Monday 6 November 2023

Women's Pacific Series : 2023

In a format I found hard to understand, there were many matches played but no finals games so technically there was no winner of the series. I was waiting for the final to be played before writing this article and then realised it wasn't happening. I will list the games below with a brief comment for each.

Australia 16-10 New Zealand. Australia usually wins these games and despite this being a hard fought match, they came out on top yet again. Halftime was 16-4 and although the Jillaroos were kept scoreless in the second half, the Kiwi Ferns were unable to overturn the deficit..

Samoa 26-12 Fiji. I know little of the relative standards of these teams but Fetu Samoa were too good in this encounter, They led 16-4 at the change of ends and Fiji Bulikula was not able to mount a serious comeback.

New Zealand 28-10 Tonga. The Kiwi Ferns were favourites to win this clash but had to work hard for it. Halftime came with a scoreline of 14-6 in their favour. Mate Ma'a Tonga had a player sent off shortly after the resumption which didn't help their cause. 

PNG 28-20 Cook Is The PNG Orchids were favoured to win this match at home and at halftime the 20-10 lead reinforced that. However, the Cook Is Moana didn't lie down and but despite a late comeaback were unable to catch the orchids.  

New Zealand 12-6 Australia Australia opened the scoring early on and the script looked already written. By halftime it was 6-6 and the Kiwi Ferns went on to win it with a spirited defensive display. It was their first victory over the Jillaroos in seven years.

For highlights of the last match:

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