Abigail Roache and Mackenzie Wiki Scored Doubles as the Kiwi Ferns Beat PNG 40-12 and Set Up a Semi-Final With Samoa
The Kiwi Ferns beat Papua New Guinea 40-12 on a wet Gold Coast on Saturday to finish top of their group with three wins from three. They play Samoa in the semi-finals in Newcastle next Saturday.
It was 14-12 at half-time. In the second half New Zealand scored five tries and PNG none.
A close first half
PNG were hard to break down in the first half, RNZ noted, and both sides dropped a lot of ball in the slippery conditions. Stacey Waaka and Mackenzie Wiki scored for the Ferns, and Tia Molo and Elsie Albert both scored converted tries for the Orchids, who led 12-8 just before half-time. Kaiyah Atai’s try in the 34th minute put the Ferns back in front at the break, nrl.com reported.
| Team | Tries | Goals | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand: Abigail Roache 2, Mackenzie Wiki 2, Stacey Waaka, Kaiyah Atai, Otesa Pule, Leianne Tufuga | 8 | 4 | 40 |
| Papua New Guinea: Tia Molo, Elsie Albert | 2 | 2 | 12 |
Five tries after the break
Front-rower Otesa Pule scored a long-range solo try within a minute of the restart. Wiki got her second in the 46th minute to make it 24-12. Leianne Tufuga then finished a move through Atai and Abigail Roache, and Roache scored the next one herself to make it 34-12. Atai set Roache up again in the 63rd minute for her second.
The Ferns’ back five, Nicholls, Tufuga, Roache, Waaka and Wiki, made 68 runs for 795 metres between them, according to nrl.com.
“We need to be better”
“Obviously, I’m proud that we were really resilient and got through it in the end,” captain Raecene McGregor told Sky Sport, as reported by RNZ. “There were a couple of errors in that first half and even in the second half. We need to be better, especially coming into the semis.”
Ricky Henry’s side opened with an 18-12 win over Fiji and then beat France 92-0 in Christchurch.
The semi-finals
New Zealand play Samoa at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle on Saturday 7 November. Samoa are in their first World Cup semi-final after beating England 24-6. The Jillaroos play Fiji, who finished second in the Ferns’ group, in the other semi-final in Sydney the next day.
Every remaining kick-off is on our World Cup UK times page.
