[ad_1]
Black Ferns coach Glenn Moore wanted Saturday’s Possible vs. Probable clash to be like a test match and it certainly felt like one because contracts and national team spots were up for grabs.
New Zealand’s home Rugby World Cup defense is 10 months away and the test match at North Harbor Stadium in Albany, won 28-19 by the Possibles, was one of the first big steps towards the tournament of 15 female rugby players. .
In the absence of test matches, after New Zealand Rugby said it could not host them in 2020 due to Covid-19 complicating travel and quarantine arrangements, the best opponents for the Black Ferns were each other as well as testing. to aspiring Farah. Palmer Cup competition won by Canterbury last weekend.
Dave Rowland / Getty Images
Wellington Joanah Ngan-Woo’s lock impressed for the Possibles.
Possible and Probable in name, the teams were even for the first of three matches with the elite of the women’s game, which was effectively on probation before two games between the Black Ferns and a New Zealand Barbarians team in Auckland and Nelson respectively .
READ MORE:
* The countdown to the Rugby World Cup 2021 begins with the Possible vs Probable clash
* Black Ferns contenders have great chances of claiming the selection
Those squads will be announced on Monday and for the Possibles they were impressed by the halves, half-champion Kendra Cocksedge and Hazel Tubic, Wellington blocking Joanah Ngan-Woo and Black Ferns releasing forward Charmaine McMenamin, while for the Probables, their rowers from behind, the topless Lisa Molia and Black Fern Aroha Savage, were strong, as was Cocksedge’s No. 9 rival, Counties Manukau’s Arihiana Marino-Tauhinu.
Dave Rowland / Getty Images
Canterbury mainstay Amy Rule scored a try in the first half for the Possibles.
There was a lot of aggressive physical contact between the two, five or six months before the Black Ferns’ long-awaited return to international rugby, and it was an excellent exercise for Moore and the coaching staff when considering which players are in dispute.
There were no Farah Palmer Cup Sevens stars because they were at camp together on Mount Maunganui this week, starting preparations for the delayed Tokyo Olympics, so there was a chance for more fringe players to claim their claim.
The pace of the match was inevitably interrupted once multiple changes were made in the second half, ensuring that all 26 players on each team had a chance, but it was Cocksedge’s decisive try in the 63rd minute, after a run. from a dominant lineout, which opened. the match to a frenzied finale as a host of new faces desperately tried to make a telling impact.
Neither side got off to a particularly good start, which was to be expected with the number of new combinations and limited playtime together, and a family duo, the seasoned Black Ferns Cocksedge and Selica Winiata, combined for the first attempt at rolling the Possible.
Dave Rowland / Getty Images
Possible winger Cheyelle Robins-Reti charging into Probables’ defense.
Cocksedge’s kick in front of a quick touch sent the Probables backward and Winiata’s pace ensured that the fullback was the first to score the fumble.
Prop Phillipa Love then marched for the Possibles’ second try in the first quarter, but the Probables erased a 14-0 lead with two converted attempts by Luka Connor and Lisa Molia in an improved first half against the wind, though the head tight Amy Rule tied Love’s finish with her score giving the Possible the lead at halftime.
Auckland playmaker Patricia Maliepo crossed for the Probables to adjust things to a two-point game early in the second half, but the Possible concluded the match with the last act of Cocksedge.
Take a look
Possible 28 (Selica Winiata, Phillipa Love, Amy Rule, Kendra Cocksedge tries; Cocksedge 4 with) Probable 19 (Luka Connor, Lisa Molia, Patricia Maliepo tries; Ruahei Demant 2 scam). HT: 21-19.
