New Zealand's errors raise semi-final concerns

Losana Lutu

Fiji secured a semi-final against Australia with a 54-6 defeat of France, reaching the last four in its first Women's Rugby League World Cup appearance.

The Buli Kula scored 10 tries to one for their second tournament win, finishing second in Pool B behind New Zealand.

Tahlia Marshall scored twice, and Latisha Smythe was player of the match after a commanding display in the forwards.

"It's going to be a really hard game but for us the focus is just on us for the week ahead. We're not really thinking about the Jillaroos too much," Fiji's Cassie Staples said.

She added, "We need to make sure we minimise those errors and take advantage of the opportunities we get out on the field."

New Zealand completed its pool matches unbeaten, beating Papua New Guinea 40-12 on the Gold Coast.

The Orchids led 12-8 after tries from Tia Molo and Elsie Albert, but Kaiyah Atai scored before halftime to give the Kiwi Ferns a narrow lead.

New Zealand struggled with errors in slippery conditions, then scored five second-half tries to pull away.

Mackenzie Wiki and Abigail Roache both scored twice, while Apii Nicholls ran for 251 metres and earned player-of-the-match honours.

New Zealand captain Raecene McGregor said the team must improve before its semi-final against Samoa.

"We need to be better, especially coming into the semi-final next week," McGregor told the Seven Network.

"Once we clean up a few of those errors and stick to the gameplan, probably execute a bit better, we'll come away with the result."

Menu
LeagueNews.co | Contact Us
All rights are owned by their respective owners
Terms & Conditions of Use