can help New Zealand rugby.”
