Kiwi Ferns Survive Almighty Scare as Fiji's Dream Debut Falls Just Short

NEWCASTLE — New Zealand's Kiwi Ferns were supposed to open their Women's Rugby League World Cup campaign with a statement. Instead, at McDonald Jones Stadium on Sunday, they got a scare — and a warning the rest of the tournament will have heard loud and clear. The three-time world champions trailed World Cup debutants Fiji at half-time before scrambling to an 18-12 win that flattered the favourites and crowned the Bulikula as the story of the opening round.

The script gets shredded

It started exactly as everyone expected. Barely two minutes were gone when Apii Nicholls' cut-out pass found Stacey Waaka unmarked on the wing, and the double Olympic gold medallist strolled over to give the Ferns a 4-0 lead. Routine. Comfortable. Done.

Fiji had other ideas. The Bulikula, playing their first World Cup match, absorbed the early blow, grew into the contest and then ripped the script to pieces in the space of six astonishing minutes. In the 21st minute, a barnstorming run from interchange forward Lorren Ieli created the space for captain Sereana Naitokatoka to dart from dummy half and send Losana Lutu crashing over for Fiji's historic first World Cup try. Five minutes later, centre Sienna Laing chased down a Lutu grubber to score again, and suddenly the debutants led 12-4.

Waaka grabbed her second try in the shadows of half-time to keep the Ferns in touch, but the damage — psychological as much as anything — was done. Fiji led 12-10 at the break: the first time any nation other than Australia had ever led New Zealand at half-time in a World Cup match, and only the second time the Ferns had trailed anyone at the interval.

A debut written in the history books

The Bulikula did not arrive in Newcastle to be polite. They held sway of possession and territory through the middle of the first half, asserted real physicality in defence and, remarkably, kept their structure even as injuries mounted — Tamika Jones, Maria Paseka and Sienna Laing all left the field hurt, at one stage leaving Fiji with a single interchange player.

Their attacking ambition was the real revelation. Rather than simply surviving, Fiji repelled the Ferns time and again on their own goal-line, then threw the ball around and kicked intelligently at the other end. For 20 minutes of the second half they protected that two-point lead, and when Naitokatoka lined up a regulation penalty from in front with ten minutes to go, the upset of the tournament was suddenly, genuinely on.

She hooked it. That miss, more than anything, was the moment the door slammed shut.

The Ferns dig deep

New Zealand's second half was less a display of power than of nerve. With their completion rate faltering and Fiji's scramble defence refusing to break, the Ferns settled for what they could get: a Zahara Temara penalty goal drew the scores level at 12-12, and after Naitokatoka's miss, Temara struck again from 29 metres out following a stripping penalty to edge the Ferns ahead 14-12.

Fiji still had fight left — a short kick-off was regathered and they marched into the red zone needing a converted try to force overtime. But when Luisa Yaranamua spilled Losana Lutu's looping pass, the chance was gone. And with three minutes remaining, Raecene McGregor produced the one piece of genuine class the second half had been waiting for: a perfectly placed cross-field chip kick that winger Leianne Tufuga plucked from the air to seal it in the right corner.

The final ledger: Waaka with two tries, Tufuga with the winner, Temara with a conversion and two penalties. Fiji's points came from Lutu and Laing, with Naitokatoka and Yaranamua adding the conversions.

"We are not here to make up the numbers"

Fiji coach Jone Wesele was in no mood to talk like a beaten man. "It's truly amazing to see how relentless they were coming up against the second nation in the world — that's quite a statement," he said. "They made their mark today. The girls brought it to their doorstep. We are not here to make up the numbers."

Ferns coach Ricky Henry, whose side is dotted with players of 15 or more Tests — Georgia Hale, Mele Hufanga, McGregor and Nicholls — called it a wake-up call. "The good thing about it was that we found a way, but we've got some work to do," he said.

Hale was blunter: "They played like they had nothing to lose. They tested our waters for sure. Everything was in our control, then we lost it. It was uncharacteristically ill-disciplined, untidy play."

Waaka, the two-try hero, admitted the Ferns were caught cold: "Fiji brought it to us and it was a bit of a surprise to us."

And from the Fiji camp, captain Naitokatoka said her side had worked hard "for their people, Vanua, and their families," adding that she was proud of a team in which "where there is unity, God commands his blessings."

What comes next

The result puts the Kiwi Ferns in pole position in a group that also contains France and Papua New Guinea. New Zealand return home to host France in Christchurch next Sunday — and after Sunday's evidence, they will not be taking anything for granted.

Fiji, meanwhile, travel to Port Moresby to face the PNG Orchids next Saturday, with the Orchids fresh from a 58-4 demolition of France. On the evidence of Newcastle, the Bulikula will fancy their chances of making the second week of this tournament very interesting indeed.