![]() “We can take a lot of confidence from this. “I thought we fronted up physically in the first half,” he said. The Wales coach, Ioan Cunningham, also expressed pride in his team afterwards and making it to the last eight will be a source of some consolation. “I think we’ve grown since January and we’re only going to get better.” “We went out there and showed how much it means to us to play for our country,” the back-rower said. The back-rower Alana Bremner and Demant also added further scores to intensify Welsh discomfort but Alex Callender, the tournament’s leading tackler, was encouraged by her side’s refusal to lie down. The slickness of the midfield handling for Woodman’s second try three minutes after the restart, however, was outstanding and the replacement hooker Luka Connor also helped herself to a brace. With a further score for the prop Amy Rule making it 26-3 at the interval, it was already a case of damage limitation. Wales had one or two moments of promise but were powerless to prevent New Zealand adding a third try inside the first half-hour, this time courtesy of a stretching Sarah Hirini. The chorus of Kaiser Chiefs’ Ruby blasted out over the public address and the locals settled back in expectation of more of the same. New Zealand’s Chelsea Bremner braces for a hit from Wales’s Natalia John and Cara Hope. Only 12 minutes had elapsed when Tui put Woodman over on the right for the Blacks Ferns’ first try and the quick-witted pair were also responsible for the second, Woodman collecting Demant’s cross-kick and sending the alert Tui over. With Theresa Fitzpatrick displaying plenty of midfield class and the captain, Ruahei Demant, in decent kicking form, it added up to a relentless test of character for a Welsh side still in the foothills of professionalism. Sadly they spent much of the subsequent game in reverse, with the Black Ferns scrum also wholly dominant by the end. Their only reward, in the end, was a first-half penalty goal for Keira Bevan, although the sight of the entire Welsh team defiantly advancing in a line towards the haka before kick-off will stick in the memory. ![]() ![]() In front of another excellent crowd on a mild Northland evening, Wales were frequently reminded that knockout rugby can be horribly unforgiving. Under the tutelage of the former All Black coach Wayne Smith, the Black Ferns backs are starting to look particularly sharp and, as a consequence, confidence is starting to return to other parts of their game. ![]() A France-New Zealand semi-final will certainly be well worth watching, with both sides capable of moving the ball effectively and attacking with relish. ![]()
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