The Waratah Women have lost both of their pre-season matches on their New Zealand tour, with discipline letting the side down against Chiefs Manawa and Blues.
Despite the losses, there were plenty of positives to take from the Waratah’s trial against their Super Rugby Aupiki counterparts.
Piper Duck led from the front, in addition to Leilani Nathan & Fi Jones, both contributing with multiple turnovers at the ruck throughout both halves.
Young star Caitlyn Halse provided some solid defence and effective kicking, in addition to Georgina Friedrichs whose hard-hitting in the backline kept the kiwi attack in check.
The women started off their trial against the Blues and the first 20 minutes were back and forth, both teams showing their strengths defensively.
The Blues were the first to put points on the board with some silky hands close to the line, allowing them to score in the corner.
As the Waratahs looked to shift the momentum back in their favour, handling errors kept letting them down. The Blues made their way down the field and through 11 phases proved too strong to be stopped, as they went over for the second and final try of the game
The Waratahs fell short in their first match finishing 12-0 in the Blues favour.
Campbell Aitken’s side started the second half strong in defence against the Chiefs, but the experienced Aupiki Champions took advantage of the Waratah's poor discipline.
15 minutes into the half the Chiefs, off the back of a midfield scrum, used their off-loading abilities to score in the right-hand corner.
More penalties allowed the Chiefs to venture their way back into the Waratah's half where they crossed the line again through a blindside play for a 14-0 lead.
The Chiefs came home strong, going over two more times to end with a final score of 26-0.
Piper Duck was happy with her team's efforts and appreciative of the experience of playing against two tough New Zealand teams.
“The intensity of that game and the level of rugby here in New Zealand, we hope we can really make this competition in the future,” Duck said.
Piper also paid note to the level of difference in the teams came down to intensity and speed of play.
“The difference in intensity. The rugby played in Australia and the rugby played here in New Zealand is a different type of rugby,” Duck said.
“If we can merge that and get more international exposure together, it’s only going to make us both better.”
When asked about the prospect of a fully integrated Super Rugby Pacific Women’s competition, Piper could not wait.
“Soon as possible please, I’d love that”
