Kiwi Ferns strike late for Nines win

January 31, 2015

Kiwi Ferns strike late for Nines win

Rookie Janna Vaughan made her Kiwi Ferns debut a day to remember, scoring the winning try, as the NZ women snatched a late 8-4 result over Australia in their opening encounter at the Dick Smith NRL Auckland Nines.

Locked 4-4 entering the final minute, the home side created space on the left wing for Vaughan to cross in a tackle for the deciding points.

“I was thinking ‘should I step back inside or back myself’,” she explained afterwards. “I decided to back my fend on this occasion – I know I have a strong fend and I used it to my advantage.

“I had to finish it for my team, who had done all the hard yards up the middle to give me the opportunity.”

Although a relative league novice, Vaughan is no stranger to physical confrontation – she’s also national muay thai kickboxing champion.

But, like her team-mates, playing before the biggest crowd of their careers, she got off to a shaky start on the Eden Park stage.

“My first catch went to ground and the nerves were definitely there,” said Vaughan. “It’s very exciting to be here and coming into the Kiwi Ferns at this time, when things are starting to get professional.”

The Australia Jillaroos began the more assured of the two teams and took the upper hand when a crossfield kick provided Jenni-Sue Hoepper plenty of space for the opening try.

But trailling 4-0 at halftime, Kiwi Ferns coach Rusty Matua urged his charges to regroup. They created some chances of their own, with winger Atawhai Tupaea dragged out in the corner and unable to take advantage of an open field a few moments later.

“It was really about gaining composure,” said Matua. “We had a real dose of nerves at the start, with the noise of the crowd, the atmosphere and the intensity of the Australians coming at us as well.

“Some of the girls didn’t really realise how quickly they would fatigue either, so it was a real learning curve for us.”

The Ferns had been in this situation before, though. In their trans-Tasman test at Wollongong last November, they had been on the back foot through most of the game, but ground down their opponents to snatch a famous last-minute victory.

This time, hooker Sharnita Woodman helped settle any jitters with an opportunistic try early in the second half. Tuapaea tripped over the defence while chasing a kick into the goal area, but the ball stopped dead in the corner for Woodman to pounce on.

Then the backline gave Vaughan her chance, which she grabbed with both hands (and a fend).

New Zealand and Australia face off again at 4.35pm Sunday, just before the men’s semifinals, with the third and final fixture scheduled for 6.40pm, leading into the tournament final.

NZ Kiwi Ferns 8 (Sharnita Woodman & Janna Vaughan tries) Australia Jillaroos 4 (Jenni-Sue Hoepper try); HT: 0-4

ENDS

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