England give Ferns another match to forget
The White Ferns’ losing streak has continued, in familiar fashion.
After mustering just 178 batting first and losing by eight wickets in their ODI opener against England, yesterday’s second ODI in Dunedin followed a similar script, as they scraped through to 192, and were crushed by seven wickets as England cruised home with 12.2 overs to spare.
The defeat extends the White Ferns’ record ODI losing run to 11 games, and gives England an unassailable 2-0 series lead ahead of tomorrow’s final ODI.
Once again the White Ferns were let down by their batters, slumping to 34-5 before a somewhat facesaving but ultimately fruitless recovery by the tail order.
Brooke Halliday again showed her promise, making it two fifties in two matches with 60 off 80 balls, but while Halliday has been a rare, or perhaps sole, bright spot for the Ferns this series, the hosts would surely prefer she, batting at No 7, wasn’t required to face 134 balls over the two games.
But, with the top order failing, Halliday has stepped up, while seamers Hannah Rowe (29 not out off 45 balls) and Jess Kerr (28 off 30) added 53 for the ninth wicket to at least give themselves a plausibly defendable total to bowl at.
For a while, their prospects looked promising. Danni Wyatt dragged the third delivery of the innings from Kerr onto her stumps, and 10 balls later Heather Knight was run out in an awful mix-up.
At 12-2, the Ferns were in the hunt, but a 103-run partnership between Tammy Beaumount (72 not out off 112) and Natalie Sciver (63 off 61) ensured a comfortable chase.
Halliday showed her all-round talents by picking up her first international wicket — Sciver caught at mid-wicket — but Amy Jones came to the crease and promptly smacked an unbeaten 46 off 45 balls.
White Ferns captain Sophie Devine tried eight bowlers in an attempt to turn the tide, but England were never troubled as they wrapped up the series and extended New Zealand’s misery.
New season, same Crusaders does not quite tell the full story.
The defending champions were far from their best in the first match of Super Rugby Aotearoa 2.0 against the Highlanders in Dunedin — and still got the job done with relative ease despite conceding two yellow cards last night.
The second-half attack was particularly scrappy from the Crusaders, as wayward passing and sloppy handling crept in with fatigue to stifle possession. But with world-class defence, you don’t need to be perfect.
Four tries to two the Crusaders scored in all, racing to a 14-0 lead before needing a 72nd-minute try from replacement hooker Brodie McAlister to finish off the Highlanders.
Yet it was defence which set the tone throughout — the way the Crusaders nullified the favoured Highlanders maul epitomising their forward strength. The ruthless Crusaders tight five steamrolled the Highlanders scrum all evening long.
Outside their dominant pack, where Codie Taylor led the way, wings Leicester Fainga’anuku and Sevu Reece were prominent.
Fainga’anuku used his power off first receiver and swallowed Richie Mo’unga cross field kicks, while Reece savoured his roaming commission to pop up all over the park.
New Zealand derbies were near all closely fought in the inaugural SRA, and if this opening match is any gauge, that will continue in 2021.
For now at least, the Crusaders remain standard setters — this their seventh straight victory over the Highlanders.
The Highlanders recovered from the opening onslaught with 15 penalties and two yellow cards from the Crusaders keeping the contest alive.
The locals were denied a 66thminute Patelesio Tomkinson try, with the TMO ruling a slight knock-on at a previous ruck.
Ultimately, though, the Highlanders could not break down the Crusaders defence. They also squandered numerous chances with botched crossfield kicks and their malfunctioning lineout proved costly.
Under the roof, the Highlanders opened the season with a stirring haka but the Crusaders dominated to lead 14-0 inside 18 minutes.
First through defensive line speed, the Crusaders swarmed the Highlanders attack, picking off runners at will, driving them back and reading backdoor plays to perfection.
The Crusaders set piece consumed the Highlanders scrum on several occasions, with Joe Moody leading the charge and Sam Whitelock, Scott Barrett delivering second-row power.
Moody was, however, fortunate to escape a yellow card early after lashing out with his open palm to the face of Jack Regan in retaliation for the Highlanders lock holding his jersey.
Once on the front foot, the Crusaders flicked into attack mode. Not with the usual suspects, though, with Whitelock providing the slick short ball to send Taylor bursting through a brilliant line and showing pace to beat the fullback to open the scoring for the season.
From their impeccable set piece, this time the lineout, the Crusaders effortlessly gave Reece space to work his magic — Bryn Hall snaffling his centring kick to establish a 14-0 lead.
Ill discipline proved the major issue for the Crusaders. Seven infringements — three in a row for offside — was enough for referee Ben O'Keeffe to send Ethan Blackadder to the bin, sparking the Highlanders revival.
Shannon Frizell and Marino Mikaele-Tu’u led the way with powerful carries for the Highlanders that helped inspire their response.
Mikaele-Tu’u, with speed off the back of the scrum, delivered front foot ball that allowed Aaron Smith to whip a superb cutout ball back to the blindside where Frizell waited in the corner. Mitchell Hunt and Jona Nareki next combined, the latter skipping around Crusaders midfielder Dallas McLeod and put Connor GardenBachop in on his debut. Hunt couldn’t knock over the sideline conversions but his strike just after the break reduced the deficit to one point.
Tomkinson’s non-try proved the Highlanders’ last shot at a bonus point after the Crusaders kicked away.
A late Barrett yellow card will serve as a reminder of the glaring area the Crusaders must improve but another satisfying southern derby victory is nothing to scoff at in the first match of this campaign. Highlanders 13 (Shannon Frizell, Connor Garden-Bachop tries; Mitchell Hunt pen)
Crusaders 26 (Codie Taylor, Bryn Hall, Reece, Brodie McAlister tries; Richie Mo’unga 3 cons). HT: 10-14.